CHAPTER 5

Assessment of the Production Infrastructure

Thomas Edison had a tremendous idea with the electric light. He expected to use it to light up the world, but he would prove his idea by first lighting up a small part of Manhattan and the small town of Roselle, New Jersey. Edison knew the importance of being first, and he wanted his solution to establish a standard for the industry so he moved quickly to develop and patent his products ahead of his competition. His competition came from George Westinghouse who was also determined to lead the new industry.

Edison believed firmly that the use of direct current (DC) would be the key to power distribution. Westinghouse believed that the use of alternating current (AC) would be better than direct current because it would allow easier, less costly distribution of electricity. And a heated competitive battle quickly began. Each inventor presented a view of his product to the market that supported his own position. Edison, in an attempt to convince the public that alternating current was dangerous, even went to the trouble of building the first electric chair using AC power as a public demonstration of its dangers. In the end, Westinghouse won out, and the world standardized on alternating current. Even though Edison was wrong on this very fundamen....