The next time darkness is swallowed by light as you put on your electric bulb, plug your power-hungry smartphone to an electric source, or take a cold drink from your refrigerator; you should have in mind to thank the man who made those processes possible. Care to know his name?
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Please, Meet Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was born on 10 July 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was a priest in the Serbian Orthodox church, while his mother managed the family’s farm, and was an inventor in her own right, making several household appliances.
Tesla studied Maths and Physics at the Technical University of Graz and Philosophy at the University of Prague. In 1882, while on a walk, he came up with the idea for a brushless AC motor, making the first sketches in the sand of the path.
Later that year, he moved to Paris and got a job repairing direct current (DC) power plants with the Continental Edison Company. Two years later he immigrated to the United States.
Welcome to America
Tesla arrived in New York in 1884 and was hired as an engineer by Thomas Edison. He worked there for a year, impressing Edison with his genius. At one point Edison, told Tesla he would pay him $50,000 (equivalent to $1 million today) for an improved design of his DC dynamos which he was having problems with.
After months of experimentation, Tesla presented a solution and asked for the money. Edison reneged on the deal, telling him: “Tesla, you don’t understand our American humour.” Tesla quit soon after.
The Battle of Currents
Shortly after this, Tesla went on to work more extensively on his alternating current electrical system. This disagreement eventually resulted in the war of currents as Edison fought to protect his investment in direct current equipment and facilities.
Tesla pointed out the inefficiency of Edison’s direct current electrical system, which required that a power plant be built every square mile because it couldn’t transmit electricity very far. The secret, he felt, lay in the use of alternating current, and unlike direct current which flows continuously in one direction; alternating current changes direction 50 or 60 times per second and can be stepped up to very high voltage levels, minimizing power loss across great distances.
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This was the future of electricity, and is the system used for electricity transmission globally till date! Notice how for the AC system, the current is stepped down from 100 A at the generating station to 10 A for transmission, then stepped back up to 100 A for use in homes.
Tesla’s Other Inventions
One day, George Westinghouse visited Tesla’s laboratory and was amazed at what he saw. Tesla had constructed a polyphase system consisting of an alternating current dynamo, step-up and step-down transformers and A.C. motor at the other end.
In February 1882, Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field, the fundamental principle that is applied to nearly all devices that use alternating current. Also, his A.C. induction motor is widely used throughout the world in industry and household appliances, and paved the way for the second industrial revolution.
Furthermore, he invented electric oscillators, metres, improved lights and the high-voltage transformer known as the Tesla coil. He also experimented with X-rays, gave short-range demonstrations of radio communication two years before Guglielmo Marconi, and piloted a radio-controlled boat around a pool in Madison Square Garden. He also partnered with General Electric to install AC generators at Niagara Falls in New York, creating the first modern power station.
So many are Nikola Tesla’s contributions to the world and despite his former employer, Thomas Edison’s plan to scuttle his work, he won The Battle of Currents as his alternating current system is the global standard for electrical transmission till date.
He is respected the world over for his numerous inventions, and was honoured with the International Unit of Magnetic Flux Density which was named Tesla, after him.
His Death
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He died in his two-room suite in a New York hotel, which served as his residence on January 7th, 1943. A state funeral was held in his honour, after which his remains was cremated, his ashes interred in a golden sphere (his favourite shape) and is now on permanent display at the Tesla Museum in Belgrade along with his death mask.
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