Hugo Gernsback, the famous writer, once stated that Nikola Tesla was the greatest inventor in the world. He had to mean “the man who actually invented”, which is to say, he discovered and invented something new.
Nikola Tesla was born July 10, 1856, in Croatia. It is evident that he is a highly respected scientist. His most important inventions include AC current motors and the war for the currents, the Tesla coil, and radio. However, AC current only flows in one direction. AC current alternates directions so we were taught the difference. The heated debate between the two started in 1884 when Tesla was first employed by Thomas Edison. They got along well and would joke around and play pool together. However, there was one thing they disagreed on: AC electricity. Tesla was working as an electrician and created the first ACmotor. He used Edison’s dynamos to remake them. This included replacing the long magnets of their dynamos with shorter ones. This was three times more efficient than the DC equivalent, he believed.
Edison invents a way to generate DC electricity at a fraction of the cost. He also creates dynamos, machines and other equipment. There was no way for voltage to be increased or decreased. AC had this advantage: it had a transformer. Two coils wrapped around an Iron core make up a transformer. An electrical current can pass through one of these coils and cause the iron core to magnetize. (Faraday’s Law) Companies using AC current could either increase or decrease the voltage depending upon the ratio of the turns in each coil. This amazing device allowed for an increase in output, decreased voltage loss over long distances, and then cut down voltage to safe levels for final delivery. The war of currents was born as Edison and electric companies that used DC electricity were at risk. Edison and Harold Brown, who were both men, started to warn people about the dangers of AC electricity. They publically electrocuted horses, dogs, cats, and dogs. Topsy, an elephant, was the first to do this.
George Westinghouse began to experiment in 1855 with a transformer designed by Lucien Gaulard (and John Gibbs) and presented a paper at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in May 1888 to prove AC superior to DC. Westinghouse by that time had sold more AC power station than all of those providing DC power. AC was the clear winner due to its obvious benefits.
The Tesla coil, another influential device by Tesla, is also a key component. The Tesla coil, which enables wireless electricity transfer, is simple to explain. Heinrich Hertz, the man who first transmitted and received radio waves, was the inspiration for this invention. Hertz’s basic design was modified by Tesla to operate on AC current. This increased the frequency of the original device from a few hundreds to tens to zillion cycles per second. The Tesla coil was created through his experiments. The Tesla coil is composed of two coils of wire and a top load. The transformer raises the voltage in a circuit. The primary coil’s capacitor would store the charge. This creates a voltage that tries to bridge the spark gap. The circuit is then closed and the current bursts through coils. This creates a strong magnetic field inside the primary coil. This magnetic field change causes voltage to flow through coils. Top loads maximize this energy from primary coil. This voltage can cause air molecules to be broken apart and their electrons to move in arcs. It creates tremendous sparks.
Nikola Tesla made use of this extraordinary piece to explore the worlds of radio, Xrays and wireless power. It can be used in modern technology in a variety of ways, such as in CRT screens, combustion engines or welding machines.
Tesla’s dream to create a wireless world was not fulfilled with the Tesla coil. This idea continued to be used in other Tesla products, such as the radio. Tesla created the first radio in 1892. He also invented a radio-controlled robot boat in 1898. The boat ran on batteries and was controlled by radio signals. Tesla could control the boat’s speed, direction, and even turn on/off lights using a variety of frequencies. Tesla created a radio transmitter tower on Wardenclyffe in Long Island in 1900 when he realized what radio could do. The tower was designed to make radio transmissions available around the world.
Marconi also had an idea of his own, and he built a power transmitter at Poldhu, Cornwall. On December 12, 1901, he was able to transmit a signal over 320 km. Otis Pond, an engineer who worked for Tesla, told Tesla of his feat, saying “Looks to me like Marconi has the advantage.” Tesla replied, “Marconi, you are a good man.” Let him go on. He has seventeen patents.
Tesla said that Marconi believed it impossible to transmit a signal across Atlantic because of the Earth’s curvature. The wall of water would prevent the signal from passing through.
Guglielmo Marconi is often credited with the invention, despite all of this. Marconi was granted patents for his radio-devices. Marconi also won the Nobel Prize. A National Press Reporter 1912 article summarizes it best. It states that Tesla, in 1892, demonstrated that the true Hertzian effects were not a way for sending stations to communicate with receiving stations at great distances. He showed that waves propagated by transmitting stations travel along ground as conductors. These views are now accepted as correct. Marconi’s brilliant enterprise was able to transform the findings of previous researchers into a complete system of space-telegraphy.” This is how Tesla discovered the science that underlies radio. Marconi, however, brought these discoveries to light and received credit.
The patent battle lasted many years and didn’t stop until the deaths of both Marconi and Tesla. Six months following Tesla’s demise in 1943, six years later Marconi’s, the US supreme judge ruled that all Marconi’s patents on the radio were invalid. He awarded them all, making Tesla the true founder.
It is clear, then, that Tesla’s impact on technology has been significant, not only in his lifetime but also in the modern age. Gernsback was absolutely right to call him the greatest inventor in the world.