The world is today at equilibrium. Battery operated devices use DC current and the misc household and industrial appliances use AC current

But almost 140 years ago, that was not the case. A fierce battle was fought between two scientists Tesla and Edison over it. #CBG_Thread 1/n

Thomas Edison, a prolific inventor, changed the course of history with the invention of electric bulb in 1870s. It opened up a new market hitherto unknown. 2/n

Edison , backed by J P Morgan, founded a new company Edison General Electric ( now GE) to make motors, appliances, wires etc to develop and service this new market. 3/n

Interestingly, all appliances were based on Direct Current (DC) - similar to what you get from batteries these days. Current flows in one direction only, unlike Alternating Current (AC) - such as 220V supply at home these days. 4/n

Nikola Tesla immigrated to US in 1884 to work for Edison as Electric Engineer for a salary of $100. Tesla was a maverick with novel ideas. He wanted to create an efficient arc lighting and AC motor. Edison however was too arrogant to be receptive to any ideas. 5/n