Re: power-grid physics

[Robert Cohen <Robert.Cohen@PO-BOX.ESU.EDU>]

This discussion has got me thinking about whether Nikola Tesla's DC
setup would have any advantages over Thomas Edison's AC setup.  Would
such a blackout as what happened last week be less likely with a DC
setup?

____________________________________________________
Robert Cohen; 570-422-3428; www.esu.edu/~bbq
East Stroudsburg University; E. Stroudsburg, PA 18301

On Thursday, August 21, 2003 1:18 PM, James R. Frysinger wrote:

>         In a DC circuit that is what is done and that is 
> intuitively obvious. In an AC circuit, it's a whole lot more 
> complicated and I cannot think of a simple, emailable, 
> written explanation that would explain that.

On Thursday, August 21, 2003 6:11 PM, John S. Denker wrote:

> If we had a DC system, it's clear how this would
> be handled:  The increased load would cause the
> voltage to drop.  An op-amp would notice this,
> and would inform the generators to increase their
> output.  This is easy to arrange, by increasing
> the excitation in the field coils.
>
> You might imagine that the AC system works the
> same way, but it doesn't.