In 1884, Tesla went to
the United States and worked for a short time for Thomas Edison, but
quit over a salary dispute and clashing personalities (Tesla simply envisioned his
inventions, while Edison invented with hard-labor, trial and error). In the 1880's and 1890's Edison was working on
Direct Currents and Tesla was
working on
Alternating Currents. Tesla's
system prevailed.
Tesla's Alternating Current
(AC)
System for a power project was licensed by
George Westinghouse
in 1893 for the
World's Columbian Exposition,
where Tesla actually conducted demonstrations of his AC system. In 1895,
Tesla designed the first
hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls,
which was highly promoted worldwide. Tesla sold several patent rights to
Westinghouse, including the alternating-current machinery. Westinghouse
ran into problems when Westinghouse's backers would not work with Tesla.
Tesla tore up his contract with Westinghouse, which ended up costing
Tesla millions of dollars in royalties.
Tesla is also famous for
inventing the rotating magnetic field,
neon and fluorescent lights, the system of arc lighting,
the Induction Motor,
the system of Wireless Communication (which led to the
Internet) and the famous "TESLA COIL"
(1891), producing high-voltage, low current, high-frequency
alternating current electricity. Tesla experimented with electromagnetic
waves, which formed the basis of the development of
radio. His systems made it possible to supply electricity over hundreds
of miles, instead of short distances, which was the standard at the
time.
Tesla was a showman and loved to demonstrate his inventions. There
was even a promotional photo taken of Tesla in his Colorado Springs
Laboratory showing millions of electrical
volts flying around Tesla, as he calming sits and reads. The genius
American author and humorist
Mark Twain
was a friend of Tesla and visited
his laboratory in 1899 to see his inventions for himself. Reportedly,
Twain's book "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
Court", about a time traveler
introducing modern technology to England, was influenced by Tesla. Tesla was known for his obsessive, eccentric personality and
for being a
total recluse. He refused to marry, reportedly claiming that his
chastity was necessary for his scientific discoveries. Tesla refused the
Nobel Prize in 1912, which was awarded to Tesla and Edison.
Due to the lack of funds supporting Tesla, most of his
inventions are only written in a notebook. On Jan. 7, 1943, Tesla
died. Allegedly Tesla was penniless and in debt when he died alone, in Room
3327, of the New Yorker Hotel in New York City at the age of 86.
Tesla held over 700 patents in his
lifetime and
changed
the face
of electricity.
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