why 110 volts?...
My understanding of the history of 110V supply in the USA was the first power distribution was at 110V DC, the voltage was chosen because it was believed (not sure if it is correct or not) that 110V DC was the highest DC voltage that could not cause electrocution. I read many years ago, can't remember where, that around the late 1800s and early 1900s, 110V was considered the highest "safe"DC voltage and 32 Volts was the highest "safe" AC voltage, which is also why most single-home lighting plants in rural areas used 32 Volts - though the plants were mostly DC, some were AC.
Edison provided DC 110V but the limitations of DC technology at the time meant the electricity had to be generated at the same voltage as final supply, there was no way to step down a higher DC voltage to a lower final voltage, so the DC power stations could only supply a radius of about 1 mile. Power plants were thus small and everywhere.
Westinghouse developed AC systems that generated and distributed power at several thousand volts,AC, and used transformers at the end to supply the final voltage - also 110V as I understand it. (Transformers work on AC only.) Westinghouse's system was much cheaper to supply power, and they were winning contracts left and right to supply new areas.
Edison's company and their allies fought back, advertising that AC was lethal and DC was safe, including public demonstrations of shocking stray dogs with first DC (they survived) and then DC (they died.) There were genuinely many deaths from AC in the early days, in part because there was little regulation and high voltage AC transmission wires were often run close to low voltage telegraph lines, so shorts between the two systems lead to linesmen on the telegraph wires being electrocuted. Edison's very heavy DC supply cables were run underground.
Interestingly, Edison's allies worked to make sure that the first electric chair would be supplied by Westinghouse generators, and when there was discussion of what to call "execution by electricity", they suggested the term "Westinghoused." (Dynamort and Electromort were also suggested, before "electrocuted" was chosen as the preferred term.)
Over time AC systems were made safer and became the main standard, but the initial selection of 110 Volts DC by Edison lead to the standard US voltage remaining 110 Volts even as areas changed to AC.
This has cost the US $millions over the years in heavier cables, higher currents and shorter distances covered after each transformer.
Other countries that adopted electricity later chose to double the supply voltage for efficiency reasons. To to this day we still have a mess of different voltages and frequencies around the world.
The link below tells the interesting tale of the "War of the Currents", the battle between Edison DC and Westinghouse AC in the early days of electric supply.
en.wikipedia.org
My understanding of the history of 110V supply in the USA was the first power distribution was at 110V DC, the voltage was chosen because it was believed (not sure if it is correct or not) that 110V DC was the highest DC voltage that could not cause electrocution. I read many years ago, can't remember where, that around the late 1800s and early 1900s, 110V was considered the highest "safe"DC voltage and 32 Volts was the highest "safe" AC voltage, which is also why most single-home lighting plants in rural areas used 32 Volts - though the plants were mostly DC, some were AC.
Edison provided DC 110V but the limitations of DC technology at the time meant the electricity had to be generated at the same voltage as final supply, there was no way to step down a higher DC voltage to a lower final voltage, so the DC power stations could only supply a radius of about 1 mile. Power plants were thus small and everywhere.
Westinghouse developed AC systems that generated and distributed power at several thousand volts,AC, and used transformers at the end to supply the final voltage - also 110V as I understand it. (Transformers work on AC only.) Westinghouse's system was much cheaper to supply power, and they were winning contracts left and right to supply new areas.
Edison's company and their allies fought back, advertising that AC was lethal and DC was safe, including public demonstrations of shocking stray dogs with first DC (they survived) and then DC (they died.) There were genuinely many deaths from AC in the early days, in part because there was little regulation and high voltage AC transmission wires were often run close to low voltage telegraph lines, so shorts between the two systems lead to linesmen on the telegraph wires being electrocuted. Edison's very heavy DC supply cables were run underground.
Interestingly, Edison's allies worked to make sure that the first electric chair would be supplied by Westinghouse generators, and when there was discussion of what to call "execution by electricity", they suggested the term "Westinghoused." (Dynamort and Electromort were also suggested, before "electrocuted" was chosen as the preferred term.)
Over time AC systems were made safer and became the main standard, but the initial selection of 110 Volts DC by Edison lead to the standard US voltage remaining 110 Volts even as areas changed to AC.
This has cost the US $millions over the years in heavier cables, higher currents and shorter distances covered after each transformer.
Other countries that adopted electricity later chose to double the supply voltage for efficiency reasons. To to this day we still have a mess of different voltages and frequencies around the world.
The link below tells the interesting tale of the "War of the Currents", the battle between Edison DC and Westinghouse AC in the early days of electric supply.
, but there was A LOT of investigation put into the effects of voltage levels, types, and current levels all through the 'electric chair' era (not just by Edison) to try to make corporal punishment "more humane". Very much in line with the popularity at the time in the "rise of morality, clean living, progressiveness & purity", etc.
