Electrical icons

language, as it was obviously my fault. I was walking on the pavement.

Suzanne Hussey Toronto Road, Portsmouth

Being retired, I haven’t worn my electrical engineering hat for ages, but I need to correct your Steve Canavan’s hero worship of Thomas Edison in The News Weekend magazine on March 20.

Firstly, Edison and Britain, Joseph Swann invented the electric lightbulb simultaneously although separated by the Atlantic. William Friese-Greene, another Brit, patented (in UK and USA) the first motion picture projector. Edoard-Leon Scott de Martinville invented sound recording nearly 20 years before Edison’s cylinders; German, Emil Berliner invented the first practical phonograph and another German, WK Rontgen discovered X-Rays.

Now Edison did devise the first system of generation and distribution of electricy by direct current to nearby subscribers in New York. However, Serbian Nikola Tesla came up with a system of distribution by alternating current which is much more practical and can be used over very long distances; this is the system used nowadays.

Edison tried every dirty trick in the book to stop Tesla; he was certainly a hard businessman and a lot of his patents were acquired my nefarious means. Tesla also went on to develop the induction coil used in early radio; this was far more important than any radio development Edison ever did.

I think it’s the American film business, Hollywood, and their biopic of Edison that misleads; just like the Royal Navy’s capture of an enigma code machine which in the film became the US Navy. If any young person is interested in the history of electricity, the real main man is Britain, Michael Faraday who discovered many of the principles which have led to today’s wonderous gadgets.

Ignorant

Terry Pearson Portsea

The fact that a hard-working journalist has been effectively stalked by Tommy Robinson and his army of right wing thugs just proves what evil he and his group of supporters are.

I once went to a Brexit protest where Robinson was. His supporters were ignorant, foulmouthed louts. Hence, I didn't take part until the end and went home early.

I spent most of my time on the protest chatting with a very civilised police officer whose family live in Havant anyway.

Journalists should be free to do what they have trained to do and what they