The End of the Current Wars

Ultimately, Edison's DC and Tesla's AC fulfilled separate fields of applications, and the two companies parsed out, their rivalry faded. The Current Wars remains both a result of and a cause to the rapid development of electricity in the mid-1800's and one of the biggest (though also roughest) milestones in the development of electrical technology.

Tesla's Alternating Current found it's best uses in long-distance applications, such as power lines and phone systems, where the energy loss ratio was smaller than that of Direct Current. It also was discovered to be a rather effective way of killing someone; the electric chair uses Alternating Current to fatally shock its victims.

Edison's Direct current was discovered to be better suited to industrial applications, such as electroplating; only with the steady flow of electrons generated by Direct Current could electroplating, electrolysis, and other electrically assisted chemical processes (many of which are essential in the production of modern technology) be possible.