Alexanderson alternator
Because of the extremely high rotational speed compared to a conventional alternator, the Alexanderson alternator required continuous maintenance by skilled personnel. Efficient lubrication and oil or water cooling was essential for reliability which was difficult to achieve with the lubricants available at the time. In fact, early editions of the Royal Navy's "Admiralty Handbook of Wireless Telegraphy" cover this in considerable detail, mostly as an explanation as to why the navy did not use that particular technology. However, the US Navy did.