Monocyclic power: a novel but short-lived power distribution system

This paper provides a brief history of the monocyclic power system, which was rendered obsolete because of its technical complexity and by the development of the three-phase power distribution system. Primarily developed for the General Electric Company as a means of avoiding possible infringement of the Tesla patents, the monocyclic power system was decidedly inferior to the power transmission efficiency of the three-phase system, which eventually became universal for power delivery purposes. Nevertheless, the Steinmetz monocyclic circuit, which converts constant voltage into constant current and vice versa, remains a basic electrical circuit concept that may still have applications in various types of today's electronic circuitry.