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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Rhymer Rigby

From Edison to AI: how the electricity grid was born – and where it’s headed

Collage featuring hydro, renewables, light, and digital technology elements.

You may have heard of the “war of the currents”, a battle waged in the late 19th century between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over the dominant system for transmitting electricity. Nikola Tesla’s technology formed part of the fight. Stray animals were electrocuted. And the ground was laid for a feature film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison.

It also laid the ground for the transmission systems in today’s electricity grids.

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