Teslas Wardenclyffe tower

[Mr. Wizard]

Hey everyone, I just got on youtube and search "nicola tesla" and came up with a wealth of info. I think that is the correct spelling of his first name, as there were a couple of other ways to spell it. :roll: Check it out :smile:

 

[boboelectric]

Too Late to be Great. But we Know Him.

 

[Jraef]

I too am a big fan of Tesla, especially after reading a book called "A Man Out of Time", the first biography written of him when his contemporaries were still alive. It's not the best book on him, but it as different insights into his psyche.

As much of a genius as he was on things technical, he was almost completely incapable of conveying his ideas to the general public in a way that did not come off as condescending and elitist. That's not to say he really was that way, in fact he was from many angles exactly the opposite. It's just a shame that his demeanor, and later his insanity, got in the way.

What I meant by saying that he was actually not as elitist as he appeared is in the basic premises he was working on: free and easily accessible energy for everyone. He was living in the time of the military buildup in Europe that eventually led to WWI (which ironically started in Serbia). He truly believed that if the world had cheap or free energy, wars would become unnecessary. Look where we are today and tell me he was wrong!

I have twice done classroom visits at local schools (1 elementary and 1 high school class) to speak of him so that students don't get the 1/2 baked story of Edison being the only "wizard" of electricity. Both times, the students wanted to kow why most people have never heard of Tesla.

I tell them "marketing".

 

[LarryFine]

As much of a genius as he was on things technical, he was almost completely incapable of conveying his ideas to the general public in a way that did not come off as condescending and elitist. That's not to say he really was that way, in fact he was from many angles exactly the opposite. It's just a shame that his demeanor, and later his insanity, got in the way.

That's so true. Many people with high intelligence often also have certain learning disabilities. Almost a case of idiot-savant, like Dustin's character in Rainman.

People who see incredible pictures in their mind have trouble comprehending the lack of that ability in others, and thus have difficulty finding the words to help others recreate that picture in their minds.

Ever work with someone who has to do everything themselves because they don't know how to convey their goal to others? That's a similar trait, and I know I have it a bit.

I have twice done classroom visits at local schools (1 elementary and 1 high school class) to speak of him so that students don't get the 1/2 baked story of Edison being the only "wizard" of electricity. Both times, the students wanted to kow why most people have never heard of Tesla.

I tell them "marketing".

Like Beta VCR's.

 

[active1]

I never knew how bad that Edison ripped him off I am really pissed at that fake Edison. Then Marconi jumped in and really socked it to him.

Even after his death it's been said his estate was raided by the US goverment:


Tesla died of heart failure alone in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel, some time between the evening of 5 January and the morning of 8 January 1943, at the age of 86.[101] Despite having sold his AC electricity patents, Tesla was destitute and died with significant debts. Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent number,[102] in effect recognizing him as the inventor of radio.

Immediately after Tesla's death became known, the government's Alien Property Custodian office took possession of his papers and property, despite his US citizenship. His safe at the hotel was also opened. At the time of his death, Tesla had been continuing his work on the teleforce weapon, or death ray, that he had unsuccessfully marketed to the US War Department. It appears that his proposed death ray was related to his research into ball lightning and plasma, and was imagined as a particle beam weapon. The US government did not find a prototype of the device in the safe. After the FBI was contacted by the War Department, his papers were declared to be top secret. The so-called "peace ray" constitutes a part of some conspiracy theories as a means of destruction. The personal effects were seized on the advice of presidential advisers; J. Edgar Hoover declared the case most secret, because of the nature of Tesla's inventions and patents.[103] One document states that "[he] is reported to have some 80 trunks in different places containing transcripts and plans having to do with his experiments [...]". Charlotte Muzar reported that there were several "missing" papers and property.

Tesla's family and the Yugoslav embassy struggled with the American authorities to gain these items after his death due to the potential significance of some of his research. Eventually, his nephew, Sava Kosanoviċ, won possession of some of his personal effects, which are now housed in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia.[104] Tesla's funeral took place on 12 January 1943, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City. His body was cremated and his ashes taken to Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1957. The urn was placed in the Nikola Tesla Museum, where it resides to this day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

1917 Tesla received AIEE's highest honor, the Edison Medal. That had to hurt.

Tesla lived the last 10 years in the New Yorker Hotel. The hotel was run on DC, and had a 2575 KW generating capacity althouh the actual load was 850 KW. Some nice pictures and information. I seen a story about the hotel and Tesla on TV. I forgot when the service was changed to AC but I don't think it was that long ago.

 

[quogueelectric]

I too am a big fan of Tesla, especially after reading a book called "A Man Out of Time", the first biography written of him when his contemporaries were still alive. It's not the best book on him, but it as different insights into his psyche.

As much of a genius as he was on things technical, he was almost completely incapable of conveying his ideas to the general public in a way that did not come off as condescending and elitist. That's not to say he really was that way, in fact he was from many angles exactly the opposite. It's just a shame that his demeanor, and later his insanity, got in the way.

What I meant by saying that he was actually not as elitist as he appeared is in the basic premises he was working on: free and easily accessible energy for everyone. He was living in the time of the military buildup in Europe that eventually led to WWI (which ironically started in Serbia). He truly believed that if the world had cheap or free energy, wars would become unnecessary. Look where we are today and tell me he was wrong!

I have twice done classroom visits at local schools (1 elementary and 1 high school class) to speak of him so that students don't get the 1/2 baked story of Edison being the only "wizard" of electricity. Both times, the students wanted to kow why most people have never heard of Tesla.

I tell them "marketing".

He was kind of like a crazy cow walking to the beat of a different drum.I hated calculus yet it is the only way to truly understand capacitance. I may have to retake some courses.

 

[byourdesky]

I just got on youtube and search "nicola tesla" and came up with a wealth of info.

I like how cool and humble he was....especially when he said about Einstein and Edison, "they can have the now...but the future is mine"

 

[glene77is]

QuoQuo,
Watch out for that "Stray Electricity",
in your area, you can't run too far without getting wet!

 

[Kartracer087]

Also notable is Charles Steinmetz, the man who created the phasor model for AC circuits @ a given frequency. Charles Steinmetz, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla were the three men that made AC the standard means of moving large amounts of electricity.