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Object numberCHREM:2013.19
Object categoryindustry equipment
Object nameMather and Platt Ltd rotary converter
DescriptionMather and Platt Ltd rotary converter, green. From AC to DC - Electricity can be made as either AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current). Most systems from the 1880s were DC, but by the 1920s the benefits of AC led most engineers to prefer it. AC became the chosen system for transmission and distribution because it could be carried over long distances. Its voltage was also easily changeable using transformers, unlike DC. This all left a mixture of AC and DC systems around the UK by the 1930s. Machines like this rotary converter were effectively patches for the problem, because they could convert alternating current or AC into direct current or DC. Owners of older equipment used machines like this in factories full of DC motors, or power companies used them to power older DC neighbourhoods from new AC lines
Production date 1920-01-01 - 1949-12-31
Persons keywordMather and Platt Ltd, Manchester
Materialmetal
Dimensions
- Height: 1560 mm
Width: 3290 mm
Depth: 1790 mm