-Caveat Lector-
Dennis, Andrew wrote:
>
> no, Edison invented the electric chair (which uses alternating current)
> as a method of execution to demonstrate that AC was "far more
> dangerous" than DC.
>
> Y'see, because Tesla had the patents for the induction motors and
> generators you need to make cheap AC, Edison couldn't get his snout in
> the trough that Westinghouse (Tesla's employer) was gobbling from.
> Because AC is cheaper to produce and distribute, it was cheaper to the
> customer and therefore more commercially successful. So Edison tried
> to get it banned on safety grounds (broadly equivalent, in logical
> terms, to getting north-bound roads banned as inherently less safe
> than south-bound roads)...
But Edison had too much money invested in his
DC system, so Tommy did his best to discredit
Tesla around every turn. Edison constantly
tried to show that AC electricity was far
more dangerous than his DC power. Tesla
counteracted by staging his own marketing
campaign. At the 1893 World Exposition in
Chicago (attended by 21 million people),
he demonstrated how safe AC electricity was
by passing high frequency AC power through
his body to power light bulbs. He then was
able to shoot large lightning bolts from
his Tesla coils to the crowd without harm.
Nice trick!
<http://home.nycap.rr.com/useless/tesla/tesla.html>
Here's a task for you to try:
Go check your encyclopedia to find the answers to the following questions: (answers
are given in
parentheses)
1) Who invented the radio? (Marconi)
2) Who discovered X-rays? (Roentgen)
3) Who invented the vacuum tube amplifier? (de Forest)
In fact, while you're at it, check to see who discovered the fluorescent bulb, neon
lights,
speedometer, the automobile ignition system, and the basics behind radar, electron
microscope, and
the microwave oven.
Chances are that you will see little mention of a guy named Nikola Tesla, the most
famous scientist
in the world at the turn of the century.
In fact, few people today have ever heard of the guy. Good old Tommy Edison made sure
of that.
After all, Tesla was considered an eccentric who talked of death rays that could
destroy 10,000
airplanes at a distance of 250 miles, claimed to be able split the Earth in two,
believed that both
voice and image could be transmitted through the air (in the late 1800's), and
essentially told
Edison to take his DC electrical system and stick it you know where.
In other words, anyone that has even heard of Tesla probably considers him to be a
first class
wacko.
But, the times are a changin'.
The problem is that Tesla probably could do all these things that he claimed were
possible. In fact,
Tesla invented every single one of the items listed above (but gets no credit) and
much more. Look
around you and chances are Tesla is somehow responsible for most of the things that
make modern life
so modern.
No doubt about it, Nikola Tesla is the greatest mind since da Vinci.
So who is this genius?
Little Nicky Tesla was born in Smijlan, Croatia way back in 1856. He had an
extraordinary memory and
spoke six languages. He spent four years at the Polytechnic Institute at Gratz
studying math,
physics, and mechanics.
What made Tesla great, however, was his amazing understanding of electricity. Remember
that this was
a time when electricity was still in its infancy. The lightbulb hadn't even been
invented yet.
When Tesla first came to the United States in 1884, he worked for Thomas Edison.
Edison had just
patented the lightbulb, so he needed a system to distribute electricity.
Edison had all sorts of problems with his DC system of electricity. He promised Tesla
big bucks in
bonuses if he could get the bugs out of the system. Tesla ended up saving Edison over
$100,000
(millions of $$$ by today's standards), but Edison refused to live up to his end of
the bargain.
Tesla quit and Edison spent the rest of his life trying to squash Tesla's genius (and
the main
reason Tesla is unknown today).
Tesla devised a better system for electrical transmission - the AC (alternating
current) system that
we use in our homes today. AC offered great advantages over the DC system. By using
Tesla's newly
developed transformers, AC voltages could be stepped up and transmitted over long
distances through
thin wires. DC could not (requiring a large power plant every square mile while
transmitting through
very thick cables).
Of course, a system of transmission would be incomplete without devices to run on
them. So, he
invented the motors that are used in every appliance in your house. This was no simple
achievement -
scientists of the late 1800's were convinced that no motor could be devised for an
alternating
current system, making the use of AC a waste of time. After all, if the current
reverses direction
60 times a second, the motor will rock back and forth and never get anywhere. Tesla
solved this
problem easily and proved everyone wrong.
He was using fluorescent bulbs in his lab some forty years before industry "invented"
them. At
World's Fairs and similar exhibitions, he took glass tubes and molded them into the
shapes of famous
scientists' names - the first neon signs that we see all around us today. I almost
forgot - Tesla
designed the world's first hydroelectric plant, located in Niagara Falls. He also
patented the first
speedometer for cars.
Word began to spread about his AC system and it eventually reached the ears of one
George
Westinghouse.
Tesla signed a contract with Westinghouse under which he would receive $2.50 for each
kilowatt of AC
electricity sold.
Suddenly, Tesla had the cash to start conducting all the experiments he ever dreamed
of.
But Edison had too much money invested in his DC system, so Tommy did his best to
discredit Tesla
around every turn. Edison constantly tried to show that AC electricity was far more
dangerous than
his DC power.
Tesla counteracted by staging his own marketing campaign. At the 1893 World Exposition
in Chicago
(attended by 21 million people), he demonstrated how safe AC electricity was by
passing high
frequency AC power through his body to power light bulbs. He then was able to shoot
large lightning
bolts from his Tesla coils to the crowd without harm. Nice trick!
When the royalties owed to Tesla started to exceed $1 million, Westinghouse ran into
financial
trouble. Tesla realized that if his contract remained in effect, Westinghouse would be
out of
business and he had no desire to deal with the creditors. His dream was to have cheap
AC electric
available to all people. Tesla took his contract and ripped it up! Instead of becoming
the world's
first billionaire, he was paid $216,600 outright for his patents.
In 1898, he demonstrated to the world the first remote controlled model boat at
Madison Square
Garden. So you can thank Tesla for the invention of those remote controlled planes,
cars, and boats
(and televisions!), also.
Tesla had a dream of providing free energy to the world. In 1900, backed by $150,000
from financier
J.P. Morgan, Tesla began construction of his so called "Wireless Broadcasting System"
tower on Long
Island, New York. This broadcasting tower was intended to link the world's telephone
and telegraph
services, as well as transmit pictures, stock reports, and weather information
worldwide.
Unfortunately, Morgan cut funding when he realized that it meant FREE energy for the
world.
Many stories claim that the U. S. government destroyed the tower during World War One
for fear that
the German u-boat spies would use the tower as a landmark to navigate by. In reality,
Tesla ran into
financial trouble after Morgan cut funding for the project and the tower was sold for
scrap to pay
off creditors.
The world thought he was nuts - after all, transmission of voice, picture, and
electricity was
unheard of at this time.
What they didn't know was that Tesla had already demonstrated the principles behind
radio nearly ten
years before Marconi's supposed invention. In fact, in 1943 (the year Tesla died), the
Supreme Court
ruled that Marconi's patents were invalid due to Tesla's previous descriptions. Still,
most
references do not credit Tesla with the invention of radio. (Sidenote: Marconi's radio
did not
transmit voices - it transmitted a signal - something Tesla had demonstrated years
before.)
At this point, the press started to exaggerate Tesla's claims.
Tesla reported that he had received radio signals from Mars and Venus. Today we know
that he was
actually receiving the signals from distant stars, but too little was known about the
universe at
that time. Instead, the press had a field day with his "outrageous" claims.
In his Manhattan lab, Tesla made the earth into an electric tuning fork. He managed to
get a
steam-driven oscillator to vibrate at the same frequency as the ground beneath him
(like Ella
Fitzgerald breaking the glass with her voice in those old Memorex commercials).
The result? An earthquake on all the surrounding city blocks. The buildings trembled,
the windows
broke, and the plaster fell off the walls.
Tesla contended that, in theory, the same principle could be used to destroy the
Empire State
Building or even possibly split the Earth in two. Tesla had accurately determined the
resonant
frequencies of the Earth almost 60 years before science could confirm his results.
Don't think he didn't attempt something like splitting the Earth open (well, sort of).
In his Colorado Springs lab in 1899, he sent waves of energy all the way through the
Earth, causing
them to bounce back to the source (providing the theory for today's accurate
earthquake seismic
stations). When the waves came back, he added more electricity to it.
The result? The largest man-made lightning bolt ever recorded - 130 feet! - a world's
record still
unbroken!
The accompanying thunder was heard 22 miles away. The entire meadow surrounding his
lab had a
strange blue glow, similar to that of St. Elmo's Fire.
But, this was only a warm-up for his real experiment! Unfortunately, he blew out the
local power
plant's equipment and he was never able to repeat the experiment.
At the beginning of World War I, the government desperately searched for a way to
detect German
submarines. The government put Thomas Edison in charge of the search for a good
method. Tesla
proposed the use of energy waves - what we know today as radar - to detect these
ships. Edison
rejected Tesla's idea as ludicrous and the world had to wait another 25 years until it
was
invented.
His reward for a lifetime of creativity? The prized (to everyone but Tesla) Edison
Medal! A real
slap in the face after all the verbal abuse Tesla took from Edison.
The stories go on and on.
Industry's attempt (obviously very successful) to purge him from the scientific
literature had
driven him into exile for nearly twenty years. Lacking capital, he was forced to place
his untested
theories into countless notebooks.
The man who invented the modern world died nearly penniless at age 86 on January 7,
1943. More than
two thousand people attended his funeral.
In his lifetime, Tesla received over 800 different patents. He probably would have
exceeded Edison's
record number if he wasn't always broke - he could afford very few patent applications
during the
last thirty years of his life.
Unlike Edison, Tesla was an original thinker whose ideas typically had no precedent in
science.
Unfortunately, the world does not financially reward people of Tesla's originality. We
only award
those that take these concepts and turn them into a refined, useful product.
Scientists today continue to scour through his notes. Many of his far flung theories
are just now
being proven by our top scientists. For example, the Tesla bladeless disk turbine
engine that he
designed, when coupled with modern materials, is proving to be among the most
efficient motors ever
designed. His 1901 patented experiments with cryogenic liquids and electricity provide
the
foundation for modern superconductors. He talked about experiments that suggested
particles with
fractional charges of an electron - something that scientists in 1977 finally
discovered - quarks!
Wow!
Maybe history will finally recognize a true genius when it sees one.
---
Electric power is everywhere present in unlimited
quantities and can drive world's machinery without
the need of coal, oil, gas, or any other fuels.
-- Nikola Tesla
---
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