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Nikola TeslaPhysicist, greatest inventor
Date of Birth: 09.07.1856
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Content:
- Nikola Tesla: The Forgotten Genius
- The Grand and Dangerous Experiment
- A Life of Obsession and Energy
- The Encounter with Edison and the Battle of the Currents
- Struggles and Triumphs
- The Unconventional Experiments and Legacy
- The Tragic End and Legacy
Nikola Tesla: The Forgotten Genius
Nikola Tesla, born on July 10, 1856 in the village of Smiljan (Croatia), was an inventor in the field of electrical engineering and radio technology, as well as an engineer and physicist. Many consider him the greatest inventor in history, unjustly rarely mentioned in physics textbooks. He discovered alternating current, fluorescent light, wireless energy transmission, and developed the principles of remote control. He also pioneered the use of high-frequency currents in medical treatments, built the first electric clocks, and even created a solar-powered engine, among many other inventions. He obtained 300 patents for his inventions in different countries. He invented radio before Marconi and Popov and developed three-phase current before Dolivo-Dobrovolsky. Today's modern electrical power systems would not be possible without his discoveries.

The Grand and Dangerous Experiment
In 1899, Tesla conducted a grand and dangerous experiment from his laboratory in Colorado Springs. He built a tower several tens of meters high, topped with a large copper sphere. When the device was turned on, sparks would create discharges up to forty meters in length. The lightning was accompanied by thunderous rolls heard for fifteen miles. A massive ball of light enveloped the tower, causing people on the streets to fearfully retreat as sparks ran between their feet and the ground. Horses received electric shocks through their iron horseshoes, and blue halos known as "St. Elmo's Fire" appeared on metallic objects. Tesla's goal was not to scare people, but rather to achieve something else, and he succeeded: twenty-five miles away from the tower, 200 light bulbs lit up to the applause of the spectators. Electric charge had been transmitted without any wires. Nikola Tesla, the author of this experiment, was hailed as the "Master of Lightning" by his friend Mark Twain and was called the "Inspired Prophet of Electricity" by the great Rutherford.
A Life of Obsession and Energy
Tesla's obsession knew no bounds. He only slept for four hours a day, with two of those hours spent contemplating ideas. In addition to his work in electrical engineering, Tesla was also a linguist and poet. He spoke eight languages fluently, had a deep knowledge of music and philosophy, and wrote poetry. He possessed an indefinable quality that was present throughout his life. This quality first appeared during his childhood. From the age of five, Nikola suffered from unusual phobias and obsessive ideas. In a state of excitement, he would see intense flashes of light and have fantastic visions that filled his mind. He would read books voraciously, devouring them with manic determination. The heroes in these books sparked in him a desire to become a "higher being." Through various exercises of willpower, he pushed himself to exhaustion and often fell into a trance-like state.
The Encounter with Edison and the Battle of the Currents
While studying at the Polytechnic Institute in Graz and later at Prague University, Tesla had the idea for an induction generator of alternating current in 1880. When he shared this idea with Professor Peschl, it was dismissed as absurd. However, this rejection only fueled Tesla's determination, and in 1882, he built a working model. To announce his discovery to the world and gain recognition, Tesla decided to discuss his invention with the great Edison. He sold everything he had to buy a ticket for a transatlantic steamship. In 1884, he arrived in New York and went straight to Edison.
Thomas Alva Edison, the "Wizard of Menlo Park," graciously listened to his guest. Although Edison was only nine years older than Tesla, he was already at the height of his fame. Edison's inventions, such as the carbon microphone, the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and the dynamo machine, had made him a millionaire. However, all of Edison's work in electricity was based on direct current. And here was this Serbian immigrant with fiery eyes talking about alternating current. It was nonsense, of course, but Tesla had the potential to become a dangerous competitor. Sensing the threat, Edison offered Tesla a job in his company to improve his direct current generators. Although working for Edison, Tesla continued to refine his alternating current system and obtained a patent for it in October 1887. Thus began the "War of the Currents" between the two great inventors. Edison, cursing Tesla as an "ungrateful upstart," publicly criticized Tesla's generators. In response, Tesla challenged Edison: "If you're so sure you're right, why don't you let me test my system at your facility?". Surprisingly, Edison agreed and even promised Tesla $50,000 if he could electrify one of his factories using his own method. Edison believed it was impossible. Tesla prepared twenty-four devices and quickly accomplished the task. The economic impact surpassed all expectations. Edison was stunned but refused to pay, claiming it was all a joke. "Well, it was a joke. Don't you have a sense of humor?" Tesla retorted.
Struggles and Triumphs
After the fallout with Edison, Tesla found himself unemployed and broke. Determined to stand on his own two feet, he founded his own company, Tesla Electric Light Company, in 1887 with the financial support of James Carmen. A year later, a fateful day arrived in Tesla's life. On May 16, 1888, Tesla presented his invention at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and demonstrated it to the public. Among the attendees was millionaire George Westinghouse, the inventor of the air brake system for trains. Tesla's presentation astounded Westinghouse, who offered him one million dollars for his patents plus royalties. An agreement was reached, and Westinghouse Electric Company realized Tesla's inventions by constructing a hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls.
With newfound financial independence, Tesla continued his research. In 1888, he discovered the rotating magnetic field and built high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency generators. In 1891, he created the resonant transformer, capable of producing high-voltage alternating current with amplitudes of several million volts.
The Unconventional Experiments and Legacy
Visitors to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago were amazed by the strange and terrifying demonstrations performed daily by the skinny, nervous man with the peculiar surname. With astonishing calmness, Tesla subjected himself to electric currents with a voltage of two million volts, passing through an ordinary automobile from which the gasoline engine had been removed and replaced with an electric motor. Tesla attached a small box under the car hood, and two metal rods extended from it. After extending the rods, Tesla said, "Now we have power." He then sat in the driver's seat, pressed the pedal, and the car started moving. He drove it for a week, reaching speeds of up to 150 km/h. There were no batteries or accumulators on the car.
"Where does the energy come from?" perplexed scientists asked Tesla. He calmly replied, "From the ether that surrounds us." Rumors of the electrician's madness spread once again. This angered Tesla, who removed the magical box from the car and returned to his laboratory, burying the secret of his electric car once and for all.
It would be strange if the military had not shown interest in Tesla's extraordinary technologies. In the 1930s, Tesla worked on secret projects under the code name N.Terbo at the RCA Corporation. These projects included wireless energy transmission for enemy attack, the creation of resonant weapons, and attempts to control time. There are numerous versions and speculations about these projects, making it nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction.
The Tragic End and Legacy
Nikola Tesla, a genius who had devoted his life to his work, died in 1943 in his laboratory, impoverished. The millions he had during his time with Westinghouse were completely lost in the failed Wardenclyffe project. It seemed that the world was not ready for his discoveries. In the 1930s, Tesla refused to accept the Nobel Prize awarded to him jointly with Edison. He could never forgive the "King of Inventors" for his deceit and the "black PR" against alternating current. Tesla desperately needed the prestige that would help him find funding for his research, and by rejecting the prize, he dealt a fatal blow to himself. Many of his outstanding works were lost to future generations, and most of his diaries and manuscripts disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Some believe that Nikola burned them himself at the beginning of World War II, realizing that the knowledge contained within them was too dangerous for humanity's recklessness.
Of all Tesla's achievements, only one, the "Tesla coil," is usually mentioned in physics textbooks. Furthermore, a unit of magnetic induction is named after him.
If it is true that geniuses are sent to Earth from the heavens, then the heavenly chancellery must have hurried with the birth of Nikola Tesla. Or perhaps there is a special lesson in prematurity?