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Nikola Tesla

by Jared from San Diego

Tesla, aged 37. (en.wikipedia.org (Napoleon Sarony))
Tesla, aged 37. (en.wikipedia.org (Napoleon Sarony))

Can you imagine living in a world where we had to rely on lanterns and lamp oil for light? Nikola Tesla, Inventor of the Tesla Coil, had to. His discoveries allow us to commercially use power more efficiently and use a light bulb when we please. Tesla's innovative designs and inventions changed the face of modern machinery. Tesla was truly ahead of his time.

Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia, which was, at that time, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father, Milutin Tesla, was a Serbian Orthodox Priest. His mother, Djuka Tesla, was an inventor of household appliances (Her father was also a Serbian Orthodox Priest). Nikola was the fourth of five children, having one older brother, Danilo (Who died when Nikola was five in a tragic horse-riding accident), and three sisters: Milka, Angelina and Marica. Tesla was very susceptible to illness as a child, and received a disease that caused him to see blinding flashes of light and hallucinate. By the time he reached his teens, he had learned to suppress these hallucinations unless it was a severe time of stress for him.

Tesla attended High School at Higher Real Gymnasium in Karlovac, Croatia. After graduation, he contracted cholera and almost died. Later on, he attended the Austrian Polytechnic in Graz to study electrical engineering. The university says that he did not continue past his third year at the school, during that time he stopped attending lectures. After his third year at Austrian Polytechnic, he finished his college education at the University of Prague for his fourth year. During his college career, he studied the uses of the alternating electric current.

Nikola Tesla has created some of the most groundbreaking discoveries in the field of electrical engineering and wireless transfer; many of his inventions are still used today. For that very reason, he has bettered the world and our future. Nikola had made his discoveries through years and years of perseverance and trials. He succeeded through these trials and bettered humanity through it.

Tesla is a man of tremendous intelligence in both the real world and the scientific community. He is able to see how the two correlate with each other and apply that to his work. "Tesla used his spare time to build his first polyphase (out-of-step) AC motor. In such a motor, coils are arranged so that when out-of-step alternating currents energize them, the resulting magnetic field rotates at a predetermined speed." (Prigo, "Tesla, Nikola.") He invented a new way of using electrical current in his spare time. People dedicate their lives to finding things like this, but Tesla has the mental capacity to execute brilliant thoughts whenever he decides to. "Tesla then worked at the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh for a year to help develop commercial uses of the AC power system." (Prigo, "Tesla, Nikola.") Tesla had turned his invention into an essential commercial product that would be used on the masses. This feat is achieved by very few people. His power system is now taken for granted. If not for Tesla, we would see a DC generator every few miles and our use of power would be used less efficiently.      

     Tesla is a man who came to the USA to live the dream; to pursue his passion and be successful. His perseverance allowed him to achieve this and became one of the most influential scientists of all time. His invention of AC energy allows us to utilize power in a way we had never been able to in that time. Without his awe inspiring devices, our modern society couldn't exist as it does now.

In conclusion, Nikola Tesla is my hero because he made many significant contributions to society, many of which I believe we take for granted. Not only did he devote much of his life to creating his wonderful inventions, but he also took the time to make it commercially usable for the world to benefit from. Not only did he help modern society as a whole, he was also a very humble man who never received proper recognition. Many consider Thomas Edison as the greatest inventor of the 20th century, however, Tesla had worked for Edison exclusively when he came to the US with the intention of being paid. After finishing his work for Edison, he was never given the pay he deserved. Edison had thousands of books and articles written about him, while Tesla is occasionally mentioned in a few history books. His wireless power system has changed the way the world gets power. His work has affected both his generation and every one that follows.


Works Cited

"Nikola Tesla." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd Ed. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 156-                                157. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.9 May 2012

"Nikola Tesla." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Biography in Context. Web.9 May 2012

Prigo, Robert B. "Tesla, Nikola." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web. 9 May 2012

Vujovic, Ljubo. "Tesla's Advanced Biography." Tesla Memorial Society of New York. Web. 9 May 2012

 

Page created on 5/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

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