Why does Europe run at 50 and the U.S. run at 60 cycles per second?

Question

Why is Europe at 50 cycles and America at 60? I know that the television system in both regions are based upon these cycles and that's how they came up with pal versus the American system of TV broadcasting.

Answer 1

It was choice made by competing electrical companies in the early years of power generation when companies in the U.S. and those in England were trying to get out from under each others patents. The higher voltage in Europe is more efficient (smaller wires for the same wattage) but the lower in the U.S. is partly a consequence of Edison's company, which wanted DC and connected AC to the electric chair. The TV is tied to the frequency because it is easy and if they were different, certain frequency bars could appear on the screen (like 60 or 50 cycle hum on speaker systems.)

Answer 2

Part may be due to the availability of high-efficiency silicon-steel transformers in the US, which enabled use of higher frequency current with less loss due to eddy currents.
BTW, NTSC (used in US and Canada, among others) refresh rate is not exactly 60 Hz: it's 59.94 fields per second.
In addition to PAL, there is also a SECAM standard.
Perhaps anther reason was protection of domestic industry: make clocks, phonographs etc. incompatible, and consumers must buy a "local" product.

Answer 3

The topic is similar to use of different units of measurement:
Europe uses SI units while USA/ U.K continue using customary F.P.S system .

The synchronous speed of a generator is related to generated alternating current frequency by relationship f = p x n/120
where , f = cycles/sec. n= rpm, p = number of poles. of generator . The generation frequency is thus choice of the Agency/ Authority to meet compatibility with need of the consumers and standards. Reason behind differences in standard adopted by USA and Europe for a.c frequency , are more customery than scientific., similar to unit of measurement refered above.