alt Hacker News> If there was anything like a high power transistor back then he would have used that.
Mercury arc rectifiers were used long before his death.
> If there was anything like a high power transistor back then he would have used that.
Mercury arc rectifiers were used long before his death.
Yes, but a rectifier only rectifies. That's not going to give you DC-DC conversion - let alone converting it to a higher voltage for long-distance transmission.