Serbian SMiLeS: Nikola Tesla
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Inventor, Nikola Tesla[/caption]
You’ve probably heard of Thomas Edison, the man who discovered electricity, the most important component of our modern day society. But what if I told you that these feats were shared with his companion inventor, Nikola Tesla?
Tesla was born in what is modern day Croatia, but was of Serbian blood. His inventive talents also ran through his family as he often accredited his innovative pursuits as being influenced by his mother as a child. In Tesla’s writings he said, “My mother was an inventor of the first order and would, I believe, have achieved great things had she not been so remote from modern life and its multi-fold opportunities. She invented and constructed all kinds of tools and devices and wove the finest designs from thread which was spun by her.” Her handiness and unique inventions around the house influenced Tesla’s career goals. He first became an electrician in Budapest, and eventually moved to the United States in 1884 to work with Thomas Edison.
While living in New York City, Tesla contributed to or predicted some of the most crucial aspects of our technological history such as the remote control, laser beam, computer, and smart phone. In 1891, Nikola invented the Tesla Coil, the electrical circuit for modern, widely-used technologies such as radios and televisions, which could also be used for wireless transmissions. In 1896, Nikola designed the first hydroelectric power plant in Niagara Falls. After three years of construction, nature’s waterfalls were able to provide electricity to homes in Buffalo, New York.
Although working alongside Edison, Tesla was not afraid to oppose him if it meant proving his electrical feats. Thomas Edison promoted the direct current while Nikola Tesla vouched for the alternating current, the safety of these currents being criticized for the stake of the United States’ future electrical system. So invested in his belief and work, in a public display, Tesla subjected himself to 250,000 volts of an alternating current in order to undeniably prove its safety. After such a display, the alternating current is what is used in most electrical systems today.
During his extensive stay in New York, Nikola Tesla was eventually given financial backing to build his laboratory by J. Pierpont Morgan. Wardenclyffe was built on Long Island, equipped with what is known as the ‘Tesla Tower.’ Tesla designed this tower to be 185 feet tall, topped with 65 feet of copper with the dreams of the tower one day transmitting wireless electricity across the nation. In 1917, on the precipice of the First World War, the tower was torn down out of fear that German spies would be able to use it to intercept communications. While Tesla’s invention was short lived, and the possibility at the time was infeasible, today, modern scientists are finally realizing the extent of Tesla’s discoveries and attempting to put them to use today.
The name Tesla sounds familiar to the American ear, but not due to its namesake. ‘Tesla’ is a unit to measure magnetic fields that was named after Nikola. And more famously in our society, Tesla Motors derives its name from Nikola Tesla as well. So why is it we have not heard about Nikola Tesla much before? Despite being a trailblazer for the electrical and technological community and an arguable genius, Tesla faced financial struggles and a lack of support from the community due to his modernist and progressive ideas, as well as a lack of entrepreneurship. Most of his inventions were chalked up to impossibilities (could you imagine predicting the capability of the smartphone in the 1890s?).
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