Nikola Tesla

Tesla was born during a lighting storm Telsa’s Life Fun Fact: Tesla was born during a lighting storm Nikola Telsa was born in Serbia in 1856 In 1875 he attended university in Austria however he dropped out after three years Telsa worked in a telegraph company and as an electrical engineer before emigrating to the united states in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison He soon struck out on his own and set up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices Telsa is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternation current (AC) electricity supply system In 1943 Tesla died, aged 86, in a New York Hotel due to coronary thrombosis Today, Telsa is considered one of the most influential scientists of our time and even has an electrical car company, Tesla Motors, named after him

Inventions Alternating current; used thinner wires, higher voltage and could be used over longer distances than D.C. Safer than D.C. Started “current war” with Edison. Wireless communication; allows for signals to be sent over long distances. Tesla first demonstrated with a remote control, which led to the invention of the t.v. remote control. Resonant frequency of the earth. Discovered through his wireless experiments, which produced radio waves capable of penetrating the earth. Hydroelectricity. Build a hydroelectric plant on Niagra Falls to harness the energy of the flow of water.

The War of the Currents – Tesla vs Edison Tesla began working for the Continental Edison Company in 1882 He transferred to America to work with Edison himself in 1844 Both had very different styles of approach when it came to new inventions. Edison promised Tesla $50,000 if he could improve his prototypical dynamos used in his direct current (DC) electricity system. Tesla devoted months of work to this project and made significant progress. When he was done, Edison insisted the whole idea had been a joke. Tesla then left the company to set up his own, the Tesla Electric Light Company. Tesla believed that his model of an alternating current (AC) was much more practical for large scale applications, for example in power grids for large cities. It allowed power to be sent further and through thinner wires than Edison’s DC model. Edison fought hugely against this new concept, claiming it was unsafe. He showed this by electrocuting a number of local pets in public using an AC current. Tesla won the war of the currents in the end, but it should be noted that most current household appliances convert AC back to DC. This is to prevent massive surges of energy entering these appliances

The Importance of Tesla 100 years ahead of his time; mind boggling experiments He persisted despite Edison’s slander He changed how we see and use energy. Alternating current particularly important; it allows us to plug anything into the wall and access the current . Relationship discovered between magnetic fields and alternating current make things like alternators and transformers possible.