Page:Incandescent electric lighting- A practical description of the Edison system.djvu/50

 the generator would be consumed in overcoming the resistance of the wire. This loss would amount to ten volts, it being much cheaper to waste this amount of energy in the wires, where great distances have to be traversed, than to furnish wires large enough to present no resistance to the passage of the current.

This being the case, the two dynamos shown at A, would be furnishing each 100 volts and 5 ampères, and would be using conducting wires or "Mains" large enough to carry this current. Should we now connect these ten lamps two and two in "Series," that is, two on the same wire as shown at B, between the outside wires of the two dynamos, and then connect the dynamos together by a short wire, we should be enabled to dispense with two of the mains leading from the generators to the lamps.

As the lamps were first arranged, it was only necessary to have a pressure of ninety volts, in this arrangement, however, two lamps being coupled together in series, their resistance is doubled, and