Hoyt A. Stearns Jr. wrote:
AC was an excellent choice! DC causes enormous problems with electrolysis of the infrastructure -e.g. plating off of the conductors, electrolysis, corrosion in general.
Sure. I think everyone sees the advantages of AC for distributed electricity. My point is that in the future, if electricity never travels more than a few meters inside your house, DC might be a safer choice.
As I said in the book, in the longer term all devices will be self-powered, with no wires in the house. Devices that need electricity (and not just heat) will generate AC or DC as needed, internally. I suppose small gadgets such as computers will have thermoelectric chips, and big gadgets such as cars will use steam turbines. I expect most gadgets take DC. Many, such as electric lights, don't care, so they will be supplied with whatever is cheaper -- probably DC. Electrocution will no longer be a threat, but we will have to deal with all that waste heat in the house.
A wide variety of machines such as refrigerators can run with heat alone, or with heat engines without electricity. Engineers may become less dependent on electricity in the future.
- Jed
