- British electrical
engineer who established the principle of a national grid and an electricity-generating
system based on alternating current (AC) (successfully arguing against
Thomas Edison's proposal). He brought electricity to much of central
London. In 1881 he made and sold his first alternator.
Ferranti also designed, constructed, and experimented with many other
electrical and mechanical devices, including high-tension cables, circuit
breakers, transformers, turbines, and spinning machines.
Ferranti was born in Liverpool. He started his own company at 18, in
partnership with Irish physicist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), to design
and manufacture the Thomson-Ferranti alternator and install lighting
systems. He was chief engineer with the London Electric Supply Company
1887-92, and worked on the design of a large power station at Deptford.
He set up a company in Oldham, Lancashire, 1896, to design and build
all kinds of electrical equipment, most of which was designed by Ferranti
himself, and to develop high-voltage systems for long-distance transmission.
He was also involved with heat engines of various kinds.
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