Dr. Nikola Tesla
Monday 22nd November
1999, altered July 2000, 5th March 2011
 |
Dr. Nikola Tesla, was a Serb, born in Croatia in the Balkans in 1857 and lived until 1943 |
Dr. Nikola Tesla
Monday 22nd November
1999, altered July 2000, 5th March 2011
|
Dr. Nikola Tesla, was a Serb, born in Croatia in the Balkans in 1857 and lived until 1943 |
He was one of the greatest innovators and pioneers of the modern age, However his achievements are largely forgotten by the public at large, he isn't as well known as Marconi or Edison, who he worked with. A great many myths have come to light about the man in recent years, as with a mysterious tale as his is, it is ripe for such treatment.
A. C. Electric Power
His most celebrated
achievements are in the field of electricity in the 1880's, when in his
30s, where he first proposed A. C. ( alternating current ), which
meant that electricity could be used commercially for power distribution.
He also perfected the A. C. motor. Which is much smaller than the D. C.
motor of the same power, and synchronous, which means it runs at a fixed
speed.
The transmission
of electrical power is fundamental to modern life. It could not be done
feasibly, using Direct Current ( D. C. ) because the current loss would
be too large. But before the advent of A. C. the only way to get domestic
electrical power would have been Battery cells, or a massive, and noisy
dynamo ( with engine ! )
He invented everything
from step up and down transformers, rectifiers ( to convert a. c. back
to d. c. ), A. C. Generators, The electrical condenser ( now called a capacitor
), High frequency generators, and such a great deal of work on electrical
coil devices, and magnetics, that we use the unit Tesla for the S. I. unit
for magnetic flux density. His invention of the Tesla Coil, which uses
an air core, and a secondary winding that is tuned to the resonant frequency
of the first, is used in the petrol engine, to generate the spark plug's
very high voltage spark.
The Great Radio Controversy
He invented Wireless radio,
but Guglielmo Marconi was given the credit until June 1943, when The U. S. Supreme
Court finally settled the matter, after 16 months of investigating patent records
and scientific publications, and declared that Nikola Tesla was the true inventor
of modern radio technology. This was known as the Great Radio Controversy. Unfortunately,
most school children are still taught that it was Marconi, which shows how simple
it is for us to regurgitate uncorroborated legends, without checking on the
up to date facts.
The Flying Machine
Later in the 1890s
he turned his attention to motive power, he was attempting to make an electric
vehicle that would enable the first powered flight possible, but he was
beaten to this goal by the internal combustion petrol engine. However after
this disappointment, he switched his thinking to viscosity and fluids,
to see if he could improve the approach of mechanical engines like the
petrol engines.
He came up with
a simple device that could be used as an engine or turbine, which
is now known as The Tesla Engine. This was installed in the first hydro
electric power station, at Niagara falls. Dr. Tesla produced a scientific
paper in September 1911 announcing the discovery to the technical world.
Later he modified his design to be used in many different applications,
including - a very efficient motor engine, a fluid flow gauge, an air conditioning
unit and a water pump.
Patent
Over 42 years,
until he was 71, he was granted over a hundred patents with the U.
S. patent office. After this time, it is said that he was a consultant
with the U. S. government, during this time was when some perculiar/controversial
experiments were alleged to have been carried out.
Myth or Mystery ?
Famously, the Hollywood
movie, " The Philadelphia Experiment ", dealt with the so called
" black project ", The Philadelphia Project. This is alleged to have been
dealt with all manor of bizarre concepts including Teleportation
and Time Travel, but the myth and mystery has been propagated for
so long, that it has become a favorite among conspiracy theorists, and
it is difficult to know what it was really about. However it is known that
Dr. Tesla's equipment and concepts were used, perhaps only to try to demonstrate
electrical power supply and transmission through air to a remote place,
or vehicle, a concept which he was known to be interested in.
A Pauper's Grave
Sadly, all too
many brilliant people die alone and destitute, often unrecognized for their
genius until years later. Nicola Tesla died Jan 1943, he was lonely and
penniless in a New York hotel room. The United States Alien Property Office
seized all his notes and papers. It's funny how real life never ends like
a Hollywood Film.
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at :-
http://www.thewookie.co.uk/science/tesla.htm