Nikola Tesla is one of the people whose name is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Though his achievements are undeniable, but the myths surrounding his name are so are numerous and fantastic that if they are true, then Tesla can It would be called the greatest scientist of all time. In fact In fact, everything is somewhat more prosaic.
A photo from open sources
early years
The family of Nikola Tesla lived in the village of Smilyan, 6 km from the town of Gospic, the main city of the historical province of Lika, which was part of Composition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The head of the family – Milutin served priest of the Srem diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, his wife Dahlia Tesla, nee Mandic, was also from the family priests. June 28 (July 10), 1856 appeared in their family the fourth child is Nicola.
Nicola graduated from the first class of primary school in Smilyany. In 1862 the year his father received a promotion, and the Tesla family moved to Gospic, where he completed the remaining three grades of elementary school, and then three-year lower real gymnasium, which he graduated in 1870 In the autumn of the same year, Nicola entered the Higher Real School in the city of Karlovac.
In July 1873 N. Tesla received a matriculation certificate. Despite father’s order, Nicola returned to his family in Gospic, where there was an epidemic cholera, and immediately became infected. Here is what Tesla himself said about this: “During one of the attacks, when everyone thought I was dying, in my father quickly entered the room to support me like that with the words: “You will get better.” As I see it, it is deathly pale face when he tried to cheer me up in a tone contrary to his assurances. “Maybe,” I replied, “I’ll manage to get better, if you let me study engineering “-You will go to the best school in Europe, “he answered solemnly, and I realized that he would do it. A heavy load fell from my soul. ”
Recovering N. Tesla should soon be called for a three-year service in the Austro-Hungarian army, but relatives considered him not healthy enough and hid in the mountains. He returned only in early summer of 1875.
A photo from open sources
In the same year, Nicola entered the Higher Technical School in Graz, where he began to study electrical engineering. Watching the machine Gram in lectures on electrical engineering. Tesla came to the thought of imperfection of DC machines, however, Professor Jacob Peschl sharply criticized his ideas, after giving a lecture before the whole course about the impracticability of using AC in electric motors. This was perhaps his first, fortunately temporary, frustration from which the future inventor took the lesson is not to back down, despite the authorities.
After graduating from college, Tesla got a job as a teacher in a real gymnasium in Gospic, the one in which he studied. But this work brought him neither moral satisfaction nor material prosperity. After the death of his father, the family had little money, and only thanks to financial assistance from his two uncles – Petar and Paul Mandic, young Tesla was able to leave for Prague in January 1880, where He entered the Faculty of Philosophy at Prague University. But there he is I studied only one semester, because I was forced to look for work.
Until 1882, Tesla worked as an electrical engineer in a government telegraph company in Budapest which at that was engaged in telephone lines and construction central telephone exchange. Work in a telegraph company was routine and did not allow Tesla to carry out their plans to create AC electric motor. But that’s where the young the inventor came up with how to use it in an electric motor a phenomenon later called a rotating magnetic fields.
At the end of 1882, he joined the Continental Company. Edison in Paris. One of the largest works of the company was construction of a power station for the train station in Strasbourg. In early 1883, the company sent Nicola to Strasbourg to solve a number of working problems that the company had when installing lighting equipment, in his free time Tesla worked on the manufacture of a model of an induction motor, and in 1883 demonstrated engine operation at City Hall Strasbourg
By the spring of 1884, work at the Strasbourg railway station was finished, and Tesla returned to Paris, expecting a solid company premiums. But the company had other types for this money. Nicola with scandal quit.
Work in New York
Deciding to seek happiness on another continent, July 6, 1884 Tesla arrived in New York. He got a job at Thomas’s company Edison as an engineer for the repair of electric motors and DC generators.
A photo from open sources
Edison took Tesla’s ideas rather coldly and openly expressed disapproval of the direction of personal research of the inventor. In the spring of 1885, Edison promised Tesla $ 50,000 (for those at times an amount roughly equivalent to 1 million modern dollars) if he succeeds in constructively improving DC electric cars invented by Edison Nicolo actively set to work and soon presented his developments. Approving all improvements in response to a question about rewards Edison refused to Tesla, noting that the emigrant still understands poorly American humor. Offended by Tesla immediately quit.
While working with Edison, Tesla gained fame in business circles. Upon learning of his dismissal, a group of electrical engineers proposed him organize his company related to issues electric lighting. Tesla Projects for use AC did not inspire them, and then they changed initial plan, limited to a proposal to develop design of an arc lamp for street lighting. A year later, the project was ready. Instead of money, entrepreneurs offered the inventor part shares of a company created to operate a new lamp. Such option did not suit the inventor.
From the autumn of 1886 until the spring, Nikola Tesla was forced to interrupt on auxiliary works. He was digging ditches, sleeping, where he’ll have to, and ate what he finds, during this period he made friends with similar engineer Brown, who was able to persuade several of his friends to provide a small financial support to Tesla. In April 1887 established on these money “Tesla Arc Light Company” began to arrange street lighting with new arc lamps The company has been proven by large orders from many US cities.
Current war
Under the office of his company in New York, Tesla rented a house on Fifth Avenue near Edison’s building. Between two firms unleashed fierce competition for use of direct or alternating currents. This is a confrontation went down in history under the name “Current War”. If I won Edison, then perhaps in our outlets there would still be polarity: plus, minus and zero, and the plugs would respectively have three contact.
Back in 1880, Edison patented the entire production system and electricity distribution at 110 volts. Was simultaneously demonstrated unprecedented hitherto light bulb life – 1200 hours. It was then that Edison said: “We will make electric lighting is so cheap that only the rich will burn candles. ”
But Edison’s idea had a significant flaw. The essence of the problem is the fact that when transmitting electricity over long distances is growing electrical resistance of wires. When creating an electric a line designed to transmit a certain power is substantially losses can be reduced only by reducing resistance (making wires thicker) or increasing the voltage (thereby lowering the current strength). To reduce losses by four, you have to either reduce four times resistance, or double the voltage. Thus, long-distance energy transmission is possible only with using high voltage.
A photo from open sources
Because effective ways to change the DC voltage current at that point in time did not exist in power plants Edison dc current used voltage close to consumer – from 100 to 200 volts. Such power plants do not allowed to transfer large power to the consumer. As a result make good use of the generated electrical energy consumers located at a distance not exceeding the order 1.5 km from the power station. It was possible to overcome this limitation. complex and expensive measures: using thick wires or the construction of a network of local power plants. In other words, Edison’s approach did not allow the construction of a powerful power plant, supplying the whole region, as well as building a hydropower plant in a suitable this place.
Tesla was a proponent of using AC. Benefit obvious – AC voltage easily changes with transformers. This makes it possible to transmit current through long-distance trunk lines (hundreds of kilometers), so and build a network of high voltage lines of lower voltage for energy supplies to transformer substations, and then to consumers. For this reason, alternating current is more versatile for solutions to industrial and domestic problems.
At first, the spread of AC was prevented by the lack of motors and counters. But in 1882, Tesla invented multiphase an electric motor, and in 1888 the first variable counter appeared current.
DC power reluctantly lost ground. For example, Helsinki finally switched to alternating current only in 1940s, Stockholm in the 1960s. In the USA until the end of the 1990s there were 4.6 thousand disparate consumers of constant current.
Nowadays, direct current is mainly used for traction engines-trams, subway trains and railways. This is due to the fact that this approach simplifies the return of energy to the network generated during braking.
Creative take-off
In July 1888, the famous American industrialist George Westinghouse purchased over 40 patents from Tesla, paying an average of 25 thousand dollars for each. Westinghouse also invited inventor to a consultant position in factories in Pittsburgh, where developed industrial designs of AC machines. Work did not bring the inventor satisfaction. Despite persuasion Westinghouse, a year later Tesla returned to his laboratory in New York.
In 1888-1895, Tesla studied magnetic fields and high frequencies in his laboratory. These years have been the most fruitful: he received many patents.
In those years, Tesla was one of the first to patent a method of reliable receiving currents that can be used in radio communications. Was patented “Arc Lamp Control Method”, in which the alternator was producing high frequency (by standards at that time) current fluctuations of the order of 10,000 Hz.
The innovation was the method of suppressing the sound produced by the arc lamp under the influence of alternating or pulsating current, for what Tesla came up with to use frequencies beyond perception of human hearing. In 1891 at a public lecture Tesla described and demonstrated the principles of radio communications. In 1893 closely tackled the issues of wireless communication and invented the mast the antenna.
In May 1899, at the invitation of a local electric company Tesla moved to Colorado Springs resort town in state Colorado. The town was located on the vast plateau at an altitude of 2000 m. Strong thunderstorms were not uncommon in these places.
A photo from open sources
In Colorado Springs, Tesla organized a small laboratory. This time the sponsor was the owner of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, allocated $ 30,000 for research. To study Tesla’s thunderstorms designed a special device, which is a transformer, one end of the primary winding of which was grounded, and the second connected to a metal ball on a retractable up the rod.
Sensitive connected to the secondary winding. self-adjusting device connected to the recording appliance. This device allowed Nicolo Tesla to study the changes. Earth’s potential, including the effect of standing electromagnetic waves caused by lightning discharges in the earth’s atmosphere (after five more than decades this effect has been investigated in detail and later became known as Schumann Resonance). Observations have led the inventor the idea of the possibility of transmitting electricity without wires to long distances.
Project “Vordencliff”
60 km north of New York on the island of Long Island, Nicolo Tesla acquired a plot of land. A plot of 81 hectares was located on significant distance from the settlements. Here Tesla planned build his own laboratory. By his order, architect W. Grow was a radio station project was developed – a 47-meter wooden frame towers with a copper hemisphere at the top. Hardly managed to find a construction company undertaking the implementation of such a complex project.
A photo from open sources
The manufacture of the necessary equipment was delayed as industrialist John Pirpont Morgan tore it up contract after I learned that instead of practical goals for Tesla plans to develop electric lighting Wireless Electricity Research Learning About Morgan’s termination of financing of the inventor’s project, others the industrialists also did not want to deal with him.
Tesla was forced to stop construction, close the laboratory and dismiss the staff. Paying with creditors, Nicolo sold the land. The tower was abandoned and stood until 1917, when the federal authorities suspected that the German spies use it for their own purposes. Unfinished object blew up.
last years of life
In the summer of 1914, Serbia was in the center of events that entailed the beginning of the First World War. Staying in America, Tesla took participating in fundraising for the Serbian army. Then he starts think about creating a superweapon: “The time will come when some scientific genius will come up with a machine capable of one action to destroy one or more armies. “However, come up with Tesla’s car was not destined. Maybe for the better …
Being already in old age, Tesla fell under the car and got broken ribs. The disease caused acute pneumonia, turned into a chronic form that confined him to bed.
He died on the night of January 7-8, 1943. Tesla always demanded that he was not disturbed, at the door of his hotel room in New York even a special sign hung. Therefore the body was discovered the maid and director of the New Yorker Hotel only 2 days after of death.
There is anecdotal evidence that after Tesla’s death, the special department of the FBI seized all the papers found in the room inventor, and classified them. On January 12, the body was cremated, and the urn with set ashes at the Fairncliffe Cemetery in New York. Later she was transferred to the Nicolo Tesla Museum in Belgrade.
Tesla Coil
A special place in the history of life and discoveries of Nicolo Tesla famous coil named after him. It represents two tuned to the same frequency of the oscillatory circuit with magnetic connection between inductances. As a result, it generates a very high tension, manifested in the form of beautiful sparks. Despite threatening appearance. discharges from the Tesla coil relatively are safe. Under certain conditions, they can be caught with your fingers.
A photo from open sources
A photo from open sources
Photos of working coils are fabulously fascinating, spectators present often applaud. But looking at the photos, you need to understand that the most colorful of them are obtained with a very large shutter speed and in reality the brightness of the discharges is much less.
The beauty of the phenomenon is undeniable, but why all this? How is it possible apply in life? Unfortunately, upon closer inspection it turns out that sparks can be caught by hand, set fire to gas discharge lamps, disable electronic equipment and several other applications of similar utility.
In fact, a beautiful device is practically useless a toy One can safely say – if not for the colorfulness of the described phenomena, the name of Nicolo Tesla would not have received such fame, and the mystics around him would be much less.
Myths around Tesla
The halo surrounding Tesla’s personality and discoveries contributed the dissemination of all kinds of statements that are mythical and semi-mythical character. Such statements are not verifiable due to lack of documents, which does not interfere, however, attribute to Tesla prophetic predictions and nonexistent discoveries.
They say once, seeing off friends after a party, he persuaded them not to get on a suitable train and this saved their life – the train really went off the rails and many passengers died or were injured. What to do, the majority of the population esotericists, mystifications and a doctrine of psychics, dreaming of a miracle. That’s why fantastic projects were hung on Tesla, including UFO allegedly on display to Hermann Goering.
Here are some of these discoveries:
Allegedly, Tesla announced the creation of an energy protection system by him, as well as the creation of a new type of weapon – the “death ray”. This theory about Soviet writer Alexei successfully defeated deadly weapons Tolstoy in his science fiction novel “Hyperboloid Engineer Garina. ”
Recently, a hypothesis arose about the involvement of Tesla’s experiments in Tunguska phenomenon. Mystics claim the explosion was due to Nikola Tesla, who experienced an energy transfer device.
Rumors of destructive weapons were not born from scratch. Tesla once conducted a series of experiments studying processes self-oscillations. And suddenly shook the tables and cabinets in the laboratory. Then the windows in the windows rang … The buildings vibrated, poured from windows of glass, gas and heating pipes burst, water pipes – it was an earthquake. Rumor later attributed the cause aftershocks to an experiment conducted by Nicola.
The so-called Philadelphia experiment. This is a mythical teleportation experience allegedly carried out US Navy October 28, 1943, during which allegedly disappeared, and then instantly moved in space by several tens kilometers destroyer Eldridge with a crew on board.
The legend claims that powerful electromagnetic fields that caused the envelope of the destroyer to be light and by radio waves. When the destroyer disappeared, a greenish fog. Part of the crew returned unscathed, and part in literally fused with the design of the ship, some died from burns and went crazy with fear.
Tesla is also credited with wireless power transmission, car with a fuel-free engine running on the “World Ether, and the method of creating ball lightning.
Did Tesla really think of at least part of what was attributed to him, or bluffed cunningly – will remain a mystery. In every case, these rumors did not interfere, but, perhaps, helped him sell their patents are sometimes fantastic amounts.
Today, the name of the Serbian scientist has received a very wide distribution, His name is given to musical groups and songs. ABOUT whole films are made and books are written. In computer games him the name is given to characters and military equipment. Lately electric cars under the Tesla trademark, by which the inventor himself has nothing to do.
Having become a trademark, Tesla immortalized its real merits and strengthened the myths it generated.
Alexander Kosov Journal of “Discoveries and Hypotheses” July 2014
War Time Money Life Nikola Tesla USA Power Station
