Nikola Tesla

By Abii Franke

Early Life

• Born in 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia.
• Studied math and physics at the Technical University of Graz and philosophy at the University of Prague
• Moved to Paris in 1882
• Immigrated to the U.S. in 1884

Personality

• Germaphobe
• Obsessed with the number 3
• Got very little sleep
• Believed females would eventually become the dominant sex
• Embraced the above idea
• Believed in exercising

Achievements

• Alternating Current (AC)
• Created basis for radio
• First to invent radar
• X-rays
• Remote control
• Electric motor
• Conceptualized the idea of robots
• Laser(tried to build a death ray, never got around to it)
• Wireless Communication

Tesla vs. Edison

• Most people know there was a bit of a rivalry between Tesla and Edison
• Edison hired Tesla in 1884
• Worked for him for a year
• Edison offered him $50,000 dollars if he could make an improved design of Edison’s DC dynamos
• When he did it, Edison said, “When you become a full-fledged American, you will appreciate an American joke.”
• Edison did offer Tesla a $10 raise
• Tesla quit in disgust
• AC vs. DC

AC

• Alternating current
• Electric current which reverses its direction many times a second at regular intervals
• Voltage can be easily changed by an adaptor

Primary Source

• The source is an excerpt from a book by Nikola Tesla
• To the right is a patent design for electrical energy transformation
• AC
• Shows he was an intelligent inventor
• He says he has made many patents

Primary Source Pt. 2

• A discussion is included from when Tesla was proposing one of his patents
• The detail in the description shows that he knows what he’s talking about
• He also states he has hundreds of inventions he has not bothered to patent due to cost
• This shows he is very dedicated to his work as he makes more inventions than he can patent

Radio

• Marconi used Tesla’s work to officially invent the radio
• Scientists do this all the time
• But he used seventeen of Tesla’s patents to make the radio
• And Tesla got barely any money from it

Death

• Died on January 7, 1943
• Died quietly and alone
• Natural causes
• Was 86 years old

Legacy

• Made several inventions which we either use in everyday life or were the basis for things we use in everyday life
• Tesla is generally less recognized than Edison
• However, he has gained a bit of a cult following in recent years
• Edison fans and Tesla fans tend to duke it out a bit
• Edison fans accuse Tesla fans of putting out misinformation on Tesla making him look better, Tesla fans accuse Edison fans of not giving Tesla the credit he deserves.

Who’s right?

• Well... neither.
• Tesla was a brilliant inventor; however, he wasn’t as great as some articles by Tesla fans make him out to be.
• Edison was a bit of a jerk to Tesla, but once again, he wasn’t as bad as Tesla fans’ articles make him out to be.
• Tesla is also more important and affected the world more than Edison fans believe.
• Edison is not as brilliant as Edison fans believe, but he was still a highly intelligent and influential inventor in his own right.

Bibliography

"AC/DC: The Tesla–Edison Feud." Mental Floss. N.p., 10 July 2012. Web. 25 May 2017.

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Deffree, Suzanne. "10 Things You May Not Know about Tesla." EDN. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2017.

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History.com Staff. "Nikola Tesla." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 25 May 2017.

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"Nikola Tesla." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 11 Aug. 2016. Web. 25 May 2017.

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PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 25 May 2017.

Bibliography (Links)

http://mentalfloss.com/article/30140/acdc-tesla%E2%80%93edison-feud

http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/nikola-tesla

http://www.biography.com/people/nikola-tesla-9504443

http://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/res_art07.html

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/serious-fun/4410028/4/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-Tesla

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