Ok. Ok. I know you guys are probably thinking “Uff what’s up with him and his long stories?”
But you have to admit that some of these stories are really interesting. 
Now this one is the most fascinating and most informative you will ever read.
Trust me on this one. Go ahead read it.
http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/supercool.gif
Here’s a task for you to
try:
Go check your
encyclopedia to find the
answers to the following
questions: (answers are
given in parentheses)
1) Who invented the
radio? (Marconi)
2) Who discovered X-rays? (Roentgen)
3) Who invented the vacuum tube amplifier? (de
Forest)
In fact, while you're at it, check to see who discovered
the fluorescent bulb, neon lights, speedometer, the
automobile ignition system, and the basics behind radar,
electron microscope, and the microwave oven.
Chances are that you will see little mention of a guy
named Nikola Tesla, the most famous scientist in the
world at the turn of the century.
In fact, few people today have ever heard of the guy.
Good old Tommy Edison made sure of that.
After all, Tesla was considered an eccentric who talked
of death rays that could destroy 10,000 airplanes at a
distance of 250 miles, claimed to be able split the Earth
in two, believed that both voice and image could be
transmitted through the air (in the late 1800's), and
essentially told Edison to take his DC electrical system
and stick it you know where.
In other words, anyone that has even heard of Tesla
probably considers him to be a first class wacko.
But, the times are a changin'.
The problem is that Tesla probably could do all these
things that he claimed were possible. In fact, Tesla
invented every single one of the items listed above (but
gets no credit) and much more. Look around you and
chances are Tesla is somehow responsible for most of
the things that make modern life so modern.
No doubt about it, Nikola Tesla is the greatest mind
since da Vinci.
So who is this genius?
Little Nicky Tesla was born in Smijlan, Croatia way
back in 1856. He had an extraordinary memory and
spoke six languages. He spent four years at the
Polytechnic Institute at Gratz studying math, physics,
and mechanics.
What made Tesla great, however, was his amazing
understanding of electricity. Remember that this was a
time when electricity was still in its infancy. The lightbulb
hadn't even been invented yet.
When Tesla first came to the United States in 1884, he
worked for Thomas Edison. Edison had just patented
the lightbulb, so he needed a system to distribute
electricity.
Edison had all sorts of problems with his DC system of
electricity. He promised Tesla big bucks in bonuses if
he could get the bugs out of the system. Tesla ended up
saving Edison over $100,000 (millions of $$$ by
today's standards), but Edison refused to live up to his
end of the bargain.
Tesla quit and Edison spent the rest of his life trying to
squash Tesla's genius (and the main reason Tesla is
unknown today).
Tesla devised a better system for electrical transmission
- the AC (alternating current) system that we use in our
homes today. AC offered great advantages over the
DC system. By using Tesla's newly developed
transformers, AC voltages could be stepped up and
transmitted over long distances through thin wires. DC
could not (requiring a large power plant every square
mile while transmitting through very thick cables).
Of course, a system of transmission would be
incomplete without devices to run on them. So, he
invented the motors that are used in every appliance in
your house. This was no simple achievement - scientists
of the late 1800's were convinced that no motor could
be devised for an alternating current system, making the
use of AC a waste of time. After all, if the current
reverses direction 60 times a second, the motor will
rock back and forth and never get anywhere. Tesla
solved this problem easily and proved everyone wrong.
He was using fluorescent bulbs in his lab some forty
years before industry "invented" them. At World's Fairs
and similar exhibitions, he took glass tubes and molded
them into the shapes of famous scientists' names - the
first neon signs that we see all around us today. I almost
forgot - Tesla designed the world's first hydroelectric
plant, located in Niagara Falls. He also patented the
first speedometer for cars.
Word began to spread about his AC system and it
eventually reached the ears of one George
Westinghouse.
Tesla signed a contract with Westinghouse under which
he would receive $2.50 for each kilowatt of AC
electricity sold.
Suddenly, Tesla had the cash to start conducting all the
experiments he ever dreamed of.
But Edison had too much money invested in his DC
system, so Tommy did his best to discredit Tesla
around every turn. Edison constantly tried to show that
AC electricity was far more dangerous than his DC
power.
Tesla counteracted by staging his own marketing
campaign. At the 1893 World Exposition in Chicago
(attended by 21 million people), he demonstrated how
safe AC electricity was by passing high frequency AC
power through his body to power light bulbs. He then
was able to shoot large lightning bolts from his Tesla
coils to the crowd without harm. Nice trick!
When the royalties owed to Tesla started to exceed $1
million, Westinghouse ran into financial trouble. Tesla
realized that if his contract remained in effect,
Westinghouse would be out of business and he had no
desire to deal with the creditors. His dream was to have
cheap AC electric available to all people. Tesla took his
contract and ripped it up! Instead of becoming the
world's first billionaire, he was paid $216,600 outright
for his patents.
In 1898, he demonstrated to the world the first remote
controlled model boat at Madison Square Garden. So
you can thank Tesla for the invention of those remote
controlled planes, cars, and boats (and televisions!),
also.
Tesla had a dream of providing free energy to the
world. In 1900, backed by $150,000 from financier
J.P. Morgan, Tesla began construction of his so called
"Wireless Broadcasting System" tower on Long Island,
New York. This broadcasting tower was intended to
link the world's telephone and telegraph services, as
well as transmit pictures, stock reports, and weather
information worldwide. Unfortunately, Morgan cut
funding when he realized that it meant FREE energy for
the world.
Many stories claim that the U. S. government destroyed
the tower during World War One for fear that the
German u-boat spies would use the tower as a
landmark to navigate by. In reality, Tesla ran into
financial trouble after Morgan cut funding for the project
and the tower was sold for scrap to pay off creditors.
The world thought he was nuts - after all, transmission
of voice, picture, and electricity was unheard of at this
time.
What they didn't know was that Tesla had already
demonstrated the principles behind radio nearly ten
years before Marconi's supposed invention. In fact, in
1943 (the year Tesla died), the Supreme Court ruled
that Marconi's patents were invalid due to Tesla's
previous descriptions. Still, most references do not
credit Tesla with the invention of radio. (Sidenote:
Marconi's radio did not transmit voices - it transmitted a
signal - something Tesla had demonstrated years
before.)
At this point, the press started to exaggerate Tesla's
claims.
Tesla reported that he had received radio signals from
Mars and Venus. Today we know that he was actually
receiving the signals from distant stars, but too little was
known about the universe at that time. Instead, the
press had a field day with his "outrageous" claims.
In his Manhattan lab, Tesla made the earth into an
electric tuning fork. He managed to get a steam-driven
oscillator to vibrate at the same frequency as the ground
beneath him (like Ella Fitzgerald breaking the glass with
her voice in those old Memorex commercials).
The result? An earthquake on all the surrounding city
blocks. The buildings trembled, the windows broke,
and the plaster fell off the walls.
Tesla contended that, in theory, the same principle
could be used to destroy the Empire State Building or
even possibly split the Earth in two. Tesla had
accurately determined the resonant frequencies of the
Earth almost 60 years before science could confirm his
results.
Don't think he didn't attempt something like splitting the
Earth open (well, sort of).
In his Colorado Springs lab in 1899, he sent waves of
energy all the way through the Earth, causing them to
bounce back to the source (providing the theory for
today's accurate earthquake seismic stations). When the
waves came back, he added more electricity to it.
The result? The largest man-made lightning bolt ever
recorded - 130 feet! - a world's record still unbroken!
The accompanying thunder was heard 22 miles away.
The entire meadow surrounding his lab had a strange
blue glow, similar to that of St. Elmo's Fire.
But, this was only a warm-up for his real experiment!
Unfortunately, he blew out the local power plant's
equipment and he was never able to repeat the
experiment.
At the beginning of World War I, the government
desperately searched for a way to detect German
submarines. The government put Thomas Edison in
charge of the search for a good method. Tesla
proposed the use of energy waves - what we know
today as radar - to detect these ships. Edison rejected
Tesla's idea as ludicrous and the world had to wait
another 25 years until it was invented.
His reward for a lifetime of creativity? The prized (to
everyone but Tesla) Edison Medal! A real slap in the
face after all the verbal abuse Tesla took from Edison.
The stories go on and on.
Industry's attempt (obviously very successful) to purge
him from the scientific literature had driven him into exile
for nearly twenty years. Lacking capital, he was forced
to place his untested theories into countless notebooks.
The man who invented the modern world died nearly
penniless at age 86 on January 7, 1943. More than two
thousand people attended his funeral.
In his lifetime, Tesla received over 800 different patents.
He probably would have exceeded Edison's record
number if he wasn't always broke - he could afford very
few patent applications during the last thirty years of his
life.
Unlike Edison, Tesla was an original thinker whose
ideas typically had no precedent in science.
Unfortunately, the world does not financially reward
people of Tesla's originality. We only award those that
take these concepts and turn them into a refined, useful
product.
Scientists today continue to scour through his notes.
Many of his far flung theories are just now being proven
by our top scientists. For example, the Tesla bladeless
disk turbine engine that he designed, when coupled with
modern materials, is proving to be among the most
efficient motors ever designed. His 1901 patented
experiments with cryogenic liquids and electricity
provide the foundation for modern superconductors. He
talked about experiments that suggested particles with
fractional charges of an electron - something that
scientists in 1977 finally discovered - quarks!
Wow!
Maybe history will finally recognize a true genius when it
sees one.
We are the Taleban! Resistance is Futile!
