Transmitting the power of Niagara: scientific, technological, and cultural contexts of an engineering decision

In 1893 the Cataract Construction Company (CCC), after four years of deliberation, decided that the power generated by its turbines at Niagara Falls would be transmitted by alternating current and not by direct current, teledynamic (wire rope), hydraulic, or pneumatic systems, all of which were considered. The author examines the scientific, technological, and cultural contexts of the decision-making process to understand why the CCC´s engineers chose AC. He suggests that the decision was based as much on cultural criteria as on straightforward technical criteria. The engineers who made the decision felt that the technology used at the Falls should match the natural grandeur of the Falls with its own technological grandeur. Thus they chose a power system that, though untried, was developing rapidly and held great future promise. Their scheme proved successful, and the Niagara Falls power project, by far the largest of its day, established the standards for hydroelectric power generation and transmission for many years.<>