Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a groundbreaking inventor and visionary whose pioneering work laid the essential foundations for modern electrical systems and technologies. Best known for developing the alternating current (AC) electrical system, Tesla’s innovative ideas and inventions transformed how we generate and distribute electricity, leaving an indelible mark on the world.
Often viewed as an eccentric genius, he made significant contributions that spurred technological advancements during the Second Industrial Revolution. In this exploration of Tesla’s remarkable life and enduring legacy, we delve into ten captivating facts and quotes that illuminate his extraordinary contributions to science, technology, and society.
1. Father of Electricity: Born During an Electrical Storm
Nikola Tesla was born at midnight on July 10, 1856, during an electrical storm. According to family lore, the midwife helping to deliver Nikola believed the lightning to be a bad omen and said he would be a child of darkness. His mother, however, said: “No. He will be a child of light.” In a twist of fate, he later became known as the father of electricity.”
2. The Man Who Illuminated the 20th Century
The Serbian American inventor designed the world’s first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls. Completed in the 1890s, this groundbreaking facility efficiently distributed electricity, illuminating homes and industries in Buffalo, New York, with its innovative low current, high voltage system. Often perceived as an eccentric genius, this Serbian inventor created numerous technological marvels that transformed society, earning him the title “The Man Who Invented the 20th Century.” As Tesla famously remarked, “The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.”
3. A Mind Like No Other: Tesla’s Photographic Memory
Tesla possessed a photographic memory, along with lucid powers of visualization, which he vividly described in his book “My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla“. As a result, he rarely composed diagrams of his inventions but worked from memories and pictures in his mind. He also suffered from an affliction in which blinding flashes of light would appear before his eyes, often accompanied by hallucinations. Much of the time, the visions were linked to a word or idea he might come across, and on hearing its name, he would involuntarily envision it in vivid detail, much in the same way as modern-day synesthetes.
4. Winner of the AC/DC War: Revolutionizing Electricity
As a trained electrical and mechanical engineer, Tesla invented so many modern marvels, that he has shaped the world perhaps more than any other inventor. His discovery of the rotating magnetic field led to him devising a better system for electrical transmission, the AC (alternating current) system that we use in our homes today. AC offered great advantages over Edison’s 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 and required a large power plant every square mile while transmitting through very thick cables.
5. A Prolific Inventor: Devices for Daily Life
Of course, a transmission system would be incomplete without devices to run on it. So, he invented the electric motors that are used in everyday appliances in our homes, including fans, water pumps, machine and power tools, disk drives, and compressors. By enabling efficient energy conversion, Tesla’s electric motors revolutionized industries and households alike. Today, Tesla’s influence can be seen in virtually every electrical device, as his innovations continue to drive modern technology and enhance our daily lives.
6. Hyper Polyglot: A Linguistic Genius
Nikola Tesla was a hyperpolyglot, fluent in eight languages, including Serbo-Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Latin. His linguistic abilities not only showcased his intelligence but also allowed him to communicate with a diverse range of scientists and engineers, facilitating the exchange of ideas and enhancing his contributions to technology and science.
7. A Legacy of Invention: Hundreds of Patents
During his lifetime, Tesla is believed to have applied for more than 700 patents, and received at least 300 patents we know of today, although patent protection was not sought for many more. Some of his numerous inventions include wireless communications, remote controls, radar, neon, and fluorescent lighting, the ignition system that activate our cars, X-Ray photography, microwave cooking, vacuum tube amplifier, speedometer, and much more.
In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court even acknowledged Tesla as “the father of the radio”, instead of Guglielmo Marconi, as the Italian was ruled to have relied on Tesla’s work and induction coil (Tesla coil) to send and receive radio waves.
8. The Quest for Free Energy: A Visionary’s Dream
Nikola Tesla had a profound vision of providing ‘free energy’ that all people could share. He explored the idea that electric power could be transmitted through the air without wires, laying essential groundwork for future wireless technologies. Tesla famously initiated the Wardenclyffe Tower project on Long Island, New York, aiming to offer free wireless energy to the world.
However, the project ultimately went unfinished due to a lack of funding when his financial backer, J.P. Morgan, withdrew support, and no other investors emerged to fill the gap. While Tesla’s groundbreaking concepts laid the foundation for advancements in wireless transmission, the promise of free energy remained unrealized during his lifetime. Had he succeeded, the world might have begun enjoying wireless energy as early as the 1920s.
9. Devising a Powerful Weapon: The Death Ray
Tesla created lightning, which he used to light wireless lamps many miles away, and surmised that by pulling enough electricity from the ionosphere, he could concentrate up to 2 billion volts in one area, enough to destroy any city on Earth. During World War II, he even offered the US government his Death Ray system, a machine that accelerated a beam of particles to a high velocity and could do great damage, much like a high-powered laser beam. Describing the weapon he named “Teleforce”, Tesla said:
“The nozzle would send concentrated beams of particles through the free air, of such tremendous energy that they will bring down a fleet of 10,000 enemy airplanes at a distance of 200 miles from a defending nation’s border and will cause armies to drop dead in their tracks”.
10. A Fortune Lost: The Price of Genius
In 1888, Tesla signed a patent licensing agreement with George Westinghouse, founder of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, in which he was given stocks, salary, bonuses, and, more importantly, a royalty for each horsepower of electricity produced by his AC motor. By 1907, however, the war of currents between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse had put Westinghouse more than $10 million in debt, and after appealing to Tesla for some relief from the royalties, Tesla simply tore up the contract worth $12 million at the time, or $300 million in today’s money.
The next decade then saw AC completely wipe out DC as the most efficient way of transmitting electrical energy, and had Tesla’s royalties still been in place he would have become the world’s first billionaire. Similarly, Tesla also signed away the rights to his wireless broadcasting system to J.P. Morgan, and ultimately, Tesla ended up broke, living on the 33rd floor of the New Yorker Hotel, with all his bills paid for by his previous business partner George Westinghouse. Describing his attitude to money, Tesla said:
“Money does not represent such a value as men have placed upon it. All my money has been invested into experiments with which I have made new discoveries enabling mankind to have a little easier life.”
Ready to dive deeper into the mind of Nikola Tesla? Explore our collection of thought-provoking Nikola Tesla quotes that reflect his genius and vision!