Who is Nikola Tesla?

Here's an interesting experiment. Ask some friends if they know who Thomas Edison is. Most people will remember that he invented the light bulb. Now ask them who Nikola Tesla is. You'll probably get a blank stare or hear some crickets chirping—maybe both.

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) is one of the most overlooked people in history. Holding over 700 patents, he has arguably had a bigger impact on technology than any other inventor. Some of his contributions include:

• alternating current (the electricity that comes through your outlets)
• radio broadcasting (later copied by Marconi)
• fluorescent lighting
• neon lighting
• remote control
• radar
• x-ray machines
• hydroelectric power (specifically, Niagra Falls)
• motors, transformers, and generators

We benefit from Tesla's technology every day. But if he's done so much for us, why don't they talk about him more in schools? That's a great question, and I'll leave the answer to your imagination.

Government Sequester

After Tesla's death, the US Government seized his research materials and kept them in a warehouse for 10 years. During that time, his papers were copied to microfilm to preserve them.

Why would a government be so interested in what Tesla was doing? That's another interesting question.

Other Ideas / Inventions

Tesla had other important ideas that were either never produced or never made public. Some of those include:

• sending electricity through the ground (without wires)
• wireless worldwide communication (like the internet, but better)
• free wireless electricity for the whole planet
• death ray (particle accelerator beam)
• teleportation
• weather modification
• an earthquake generator that was handheld and battery-powered
• an aircraft that takes off vertically

It's clear why some people would be very interested in Tesla's research papers.

Tesla's Employers

When Tesla arrived in the US, he was quickly hired by Thomas Edison. Edison had a problem with his DC power system, so he promised to pay Tesla a large sum of money to fix it. Although Tesla was able to fix the problem, Edison refused to pay him. Tesla promptly quit and went to work for George Westinghouse instead.

Edison vs. Tesla

The benefits of electricity were obvious, and efforts were being made to send electricity into every home. Edison proposed using DC power for this task. But, as Tesla pointed out, DC power could only be sent short distances. There would need to be a power station every 2 miles in order to send the current across the nation. It would have been very inefficient.

Tesla proposed using AC power instead of DC. It could be sent much farther at a smaller cost. It also made light bulbs shine brighter because of the intensity of the current. This came as a threat to Edison, who had poured a lot of time and money into promoting DC power.

In order to discredit Tesla's method, Edison set out on a public relations campaign to show how dangerous AC power could be. He made public demonstrations in which he would electrocute animals using AC power. Edison's employees even created the first electric chair to further discourage the use of AC. In the end, Edison's smear campaign lost out to Tesla's superior technology.

Free Electricity

Tesla realized that the earth's ionosphere held vast amounts of energy. Using his now famous Wardenclyffe Tower, he was capable of tapping into that energy source to send electricity all over the world. If he had been able to complete this project, anyone with the right antenna could have received free electricity.

When JP Morgan realized that Tesla wanted to offer the electricity for free, he stopped funding the project. He said, “If anyone can draw on the power, where do we put the meter?” Morgan could have been known for bringing free power to the world, but instead he's known as the Monopoly guy. Thanks a lot, Uncle Pennybags.

The US Government later destroyed Tesla's tower, claiming that the Germans might use it for spying.

Wardenclyffe Tower

Wardenclyffe Tower, after US Government ordered its destruction