I heard on tv that public electricity supply was originally D.C. Why did they send D.C. down the wires instead of A.C.? I thought that elctricity is generated as A.C. in spinning generators, and has to be converted to D.C. Thanks, Hartly.
Old mains D.C.supply
Apr 11, 2005
1 Replies
Originally, Edison promoted DC for only very short town distances, but then Tesla proved that AC could be distributed far and wide, stepped up and down, and merged/synchronised easily between generating stations onto a grid or networked system. Even autos now have alternators to generate AC which is then rectified to charge/maintain the battery. They once used to have dynamos for making DC, like bicycles may still do. DC is converted only in AC mains appliances that need its presence.
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