First AC Hydroelectric Plant at Willamette Falls
Poet involved
What happened
The nation's first alternating current (AC) hydroelectric plant, the Willamette Falls Station, begins operation in Oregon City, Oregon. This shift to AC was crucial for the long-distance transmission of electricity, as it allowed for higher voltages and lower losses than DC. The plant's success at Willamette Falls demonstrated the superiority of AC for large-scale power distribution, paving the way for the widespread electrification of cities and industries.
Literary impact
The triumph of AC over DC in the 'War of the Currents' was a major technological and cultural event of the late 19th century. This development is part of the context for the electrification of urban life that poets and writers such as Walt Whitman and later the Imagists and Modernists would respond to. The invisible, powerful currents of electricity became a potent metaphor for new, unseen forces shaping the modern world, a theme explored in early modernist poetry.
Source: Wikipedia
