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Tesla recognized the potential of using water to generate power, such as in the case of Hoover Dam, even though the technology was still in its experimental phase at the time.
iStockphoto/ThinkstockImagine a world devoid of electric light, motors, pumps, fans, refrigerators, or elevators. No microwave, no radio, or television. The next time you flip a switch, think of Nikola Tesla. More than any other inventor, Tesla brought the electric age to life. Yet, 70 years after his passing, and over a century after his groundbreaking inventions, his name is less recognized than that of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, or the Wright Brothers.
Tesla pioneered the essential tools of the electrical era: the alternating current generator, the AC motor, and the system for transmitting electrical power. The advancements of the 20th century relied heavily on the foundation Tesla established.
Tesla's inquisitive nature led him to venture beyond electrical and mechanical inventions. He created a 'magnifier coil' that elevated electricity to extraordinarily high frequencies and voltages [source: PBS]. This current emitted electromagnetic waves, which held vast potential. The term 'wireless' is now commonplace in the world of computer networks, a principle Tesla uncovered over a century ago.
While Tesla is often compared to Thomas Edison, he was, in many respects, Edison's polar opposite. Edison famously claimed that invention was '1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration' [source: Creativecreativity.com]. However, Tesla was primarily a man of inspiration, a true visionary. Edison, a self-taught inventor, focused on practical solutions, whereas Tesla, with his extensive technical education, dreamed of world-changing technologies. Edison was a master of commercialization; Tesla, on the other hand, lacked business acumen. One commonality they did share was their ability to function on minimal sleep, with Tesla often working from 10:30 a.m. until 5 a.m. the following day [source: PBS].
Throughout his life, Tesla did not receive the recognition or financial rewards he deserved for many of his groundbreaking inventions. For instance, Guglielmo Marconi is often credited with inventing radio, even though his equipment was based on Tesla's ideas. It is only in recent years that Tesla has gained broader recognition for his immense contributions to modern technology. Today, one of the leading electric car companies is named Tesla Motors, underscoring the lasting significance of his work.
Tesla's Background
Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 to a Serbian Orthodox priest in Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While his father hoped he would follow in his religious footsteps, Nikola's mother, an inventor herself who created household devices like an eggbeater, inspired him more. As a teenager, after recovering from an illness, he convinced his father to send him to technical school. Aspiring to become an engineer, Tesla studied mechanics and electricity at the Austrian Polytechnic School in Graz, Austria [source: Vujovic].
As a young boy, Tesla had seen an image of Niagara Falls and instantly envisioned a massive millwheel harnessing its power. This early vision exemplified Tesla's extraordinary mind. He could solve complex calculus problems in his head and had a photographic memory. But it was his remarkable ability to visualize ideas that truly set him apart: concepts would materialize in his mind fully formed, almost like vivid hallucinations.
But his brilliance had a down side. In his 20s, the tall, rail-thin Tesla endured a nervous breakdown that made him hypersensitive -- the sound of a ticking watch tormented him and he found sunlight oppressive. Throughout his life, he suffered from phobias and compulsions.
Tesla took an early interest in alternating current (AC). At the time, experiments with motors and lighting used direct current (DC), like the current that flows from a battery. DC motors were inefficient, but no one could imagine how an AC motor would work. One day, while walking in a park discussing poetry, Tesla had a sudden insight about how to make an AC motor a reality.
His idea for using alternating current baffled experts in Europe. In 1884, the 28-year-old Tesla decided to travel to New York and present his ideas to Thomas Edison. He described his notions about AC to the great inventor, but Edison wasn't interested. Instead, he hired Tesla to work on his direct current equipment. The two men didn't hit it off -- Tesla quit after Edison failed to pay him for completing a job.
With no money, Tesla went to work digging ditches to earn a living. But his fortunes were about to turn.
Direct current consists of electrons chugging along a conductor in one direction. Alternating current reverses that direction 60 times per second. To make an electric motor, you need to change the polarity, the north-south charge, of a fixed electromagnetic piece of metal called a stator. A magnetic rotor, continuously trying to align itself with the changing polarity of the stator, spins to provide power. DC motors use a sparking mechanical commutator to change that polarity. AC motors change the current direction electrically. Once Tesla figured how to match AC current to a motor's electromagnets, he achieved one of his most important breakthroughs [source: PBS].
The Triumph of Tesla's Alternating Current
Edison had already enrolled numerous customers for his DC electricity system, running wires throughout the streets of New York City and wiring their homes. However, George Westinghouse was working on a rival AC system and recognized that Tesla's groundbreaking inventions could provide him with a significant advantage over Edison.
Tesla realized that AC was a far more efficient method for driving motors and powering lights. Even more crucial, AC could be 'stepped up' using wire coils. Through the process of induction, low-voltage in one coil could be transformed into high voltage in another. High-voltage current could be transmitted through wires with greater efficiency, only to be stepped down for home use. Tesla's circuits laid the groundwork for the transformers commonly seen on electrical poles today. In contrast, direct current couldn't be stepped up. To transmit DC over long distances, thicker wires would be required.
Although AC was known before Tesla's work, he developed a comprehensive system of generators, transmission lines, motors, lighting, and other circuitry that made AC a viable alternative to DC. In 1887, Tesla filed seven patents related to his AC innovations, which were granted without challenge. The rights to these patents were purchased by Westinghouse in 1888.
DC wasn't completely obsolete—yet. Westinghouse and Edison engaged in what came to be known as the 'War of the Currents.' In a bold move, Edison claimed that AC was too dangerous for public use. His position gained traction when one of Edison's associates, Harold Brown, arranged for a Westinghouse AC generator to be used for the execution of a condemned criminal in 1890 [source: PBS].
However, Westinghouse, equipped with the Tesla patents, demonstrated that alternating current (AC) was far more efficient. The decisive moment in the War of the Currents occurred at the grand Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893-94. Westinghouse offered power at a much lower cost than Edison, winning the contract to electrify the fair using the Tesla system. When the exposition opened, thousands of lamps flickered to life, impressing visitors and dispelling public doubts about AC. This pivotal moment marked the widespread adoption of AC as the standard power system.
Tesla's childhood dream came true with the realization of a power-generating plant at Niagara Falls. In 1890, investors took a bold risk on AC and hydroelectric power, both still experimental technologies. A long wait was finally rewarded in 1896 when Tesla's generators began delivering electricity. This power eventually reached New York City, illuminating Broadway. As hydroelectric plants spread worldwide, the age of electrical power had truly begun.
Although the War of the Currents had ended, Nikola Tesla had already moved on to even more groundbreaking and visionary inventions.
Tesla Embarks on Uncharted Territory
Even the simplest electric current creates a magnetic field. When alternating current (AC) oscillates at a high voltage, it generates electromagnetic waves. In 1888, Heinrich Hertz discovered these waves, and many inventors soon began exploring ways to harness them for wireless communication and other uses.
Tesla was deeply intrigued by high-frequency waves. By experimenting with them, he achieved several breakthroughs:
- Illuminate lamps filled with neon gas, a revolutionary lighting method that didn't require a glowing filament—the gas itself emitted the light.
- Make vacuum tubes glow remotely, without any direct physical connection to the wave source.
- Heat a metal bar to an extraordinarily high temperature.
- Detect waves transmitted from his New York City lab even 50 miles (80 kilometers) away in West Point, N.Y.
While many inventors contributed to the evolution of radio, Guglielmo Marconi received the Nobel Prize for its invention in 1909. Tesla resented the lack of acknowledgment for his earlier, groundbreaking contributions, which he had patented long before Marconi's initial prototypes. In 1943, months after Tesla's death, the U.S. Supreme Court finally acknowledged that Tesla's patents laid the foundation for Marconi's achievement [source: PBS].
Tesla envisioned another potential use for the waves: transmitting electrical energy wirelessly over large distances. In 1898, he relocated to Colorado Springs, where he constructed massive coils—now known as Tesla coils—that generated extreme voltages. With these coils, he was able to produce artificial lightning, power 200 bulbs from 25 miles (40 km) away, and conduct experiments to send energy through the air or even the earth [source: Redshaw].
A year later, Tesla returned to New York and persuaded banker J.P. Morgan to support his vision for a system that could enable wireless communication across the globe, transmitting news, mail, and even images. Tesla also remained focused on his dream of transmitting electrical power. He built a laboratory named Wardenclyffe on Long Island, where he constructed a 187-foot-high (57-meter-high) wooden tower and drove steel pipes deep into the earth. However, as costs spiraled, Morgan withdrew his funding. Deep in debt, Tesla was forced to demolish the tower and abandon the project in 1905. Nevertheless, he continued to believe that wireless power transmission was achievable throughout his life.
During this period, Tesla used electromagnetic waves to create a radio-controlled boat. He discovered that at extremely high voltages, his homemade vacuum tubes emitted rays capable of penetrating solid materials. Tesla was one of the pioneers in experimenting with X-rays, which he referred to as 'shadowgraphs' [sources: Vujovic, Hrabak et al.]. Over time, Tesla’s work with high-frequency waves laid the groundwork for a variety of innovations, including microwave ovens and cathode ray tubes for television sets.
Tesla took a different path from contemporaries like Edison, exploring the uncharted realm of high-frequency electricity and radio waves. His bold ventures into these new technologies paved the way for many subsequent inventors.
One of the key principles Tesla relied on was electrical resonance. A conductor, which we would now call an antenna, could capture electromagnetic waves even from hundreds of miles away. However, to isolate a specific wave from a mix of frequencies, the receiver had to be 'tuned' to resonate at that frequency. This principle is similar to how a violin string resonates when matched to a tuning fork. Tesla invented a method to tune electric circuits, a technique that remains in use today, allowing us to 'tune in' to radio or television broadcasts [source: Intuitor.com].
Tesla's Legacy
An engraving depicts inventor Nikola Tesla giving a lecture to the French Physical Society and The International Society of Electricians during the 1880s.
Kean Collection/Getty ImagesTesla, always known for his eccentricities, is now believed to have had obsessive-compulsive disorder. As he grew older, his peculiar habits became more apparent. He developed a fear of germs and washed his hands compulsively. He would only consume boiled food, and he had an obsession with the number three. He even claimed to receive messages from outer space. In his later years, he became deeply fond of pigeons, which he would sneak into his hotel room.
In 1891, George Westinghouse's company was nearly bankrupt. To support the man who had believed in him, Tesla chose to forgo the royalties he was entitled to from his AC patents. Although he could have earned millions, he was left financially destitute. Westinghouse passed away in 1914 without ever fully compensating Tesla for his groundbreaking contributions.
Tesla, however, did not stop inventing. Over the course of his life, he secured at least 275 patents [source: Twenty First Century Books]. His legacy includes numerous innovations, many of which he was unable to fully pursue during his lifetime:
- In 1904, he developed an efficient bladeless turbine, but the device failed to find commercial success.
- He proposed harnessing geothermal, solar, and wind energy for electric power generation.
- He hypothesized the existence of the ionosphere, the electrically charged layer of the Earth's atmosphere, years before its discovery.
- He patented a version of the spark plug used in gasoline engines.
- He invented the first electric clock based on mechanical vibrations.
- His final patent was for a vertical-take-off flying machine, which would only come to fruition much later.
Not all of Tesla's visions came to fruition. His dream of transmitting power wirelessly was never realized, and he rejected Einstein's groundbreaking theories, which would go on to shape modern physics. During and after World War I, Tesla pursued the concept of a "death ray," but it remained confined to the realm of science fiction, never becoming a reality outside of films [source: PBS].
Tesla passed away in 1943, impoverished and alone in a New York City hotel at the age of 86. In the aftermath of his death, many of his manuscripts vanished. With World War II in full swing, some believed that the FBI had taken them for potential military purposes. His belongings were eventually returned to Yugoslavia, but questions remain: Were his papers truly complete? And did others quietly carry forward his work in secret? Conspiracy theories continue to circulate to this day.
In 1915, Tesla made a bold prediction: "One day, there will be six massive wireless telephone stations worldwide, connecting all of humanity not only through voice but through sight as well" [source: Cheney]. Does that sound familiar? Could it be your cell phone or mine?
