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 OERSTED, FARADAY, AND TESLA: Their Discoveries Created our Worldwide System of Electric Power

The discoveries made by these three Giants of Electricity, perhaps more than any other scientific breakthroughs since 1888, are responsible for advancing mankind as no other discovery has since Johann Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press in 1453.

Focusing on three is probably unfair to many others who also made significant contributions in electrical science. Andre-Marie Ampere (1775-1836), a mathematician; and Georg Simon Ohm (1788-1854), a school teacher, made truly significant contributions, establishing the science of electrodynamics and electrical conduction respectively. The properties of electromotive force in Ampere's time were in a constant state of interpretation and revision by many investigators; nevertheless, it was Ampere's brilliant deduction that solved the scientific riddle. Between the years 1820 and 1823 Ampere experimented with current carrying conductors and reasoned that electromotive force is manifested by two kinds of effects: electric tension and electric current; thus, he established the concepts of voltage and current. Three years later Ohm defined the exact relationship between these two entities. Today, Ohm's Law remains the most basic and universally used of all laws in electrical science.

There were many others, too numerous to mention in this short account, who also made advancements. The names of Joseph Henry (1797-1878), James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), and Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894) stand out prominently. Henry, an American physicist, experimenting with electromagnets in 1831, discovered self-inductance, a separate phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. Maxwell, a Scottish mathematician genius, established the laws of electrodynamics by formulating four foundational equations defining electromagnetic theory. He concluded that energy could be transmitted by electromagnetic waves at the speed of light. Hertz was convinced that Maxwell's mathematical postulates were correct, so he set out to interpret and prove experimentally Maxwell's work. His experiments proved those postulates...that electromagnetic waves were indeed propagated in air at the speed of light.

In most long and arduous journeys into the unknown, interim breakthroughs are reached long before the ultimate goal is achieved. The journeys traveled by Oersted, Faraday, and Tesla clearly illustrate this reality. In short, these men made those pivotal breakthroughs in electrical research that gave us our worldwide system of electric power.

One thing is certain: the single characteristic all great scientists share is, insatiable curiosity. Perhaps more often than not, luck plays an important role, and a great discovery is made accidentally when the curiosity seeker simply stumbles upon an eternal principle, often doing so without realizing the significance of his discovery.

Thales of Miletus was one of the Seven Wise Men of ancient Greece who lived some 2,500 years ago. In his search for the substance from which everything in nature is made, he accidentally discovered static electricity by rubbing a piece of amber with cloth, resulting in the amber attracting bits of feathers and the pith of plants. The discovery of the lodestone's magnetic attraction is another example of early 'curiosities in nature' that ultimately led to present day knowledge...a world these early curiosity seekers could not possibly envision.

It was not until many hundreds of years later that someone made the next truly significant advancement. In 1453 Johann Gutenberg changed civilization forever with his movable type printing press...a significant factor giving birth to the Renaissance periodthat swept throughout Europe. The Renaissance is characterized as a rebirth in all forms of learning, and revival of interest in the wisdom of the ancient world of the Near East and Greece. Two names from that period stand out as beacons lighting the way for others to follow: Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), an Italian, and William Gilbert (1544-1603), an English physician. They were the first to reject ancient thinking, which for hundreds of years had dominated man's knowledge of his world. Galileo is called the founder of modern experimental science. It was his bold defiance of ancient teachings that established the beginnings of the scientific method. He made his own telescopes--the largest available--and gathered much new information about the moon, stars, and planets. In addition, his experiments with the pendulum and falling bodies changed forever previously held beliefs, adding greatly to the understanding of physics. In England, Gilbert's scientific study of the magnet culminated in a monumental treatise entitled De Magnete. His quest was to improve the accuracy of the magnetic compass for better navigation on the seas and oceans. What he never realized was that he also laid the foundation of magnetic science, a key element that eventually led to the generation of electricity.

Gradually, scientific investigators entered a period dominated by the study of electrostatics...a curious phenomenon of nature, but still having little or no practical value. The major thrust of scientific investigation during this period--as far back as Gilbert--still centered on improving the magnetic compass, although many independent investigators were working on the properties of conductivity. Charles A. Coulomb (1726-1806) was most prominent during this era because he established the fundamental laws of static electricity, and later made significant advancements in the manufacture of compass needles. Investigators became proficient at generating and instantly discharging static electricity, but they had no way of storing it. E. G. von Kleist and Pieter van Musschenbroeck bridged that gap in the early 18th century with their discovery of the Leyden Jar, a capacitive device that could store static electricity for discharge later. It became a novelty item for royalty who took pleasure in shocking unsuspecting victims...but all in good fun. There was still not a hint of where electrical investigation would eventually take mankind.

Then in 1800, Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), made the first electrochemical cell and battery capable of producing continuous electric current. His inspiration came from Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), a physician who had been conducting experiments with frog legs hung on brass hooks. The legs convulsed when he touched a piece of iron to the framework. Galvani proposed a theory of "animal electricity" as the reason the frog legs had muscle spasms. Volta disproved this theory, stating accurately that the frog legs convulsed as a result of their being in contact with two different metals. His metal theory intrigued him, so he conducted numerous experiments. Eventually, Volta created a chemical cell capable of producing a continuous electric current. He assembled zinc disks alternately with silver disks, separated by pasteboard soaked in brine solution, and called it an "electric pile." No longer was static electricity the only form of electricity known to man. Volta's continuous current cell was indeed a milestone in the annals of discovery. It was Volta's chemical cell that truly put electricity on the move, and today the battery is still an important, although minor, source of electrical energy.

The next exciting event took place in 1820, in the classroom of a Danish professor named Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851). Oersted was conducting an experiment with one of his students, showing him how a wire could be heated when it is connected to a voltaic pile. Oersted had neglected to clear the table after his previous experiment, and a magnetic compass remained near the wire. When the connection was made to the voltaic pile, the compass needle turned and pointed toward the wire. At first, Oersted could not believe what he had seen, but ultimately he realized he had discovered something new...electricity and magnetism were interrelated. He named this new force in nature electromagnetism. Without realizing it, Oersted had discovered the magic doorway which would ultimately lead to the age of electricity.

Michael Faraday (1791-1867), made the next giant step on the long road leading to modern day electric power. The impetus that set him on his series of epoch-making experiments was news of Oersted's discovery of electromagnetism. Faraday reasoned that if electricity produces magnetism, then why shouldn't magnetism produce electricity? Finally, in 1831, his experiments revealed a great truth...electricity could indeed be produced by magnetism. The critical component of his discovery, however, was that magnetism must be accompanied by motion. Unlike Oersted, who accidentally stumbled upon his discovery of electromagnetism, Michael Faraday worked diligently toward his goal until he achieved it. If Oersted discovered the magic doorway that would lead to the age of electric power, it was Faraday who unlocked the door. His public wondered what use could possibly come from producing a small current by moving a magnet near a length of wire--the Genie still needed to be tamed to become man's tireless servant. Faraday understood the far-reaching possibilities and is said to have replied: "What is the use of a new-born baby?" Further example of Faraday's wit is in English folklore. The Prime Minister is said to have asked him what use could be made of his discoveries. Faraday allegedly responded, "Someday it might be possible to tax them."

For the next 51 years man struggled to increase the electrical output of Faraday's embryonic generator. His genius had shown the way; now it was up to engineers to make progressive refinements of Faraday's discovery. Volta's battery had been used initially for electroplating metals, but they were large and very expensive. Gradually, engineering advancements in magneto-electric generators became available. Besides their use in the electroplating industry, these first generators were also used for powering arc lamps, lighthouses, and naval vessels. Arc lamps required DC, so a commutator was necessary for rectifying naturally occurring AC. By 1872 the DC generator had reached its peak of refinement, and DC motors had also come into limited use. Even so, they proved to be inefficient and troublesome, creating sparks and requiring frequent maintenance. In addition, DC power was inherently inferior because of its I square R voltage loss, and could not be sent a distance greater than 1/2 mile from the generating station. DC also required inordinately large cables to transmit the current, making it very expensive. Nevertheless, this was the only path man knew to follow.

In 1879 the Menlo Park group, headed by Thomas Edison, invented the first practical incandescent lamp...a much needed improvement over the power hungry arc lamp. Edison, whose thirst for entrepreneurial conquests exceeded (or perhaps equaled) his popularity as an inventor, saw the opportunity to capitalize on the new incandescent lamp by using existing DC technology as a power source. He attracted investors to fund the construction of a power station in New York. Soon, more DC power stations were built in America and abroad. Their existence proved to be a short lived anomaly or evolutionary trend, doomed to extinction because of their inherent inefficiency. DC power, even in its refined state, barely cracked the door to the awesome power contained in Faraday's Genie.

Harnessing alternating current was deemed impossible by leading authorities, including the physics professor of a young engineering student in Austria named Nikola Tesla. He had exactly the opposite idea of his professor and set out to prove him wrong--that AC could indeed be harnessed. Professor Poeschl and the classmates laughed at Tesla, but he was undaunted. For two years he went into a state of self-imposed exile, devoting his entire energy to solving the AC conundrum. He sensed that the answer was hidden in his mind and would eventually come forth, but the mental anguish he suffered during his search nearly killed him, so strong was his resolve. Then in 1882 the solution came, suddenly, in a blinding flash, as he recited poetry while walking in a park. In that instant his brilliant mind conceived perhaps the most beautiful and ingenious scientific creation since the invention of the wheel; he called it the rotating magnetic field.

Tesla's understanding of the awesome power contained in Faraday's Genie was clearer than any of his contemporaries could imagine. The problem of how to harness that energy to do the work of giants had dogged him for more than two years, and now he had discovered the final solution to make alternating current man's servant! The scientific community had always regarded AC equal to a perpetual motion concept, utterly ridiculous! During Tesla's sudden burst of brilliance on that day in the park he not only conceived the rotating magnetic field, but an entire system of polyphase AC which has remained unchanged in principle to this day. Energy in the form of electric power could now be used in virtually unlimited amounts anywhere. His rotating magnetic field discovery, equal in importance to Oersted and Faraday's pioneering achievements, is a principle of unfathomable beauty that will live forever. It stands today as the foundation upon which our entire world operates. Indeed, the power of Faraday's Genie, captured by Tesla, was and still is the most important scientific discovery in more than 500 years. Tesla had not only opened Faraday's magic door, his polyphase system literally blew it off its hinges and the entire wall with it...so great was the power of Faraday's Genie!

Today, the world owes Oersted, Faraday, and Tesla a tremendous debt of gratitude, for it was their monumental discoveries in electrical science that gave us the power to run our factories, mills, schools, hospitals, research centers, stores, and homes.

Technological advances are happening at an ever increasing rate, and we seem always to be looking forward, which is good, but would it not also be uplifting to look back and acknowledge, even pay homage to, the pioneering spirit of those whose efforts laid the foundation for all the technological advantages we enjoy today? Our school books, teachers, and professors seldom mention these pioneers, if indeed they know anything of their existence. Further, many historians and book writers have elevated the names of entrepreneurs and technologists for discoveries made by early pioneers, and if we are not more mindful, our historical heritage will be lost forever.

John W. Wagner

3890 Tubbs Road

Ann Arbor, MI 48103

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