Nikola Tesla

Tesla Car (http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-tesla-named- ())

"Without Tesla's vision and brilliance, our car wouldn't be possible. We're confident that if he were alive today, Nikola Tesla would look over our 100 percent electric car and nod his head with both understanding and approval." (qtd.in Davies)

Nikola Tesla (http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-tesla-named- (Wikimedia Commons))

This quote from the Tesla car company shows how Nikola Tesla, a Serbian scientist who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s, made incredible advancements that impacted the scientific community. His dad was a priest, and his mom was an intelligent inventor. This gave him the brainpower to come up with new ideas and the faith to go through with them. He sailed to America in 1884 with only four cents in his pocket to work for Thomas Edison in New York. Although he quit shortly after because of their disagreement over direct and alternating currents, he stayed in New York for the next 59 years of his life. In 1887, he founded the Tesla Electric Company where he used his own alternating current to make machines. Later, in 1895, a man known as George Westinghouse saw the potential in AC (alternating current) machinery and funded his dream of building the world's first hydroelectric power plant. After he had made many contributions to the scientific community, he won the Edison Medal; the best electrical prize in the United States. Long before he was handed this medal and people recognized his greatness, he was still a hero. A hero isn't necessarily someone who you see on tv, or someone really famous. In fact, many heroes are unsung, meaning they don't get the attention they deserve. A true hero also has to be intelligent. It's difficult to really make a difference in the world without brainpower. Tesla was a hero because he was unsung, intelligent, and an inspiration to future generations of inventors.

Tesla versus Edison; AC versus DC (https://www.good.is/infographics/transparency-the- ())

Tesla was an unsung hero because when he was alive no one appreciated him at first. Edison, who disagreed with Tesla on his ideas of alternating currents, tried to use the population's ignorance to his advantage. "To discredit Tesla's invention of alternating current, Edison would pay school children to bring him pets, after which he would display, alternating current killing the pets in view of other people, declaring that alternating current was extremely dangerous ." Edison tried to convince the naive public that Tesla's technology was dangerous and deadly, even though it wasn't. "... Thomas Edison also offered Tesla a huge sum of money to fix one of his inventions, challenging him in public view. When Tesla fixed it, Edison laughed and replied, 'Tesla, you don't get our American humour'." ("Nikola Tesla") Thomas Edison bullied Tesla, while everyone just believed Edison and didn't recognize Tesla's talent. Tesla just let it happen and didn't fight back, and no one cared. Even though Thomas Edison tried to tear down his reputation, Tesla still fought through the doubts that people had. "In 1898 Tesla announced his invention of a teleautomatic boat guided by remote control. When skepticism was voiced, Tesla proved his claims for it before a crowd in Madison Square Garden." ("Tesla, Nikola") People were skeptical because he was just some unknown, unrecognized man. By demonstrating his invention, he wanted to explain the value of his invention. He wanted show the value of his creation so he could be recognized. Despite Edison's efforts to put his work in a bad light, he worked through that and tried his best to be recognized.

Tesla's inventions were a testament to his intelligence. He is the father of so many electronic devices and machines that we still use today, and has made major advancements in the scientific community. His many accomplishments include incredible things such as finding a more efficient way to transfer energy and the manipulation of radio waves. "... Tesla believed alternating current would be better than direct current and he would be correct. From that point on he went to invent several more technologies including the Tesla coil, a steam turbine, the basic system of a radio and terrestrial stationary waves, which showed that the Earth could be used as a conductor . Tesla also had an eidetic memory where he could read books and papers and memorize them without difficulty; he knew 8 different languages as well (Serbo-Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian and Latin)." ("Nikola Tesla") Tesla's intelligence was shown by how he invented so many things that were extremely useful to humanity, had an amazing memory, and knew so many languages. He proved so many things to be true that really helped with our advancement in technology. He also proved that his alternating currents were more efficient than the direct currents. "Westinghouse used Tesla's alternating current system to light the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. This success was a factor in their winning the contract to install the first power machinery at Niagara Falls, which bore Tesla's name and patent numbers. The project carried power to Buffalo by 1896." ("Tesla, Nikola") His intelligence is demonstrated by how a rich entrepreneur put his faith in him because he knew that Tesla was smart. This man, known as George Westinghouse, funded Tesla's idea for a hydroelectric generator, something that had never been before. The move would've been risky if Tesla wasn't the brightest. Tesla's intelligence allowed him to create so many new things whose concepts we still use today.

Tesla the inspiration (http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm ())

Tesla was an inspiration. His great intelligence went unnoticed by most, but was undeniable. Tesla's early life wasn't really anything special, but later in life he would do extraordinary things. He had barely anything when coming to America and the famous scientist Thomas Edison tried to make him look bad, but he still pushed through and became extremely successful. Tesla made so many advancements in the scientific community and invented so many useful things, but too many people today only recognize the name "Tesla" as a car company, and not as an astounding scientist. Nikola Tesla was a great man, an amazing inventor, and most importantly, a hero.

Works Cited

Davies, Alex. "Here's Why Tesla Motors Is Named For A Famous Serbian Inventor." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 08 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 May 2016. (http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-tesla-named-for-2013-8)

"Nikola Tesla." Tesla Project, n.d. Web. (https://teslaproject1.wordpress.com/)

"Nikola Tesla." World Book Online, n.d. Web. (http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar552060&st=nikola+tesla#tab=homepage)

"Nikola Tesla Biography." biography.com, n.d. Web. (http://www.biography.com/people/nikola-tesla-9504443#death-and-legacy)

"Tesla Biography: Nikola Tesla, The Genius Who Lit The World." Tesla Memorial Society of New York, n.d. Web (http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm)

"Tesla Life and Legacy - Harnessing Niagara" pbs.org, n.d. Web. (http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_niagara.html)

"Tesla, Nikola." Britannica Biographies, n.d. Web. (http://web.b.ebscohost.com/brc/detail?sid=f8b4a4f6-b822-4e0c-a94babea6568f43a%40sessionmgr107&vid=3&hid=105&bdata=JnNpdGU9YnJjLWxpdmU%3d#AN=32424918&db=b6h)

"Transparency: The Origins of Electricity, Tesla vs. Edison." good.is, n.d., Web. (https://www.good.is/infographics/transparency-the-origins-of-electricity-tesla-vs-edison )