AC Motor – Kolyo D.

The official definition of an AC motor is an electric motor that uses alternating current to run. When we mention the AC motor one name has to come up and that name is Nikola Tesla. Before Tesla revolutionized the AC motor other AC motors were very unreliable and very prone to malfunction. Once Tesla got to work with George Westinghouse he was able to realize his so called masterpiece. The unique design of Nicola was simple and efficient, he used stator wire and magnets but the key thing was that when the magnets were wrapped in the stator wire they would reverse their poles with ought any mechanical help which was the key to the AC motor. Once Tesla created a few working prototypes he was able to present them to Westinghouse and Westinghouse adopted the contraption into his system. Westinghouse’s system was good enough whit ought Tesla’s motor but it was limited and if used to break down a lot Tesla’s model brought reliability and efficiency to the system.

AC motor- Aysha R

After working on his alternating current induction motor, Tesla was asked to speak to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to talk about his new invention. Despite being overworked and sick, Tesla spoke at their meeting on the evening of May 15th, 1888. Tesla showed them how the machine worked physically and through drawings and diagrams. He went on to tell them that this machine “will show many results [that were deemed] unattainable” (157). Other motors invented prior to Tesla’s didn’t work because they would only “churn about, not turning the motor” (157). Tesla’s motor was a polyphase AC motor which meant he “used two alternating currents that were out of step which each other” (157). With the polyphase motor, the magnetic fields rotated the motor around as opposed to it just churning about which always ensured that a strong current was available.

Despite the fact that alternating current was frowned upon by Edison, Westinghouse knew the AC motor was an awesome invention. After reading about Tesla’s lecture, Westinghouse offered to buy Tesla’s patents for the AC motor for $70,000 and “$2.50 per horsepower on every AC Tesla motor” (162). Westinghouse purchased Tesla’s patents, in order to complete his AC system, which would provide farther and faster electricity than Edison’s DC motor ever could. Not only did Westinghouse buy Tesla’ patents, he also gave Tesla a job to help with Westinghouse’s company. Tesla never would have been able to commercialize his design without Westinghouse’s help, because he lacked the entrepreneurial skills that Westinghouse was very knowledgeable in.

Tesla and the AC Motor-Rich

Nikola Tesla was the inventor of the polyphase AC motor. This was one of the most important inventions of his time. Initally Tesla was reluctant to share his inventions with the group that would assemble to hear him at The American Institute. Eventually his friend Henry Martin convinced him to go ahead with the presentation. Tesla explained to the group that his motor worked because the changing polarization worked out of phase so that the motor kept rotating. He also had trouble working with the Westinghouse employees because they saw him as competition.

Tesla and the AC motor – Cory

Originally Tesla was not excited about giving a lecture on his AC motor, and really didn’t want to. However Thomas Martin convinced him to present to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He began to discuss his AC induction motor and how it worked. The AC motor used multiple currents in order to create magnetic fields.  Because of the changes in the current there was a constantly changing magnetic field however, there was always a noticeable current which allowed the motor to continue rotation.  As a result of this lecture Westinghouse purchased Tesla’s patents, Westinghouse knew that Tesla controlled all of the concepts in patents and therefore completely controlled the AC system after receiving them. As a result of this Westinghouse was in complete controll of the AC system of electricity.

Tesla and the AC Motor – Michael

While working with his polyphase AC induction motor, Nikola Tesla was asked by Thomas Martin to give a speech at the Colombia Institute to explain some of his work with the AC system. This speech was given in front of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers where Tesla explained his newest patents, including the polyphase induction motor. In previous years many AC motors had been constructed, but they all failed due to the low strength of the magnetic Fields that AC systems created. This fact lead many people to believe that an AC motor was impossible to construct. Tesla proved this conclusion wrong when he constructed a working polyphase AC induction motor. This motor ran on two different types of alternating current allowing a constant flow of magnetism. These two currents worked together creating enough magnetism two move the shaft inside the motor. Once the shaft was moving the motor could operate with only one current flowing through it. This ingenious invention caught the eye of George Westinghouse, a very prestigious businessman and entrepreneur. After realizing that Tesla’s motor was the missing link in the AC system, Westinghouse bought the patent from Tesla and put the AC system into production.

Tesla and AC Motor – Robert S

Although Tesla initially did not want to give lectures, Thomas Commerford Martin was able to convince him to change his mind and give a lecture at Columbia College to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. In his lecture he displayed his AC motors and talked about how they worked. He also explained that he used polyphase alternating current to power his motors because, unlike single phase alternating current, it is able to keep the shaft of the motor rotating. He said that polyphase AC current was able to do this because the currents were out of step, so when one of the currents died away, another would continue to turn the shaft. After reading about the lecture and visiting Tesla for a demonstration of his motor, he decided to purchase Tesla’s patents because they were designed for heavy-duty commercial work. Tesla then started working for Westinghouse and together they were able to make the AC power system a success.

Tesla PolyPhase Systems – Keith F

Nikola Tesla invented and was the first to build a practical motor for AC PolyPhase systems. Well before this time, Westinghouse already knew the advantages of AC current especially in long distance transmissions, Tesla’s invention was the last piece needed to put the system into production. Tesla was initially reluctant to give his speech but it was necessary to popularize AC systems to other Electrical Engineers, making him well respected in his community. After his lecture in 1888, the concepts behind the operation of AC and why it is superior to DC was now obvious to those who understood what it really was, leaving Thomas Edison as the last obstacle before the electrification of our nation.

Tesla and AC motor – Wesley C

Tesla’s AC motor exploited a polyphase AC system. This system utilizes multiple currents to create magnetic fields.  One of the biggest advantages of this system was the fact that it guaranteed at least one strong current to keep the rotation of the motor going.  The multiple currents would fluctuate in intensity; as one current lost its power, another would gain power, thus switching the direction of the motor.  In 1888, Tesla reluctantly explained this at the  American Institute of Electrical Engineers. George Westinghouse, who was working on an AC system, opportunely found Tesla and immediately invested in Tesla’s patents. George Westinghouse obtained the final piece to his puzzle in building the AC system, which would ultimately win the battle between alternating and direct currents.

Tesla and the AC Motor – Dave D

Tesla was not entirely compelled to give a lecture on his AC motor but Thomas Martin convinced him to present to Columbia College for the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He explained, in this lecture, his concepts of the AC induction motor and how it was run off of the polyphase alternating current. He showed that only the polyphase current would allow this system to work, as oppose to the single alternating current. The two currents, operating at fluctuating times, would induce a magnetic field in this motor, allowing it to turn. It was because of this lecture that Westinghouse bought Tesla’s patents. Westinghouse kenw that Tesla had fully covered his ideas in the patents and no other companies would be able to steal an aspect and make it their own. In doing this Westinghouse and Tesla gained complete power in the AC induction field and they would later grow to electrical supremacy.

Tesla and the AC motor – Marlon

Thomas Commerford Martin, an editor and president of the American In stitue of Electrical Engineer, persistantly asked Tesla to explain his new patents on the AC system that included the precious polyphase AC induction motor. Earlier trials of alternating current did not work because the magnetic fields were not strong enough to move the rotating shaft. Tesla explained that his polyphase AC induction motor used two types of alternating current that moved in different steps of each other, so that the magnetic field would work together and push the rotating shaft in the motor. His ingenious idea would keep a strong current flowing even if one dies. He figured out a way to continuously rotate the shaft with the magnetic fields running through the motor. After some time, Westinghouse bought Tesla’s patents assuming that the AC system would in fact be revolutionary. He realized that the AC induction motor was practically the missing piece to his view of long distance transmission. When the AC system was completed, it proved that alternating current was more efficient than direct curent, and that would be the power of the future.