The Big Misconception About Electricity

I did a book report on Nikola Tesla in Jr. High some 50 years ago.  I was impressed with him so much that I continued to read up on him over the years.  It gave me great insight into showmen like Edison and the avarice of George Westinghouse. Our entire global electrical power supply system is due to Tesla.  Hardly the work of a tinkerer.  

Cindy,

Take note: “I was impressed with him so much that I continued to read up on him over the years.”

Engage brain before mouth or in this case keyboard.  Work on your reading comprehension skills.
 

I don’t agree completely with his answer "D". That is true for a small circuit shown in his diagram but for large circuits inductance comes into play and he even alluded to that. In real life his super large circuit is going to take a lot of voltage to overcome the large inductance of that 1000’s of kilometers of wire. It takes time to build and collapse those E/M fields. Old style incadesent bulbs will start glowing almost immediately even as the voltage is building once the switch is closed but LED bulbs will not light up below a certain voltage. I notice that when I flip a switch in a room now it takes a brief moment for the LED bulbs to turn on.

Also, he mentioned that high tension (ie voltage) lines are suspended high in the air to keep away from the damp earth. Isn’t it also due to iron in the earth which would increase the impedance and/or inductance of the wires? Our neighborhood power lines are underground but the high tension wires remain above ground.

PS. I’m a mechanical engineer talking about electricity, I know. But if you all start making fun of me then I’ll start talking about electrical engineers who design electrical connectors.