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Tasks: The Current War

Black and white photo: We see a circular metal structure that is exposed to electric current, and we see a discharge of light coming from the structure.
The Tesla coil converts direct current to alternating current. Govva: Science photo library / CC BY-NC 4.0

Discuss:

How did the work of Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla change the world?

Analyse:

Work with one or more partners, discuss the tasks and write your answers together.

  1. Current is a word that can have many different meanings. How do you interpret the title of the film?

  2. Rewatch the opening (00:00:20 - 00:00:54) and closing scenes (01:36:50- 01:37:37). Why do you think the filmmakers chose to start and end the film this way?

  3. Describe two cinematic techniques that you observe in the film, and suggest what is achieved by using these techniques.

  4. Describe how the three men – Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla – are portrayed in the film.

Translate:

Much translation requires professional vocabulary and this can take years to develop. In the box below you will find a translation of a text about electric current that is intended to be fairly simple to understand. Work with a partner or in a group and translate the text into Norwegian.

When you have finished translating the text, discuss:

  1. Was it a difficult task? If so, what specifically made it difficult?

  2. Did you understand the text fully?

  3. What part of the text is easiest to understand, and what part of the text is hardest?

What is electric current?

An electric current is a flow of an electric charge between two points. Imagine it being like water in a river carrying energy. The electric charge in the electrons causes resistors in light bulbs and electric fires to heat up. It also creates magnetic fields in motors, inductors, and generators.

Source: Link to upsbatterycenter: a simple explanation of what electric current is.

If you want a challenge, translate the text below.

A more challenging text to translate:

Below, you will find a text from Wikipedia about a rotating magnetic field. Practical application of a rotating magnetic field in an AC motor is generally attributed to two inventors, the Italian physicist and electrical engineer Galileo Ferraris and the Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla.

Rotating magnetic field

A rotating magnetic field is the resultant magnetic field produced by a system of coils symmetrically placed and supplied with polyphase currents. A rotating magnetic field can be produced by a poly-phase (two or more phases) current or by a single phase current provided that, in the latter case, two field windings are supplied and are so designed that the two resulting magnetic fields generated are thereby out of phase.

Rotating magnetic fields are often utilised for electromechanical applications, such as induction motors, electric generators and induction regulators.

Soruce: Link to entry about rotating magnetic field on Wikipedia.

Translation tips

  • If you are uncertain whether you have found the correct word in Norwegian, try making an image search for the word and the English translation. Do you get the same types of images?

  • Is it likely that there are texts about this topic in Norwegian? If so, use these texts as example texts.

  • Do you know anyone who has expertise in this area? Ask them to help you with the translation.

Research:

Make a short presentation about one of the people below. Focus on their professional lives. Share your presentation in a group.

  • Thomas Alva Edison

  • George Westinghouse

  • Nikola Tesla

Write:

Pick one of the tasks and write a longer text. Remember to include your sources.

  1. Choose an invention that you believe has changed the world. Write a text where you discuss its significance.

  2. Write an analysis of the film The Current War.


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The Current War

The Current War tells the story of the rivalry between Thomas Alva Edison and George Westinghouse.