Re: Why 60 Hz

[Frank Stearns <franks -at- FSATOOLS -dot- COM>]

> Mike Johnson sez,

[stuff deleted]

>         This 60 Hz thing is a conspiracy.  It's got to be related to Dilbert
>         somehow.

Steve English replied:

> It's related to Mrs. Edison's little boy. It's a 60 Hz thing because the
> Alternating Current on which it runs is Alternating at that rate, courtesy of
> your regional electricity vendor.

Actually, if memory serves, it was that crazy Nick Telsa kid, who was
working for George Westinghouse and who was a fierce rival of Edison's
group in Menlo Park (the New Jersey version), who actually set the AC
standard. Edison, bull-headed as he was, had been pushing DC -- a bloody
dangerous (for the application) and awkward form of electrical juice.
After a number of fires and system burn-outs with DC, AC became the norm.

I can't remember all the reasons, but 60 Hz was arrived at after careful
deliberations based on the factors of the era. (Probably has to do with
synchronizing of a network of power stations.)

Frank

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