Chapter 75 Discussion

"Your Majesty the Duke, I agree with Greece building power stations as basic energy and making full use of Greece's few resources - lignite. However, I have a question, why did you choose alternating current instead of direct current?" Kang Torriotis brought up old matters again.

"Is there any risk in such a choice? If future power development proves that DC is more promising, what about the AC system that Greece spent huge amounts of money to build?"

Judging from the attitude of Kontoriotis frequently asking questions, Constantine can be sure that this business representative living in Egypt is indeed moved.

Otherwise, he would not question it at all. As the saying goes, "the buyers are the ones who find fault."

It was precisely because investing in Greece's cotton textile industry required large sums of money that Contoriotis was eager to understand Constantine's confidence in directly building an alternating current system.

Both DC and AC systems are exclusive, and you cannot build two systems in the same area.

It's like, you can't install pipes from two water companies in one house.

Seeing Contoriotis asking such a professional question, Tesla took the initiative to answer: "Mr. Contoriotis, alternating current has obvious benefits compared to direct current."

"For example, there is the problem of long-distance transmission of DC power. Once the transmission distance of DC power exceeds one kilometer, the voltage will attenuate sharply. Therefore, with the current technical means, if you want to use DC power on a large scale, this is an unsolvable problem. "

"Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that there is a DC power station within one kilometer around every user, otherwise the voltage reduction will not be able to meet the user's needs at all."

"Moreover, in industrial production, DC motors have complex structures and higher costs."

"Alternating current is different. Due to the particularity of alternating current, transformers can be used for long-distance transmission. The higher the power, the lower the loss during the power transmission process. Therefore, using alternating current not only frees users from the limitation of distance, but also Can be transmitted more economically over long distances”

"Moreover, AC motors have a simple structure and are easy to manufacture, making them more conducive to mass production and use."

Kontoriotis listened to Tesla's explanation attentively.

"But my friends in New York, USA, said that Edison, the boss of General Motors and the famous American inventor, is actively promoting the DC system."

When Kontoriotis inquired about the development of the electric power industry, he heard that the electric power industry in the United States was developing rapidly, so he sent a telegram to a friend living in the Greek community in New York to inquire about the news.

After the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, the situation of Greek merchants and Jewish merchants was very similar. They did business all over the world, and most of the more prosperous commercial cities had Greek settlements.

Electric power systems are organized into systems. Since Constantine wants to build an alternating current power station, Contoriotis naturally also wants to purchase textile machines powered by alternating current.

Once alternating current is proven to be unsuitable, or direct current is more suitable for large-scale industrial production, he will suffer huge losses.

When Constantine heard this, he burst into laughter. He did not expect that the dispute between Tesla and Edison over "DC and AC" still happened even after Constantine intervened.

Compared with Tesla, who is still unknown, Edison, who is famous, is indeed much more credible.

It's no wonder that Contoriotis was confused.

Tesla also didn't expect that he had already come to Greece to study alternating current. Across the vast Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, he could still hear news from his former boss Edison, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"In fact, Tesla's discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of direct current and alternating current was exactly what Tesla summed up when he was working in Mr. Edison's laboratory," Constantine took over.

"Mr. Tesla worked in Mr. Edison's research laboratory before. Before coming to Greece, he had been engaged in direct current research in Edison's laboratory, so his views are trustworthy."

Hearing that Contoriotis moved out and Edison questioned his move to develop alternating current, Constantine didn't know how to explain to him for a while.

Nor could he tell Contoriotis that this was Tesla, a great scientist known to the world in the future, who was worthy of trust.

The same alternating current will be popular in the world, which has been proved by history.

He couldn't say this.

The job of attracting investment to Greece is not easy.

"Well, Mr. Kontoriotis, if practice proves that alternating current is not suitable for industrial production compared to direct current, then I will bear the losses caused by your investment in Greece."

Constantine had absolute confidence in alternating current, so he dared to guarantee it.

As soon as this statement came out, everyone except Tesla was surprised.

They were amazed at Constantine's confidence in alternating current.

Hearing that Constantine had such a decisive attitude, Contoriotis also confirmed that Constantine was not young and energetic, but made a decision after careful consideration.

Therefore, he also expressed his attitude and said: "Your Majesty the Duke, in this case, then I will make a decision on behalf of the Greek businessmen group in Alexandria, Egypt, to build a cotton spinning and weaving factory in Greece."

"It's just that I have a condition"

"I hope that the Greek royal family will also invest a certain amount of money and occupy part of the shares."

Kontoriotis looked directly at Constantine.

Constantine was stunned when he heard this, then he thought about it and understood what Kantoriotis was thinking.

There are only two reasons:

First, if the risk of alternating current really caused losses, the losses would not be borne by his family alone.

As for the so-called compensation for losses by Constantine, such a blank check cannot be fully expected.

As for the second reason, it is more complicated, which is the political support behind the business.

Kantoriotis, who started out as a comprador in Egypt, naturally understands the essence of business.

When it comes to capitalism and market economy, many people's first impression is free and fair competition, the spirit of contract, etc.

This is indeed one side of the capitalist market economy, but it is not comprehensive.

If you just want to make a fortune, then relying on the shrewd and excellent management ability of the operator, or the technical ability of the business organization, is feasible.

But if you are not satisfied with this, and want to become an international businessman who can call the wind and rain, it is impossible without the support of political forces behind you.

For example, the cannons produced by Krupp have been famous at home and abroad since the Franco-Prussian War. The Qing Dynasty in Asia knew that Krupp cannons were good and purchased a lot of cannons produced by Krupp.

But what you don’t know is that Kaiser Wilhelm II was a major shareholder of Krupp.

In addition to Wilhelm II, Krupp also has a group of directors with powerful energy. They also contributed to the Krupp cannons that were snapped up by the armies of various countries.