Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was one of the greatest inventors who ever lived. Not a day will go by where you won't use something that Tesla either invented or improved. The ideas he presented (usually far ahead of his time) & the inventions he brought forth literally changed the world. Some of the things for which we can thank Tesla include:
AC Electricity (Tesla is responsible for developing & refining the form of electricity that we use every day).
The Radio (Tesla, not Marconi, is now legally recognized as the inventor of the radio).
Fluorescent Lighting (Tesla lit his lab with these 40 years before they became commercially available).
The Tesla Coil (originally developed for the wireless transmission of free electricity to all, it is found today in radios & other electronic equipment).
X-Rays (Tesla discovered x-rays 3 years before Roentgen "discovered" them).
Wireless Communication (Thank Tesla next time you use your cell phone).
Microwaves (the radiation frequency of the microwave oven & the concept of the microwave oven was Tesla's).
Hydroelectric Generators (Tesla harnessed the power of Niagara Falls in 1893, sending AC power to Buffalo, NY)
AC Induction Motor (all present-day induction motors trace back to Tesla).
Wireless Remote Control (Tesla demonstrated a wireless controlled boat in 1898).
To list all of Nikola Tesla's ideas,
discoveries & inventions would take an entire book in itself, but a few others
included the Atom Smasher, Electro-Magnetic Power, Solar Heating, Vacuum Tubes,
Remote Control Vehicles, Torpedoes, Force Fields, High Voltage Conductors,
Transistors, The Atomic Clock, Cosmic Rays, The Heating Pad, Robots, Liquid
Oxygen, Under Ground Power Lines, Cryogenics, Radar, Guided Missiles, Automobile
Speedometers, Highway Systems, Parking Garages, Interplanetary Communications,
Laser Beams, Death Rays, Modern Warfare, & the list can go on. He once produced
an earth quake in New York City & blew out electric plants in Colorado with his
experiments. He was so far ahead of his time that the US Air Force is still
researching his ideas & the US Government, in possession of his papers, refuses
to release Tesla's notes to the public.
Nikola Tesla was a kind man who spoke eight languages fluently & once signed
away riches for the benefit of his friend George Westinghouse who had supported
him in
the past. He was a naturalized U.S. citizen & this he considered his
greatest
accomplishment. Tesla was nearly forgotten when he died alone & penniless
in the hotel room where he lived. His only friends seemed to be the sick
pigeons he brought home & nursed back to health, although many people did attend
his funeral. A sad ending to a life filled with amazing thoughts & ideas,
& one which helped to make all of our lives easier.
"Let the future tell the truth, & evaluate each one according to his work & accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine." Nikola Tesla
