VOL 67: Nikola Tesla The Visionary Genius: A Man Ahead of His Time
Uncover the extraordinary life of Nikola Tesla, a visionary genius whose inventions revolutionized science and technology.
Today at a Glance
NIKOLA TESLA
He Had Strange Eating Habits
Einstein's opinion on Nikola Tesla?
Is Nikola Tesla overrated?
The end of the road
Quote of The Week
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.”
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Nikola Tesla
NIKOLA TESLA
During the era characterized by prominent figures such as Edison, Westinghouse, and J.P. Morgan, Nikola Tesla emerged as a remarkable innovator who revolutionized various domains, such as electricity, radio, and robotics.
Distinguished by his inventive prowess and engineering skills, Tesla played a pivotal role in advancing the realms of electrical engineering and physics. His notable achievements encompassed groundbreaking contributions to the realm of power systems through the invention of alternating current (AC), pioneering developments in wireless communication, and significant advancements in X-ray technology.
From a personal standpoint, Nikola Tesla stands out as a uniquely different and significant figure in history. To understand the reasoning behind this argument, consider his impressive list of accomplishments:
He could perform integral and differential calculus in his head. Even with a calculator, most people find it exceedingly tough!
He was fluent in eight languages.
He could recite all of Serbia's epic poems from memory.
All of his complicated designs and schematics were partially constructed and kept in his memory; he rarely drew any sketches.
Nikola Tesla presented the concept of a Radar System to the United States Navy in 1917, nearly two decades before Watson-Watt received recognition for its invention. Tesla had been conducting research on X-Rays well in advance of Rontgen's acknowledged discovery.
Guglielmo Marconi's claimed 'invention' of the Radio heavily relied on an extensive body of work previously accomplished by Tesla! In Tesla's own words:
Marconi is a good fellow; let him continue. He is using Seventeen of my patents.
In addition, Nikola Tesla did all of these things in his lifetime:
He pioneered various groundbreaking innovations such as the hydroelectric dam, Neon lighting, Radio control, and the electric motor. Additionally, he delved into Cryogenic engineering long before it became widely known to the public.
He discovered the resonant frequency of the Earth, a phenomenon that remained unconfirmed until half a century later. Remarkably, his patents played a pivotal role in the advancement of the transistor, which occurred two years following his passing.
In 1898, Nikola Tesla made a remarkable prediction about the future of autopilot cars. It is astonishing to note that it took 118 years for this prediction to materialize, underscoring the visionary nature of Tesla's ideas. Finally, in 2016, the renowned company Tesla, led by Elon Musk, successfully brought the concept of self-driving cars into reality.
When examining the extensive array of information and qualities surrounding Nikola Tesla, it becomes apparent that he possessed a remarkable level of distinctiveness.
Tesla, like many other remarkable and unusual intellectual brains, exhibited odd inclinations. He had moments of mental instability, reported seeing unusual visions during the night, conversed with pigeons, and periodically imagined he was intercepting electromagnetic messages from extraterrestrial beings on Mars.
Nikola Tesla had obsessive-compulsive tendencies and a strong aversion to circular objects, human hair, and jewellery. He also chose a life of celibacy and identified as asexual. These traits aided his presentation as the ultimate eccentric scientist, a genuinely exceptional persona.
Despite his fame at the time, Nikola Tesla is sometimes forgotten in contemporary anthologies honouring the most prominent inventors and scientists of our time. While Thomas Edison is widely recognised for inventing the lightbulb, it is important to recognise that Nikola Tesla, Edison's assistant and lifelong rival, pioneered breakthroughs in alternating-current technology that enabled affordable electricity consumption for household appliances and lighting.
A long-standing dispute between these two brilliant minds revolved around the choice between alternating and direct currents. This bitter conflict in 1912 resulted in both individuals being overlooked by the Nobel Prize in Physics committee. However, it was Tesla who ultimately delivered the decisive blow. At the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, his AC generators illuminated the entire spectacle, marking a groundbreaking moment. It was the first time such a significant event took place under the captivating radiance of artificial light. Today, Tesla's AC powers our homes and appliances, a testament to his enduring legacy.
He Had Strange Eating Habits
Every evening, he wore white gloves to dinner.
He would calculate the volume of food on his spoon before taking a bite. He wouldn't get any pleasure from eating otherwise. He'd also figure out the volume of a cup and a plate. He preferred to eat alone due to his unusual habits. He became a vegetarian later in life. He'd only eat milk, bread, honey, and vegetable juices.
He did not consume any alcoholic beverages or smoke.
Einstein's opinion on Nikola Tesla?
Tesla was featured on the cover of Time magazine for his 75th birthday in 1931. When the magazine asked for feedback from his peers, Einstein graciously replied,
As an eminent pioneer in the realm of high-frequency currents, I congratulate you on the great successes of your life’s work.
It was a very short and to-the-point birthday message from a gracious Einstein.
Is Nikola Tesla overrated?
Even if one disregards the potential exaggerations surrounding other alleged inventions attributed to Nikola Tesla, his creation of the induction machine alone solidifies his status as one of the most remarkable pioneers.
The significance of the Induction Machine is widely recognized among electrical engineers. In the face of scepticism claiming the impossibility of devising a machine devoid of sparks, Tesla ingeniously conceived the Rotating Magnetic Field and visualized a functional model of the Induction Machine within his mind.
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