This led him to invent the bifilar and soft iron oscillographs. These instruments won the grand prize at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. They were more powerful than the classical stroboscope, invented in 1891 then in use. They remained the best way to record high-speed electrical phenomena for more than 40 years when they were replaced by the cathode ray oscilloscope. They paved the way for a greater understanding of the behavior of alternating current.