Nikola Tesla was a physicist, inventor and electrical engineer of
exceptional intellectual brilliance and practical achievement. Of
Serbian descent, he carried out most of his pioneering work in the
United States. Although celebrated today as one of history's
greatest inventors, many of his contributions were long overlooked
or attributed to others.
He is best known for conceiving the rotating magnetic field
principle in 1882 and subsequently using it to develop the
induction motor, together with the alternating current (AC)
transmission system that made the efficient long-distance
distribution of electricity possible. His patents and theoretical
work laid the foundations of the modern AC power system used
throughout much of the world today.
Tesla also pioneered numerous other electrical and mechanical
innovations, including key developments in wireless technology,
high-frequency alternating current, the Tesla coil, radio
transmission, and remote control. His inventions and ideas extended
to the bladeless turbine, improved spark plugs, fluorescent
lighting, and many other devices, some of which were decades ahead
of their time.
It is little wonder that Tesla has been called "the man who
invented the twentieth century", while others have gone
further, describing him as "the man who invented the
twenty-first." Whatever the accolade, his influence on modern
technology is difficult to overstate, and his reputation has grown
steadily in the decades since his death.
The "War of Currents"
During the so-called War of Currents in the late 1880s,
Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison became the leading figures in one of
history's greatest technological rivalries. Edison championed
Direct Current (DC) for electrical distribution, while Tesla
demonstrated the considerable advantages of Alternating Current
(AC), particularly for transmitting electricity efficiently over
long distances.
History ultimately favoured Tesla's approach. Earlier, Tesla had
worked for Edison, who is widely said to have promised him
$50,000 if he could complete a particularly demanding engineering
task. According to Tesla's own account, he successfully completed
the work but never received the promised reward. Disillusioned, he
resigned and set out on his own.
As the rivalry intensified, Edison launched a public campaign
highlighting the dangers of alternating current. This included
demonstrations in which animals were electrocuted with AC in an
effort to persuade the public that it was inherently more dangerous
than DC. Despite these efforts, Tesla's alternating current system
proved vastly superior for large-scale electrical distribution and
remains the foundation of modern power grids throughout most of the
world.
Tesla on Relativity
Tesla was highly critical of Einstein's Relativity.
"...Supposing that the bodies act upon the surrounding space causing
curving of the same, it appears to my simple mind that the curved spaces must react on the
bodies, and producing the opposite effects, straightening out the curves. Since action and
reaction are coexistent, it follows that the supposed curvature of space is entirely
impossible - But even if it existed it would not explain the motions of the bodies, as
observed."
He also claimed that the theory pre-dated Einstein.
"...the relativity theory, by the way, is much older than its present
proponents. It was advanced over 200 years ago by my illustrious countryman Boskovic, the
great philosopher, who, notwithstanding other and multifold obligations, wrote a thousand
volumes of excellent literature on a vast variety of subjects. Boskovic dealt with
relativity, including the so-called time-space continuum..."
And if you think the above is strong...
"...magnificent mathematical garb which fascinates,
dazzles and makes people blind to the underlying errors. The theory is like a beggar clothed
in purple whom ignorant people take for a king ... its exponents are brilliant men but they
are metaphysicists, not scientists..."
New York Times, July 11, 1935, p23, c8
"So astounding are the facts in this connection, that it would seem as though the Creator
himself had electrically designed this planet..." Tesla
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein
Dynamic Theory of Gravity
Tesla's dynamic theory of gravity attempted to formulate a theory relating gravity and
electromagnetism, i.e. a unified field theory. No mathematical details of the theory are
available as he died before publishing them, and Einstein's theory of General Relativity was
by then already accepted.
The bulk of Tesla's research into the aether and electromagnetism was conducted
between 1892 and 1894, when he was conducting experiments with high frequency and high
potential electromagnetism and patenting devices for their utilisation. It was completed,
according to Tesla, by the end of the 1930s. Tesla claimed that the theory provided an
alternative to Einstein's general relativity, explaining gravity as a mix of transverse and
longitudinal electromagnetic waves.
"... It explains the causes and motions of heavenly bodies under its
influence so satisfactorily that it will put an end to idle speculation and false conception,
such as that of curved space ..."
"Only the existence of a field of force can account for the motions of the
bodies as observed, and its assumption dispenses with space curvature. All literature on
this subject is futile and destined to oblivion. So are all attempts to explain the workings
of the universe without recognising the existence of the aether and the indispensable
function it plays in the phenomena..."
During an 1891 lecture on the structure of the aether and electromagnetism,
Tesla stated that there was "an infinitesimal world, with molecules and atoms moving in orbits
in much the same manner as celestial bodies, carrying with them static charges...", and that
there were independent carriers transmitting "... tensions or electrostatic strains..." This
predated the research of Rutherford, Bohr, and Einstein into the nature of fundamental
particles.
Part of the criticism against Tesla, however, relates to his refusal to accept
that mass can be converted into energy, a fact generally seen as supporting relativity.
"They laughed in 1896, too, when I told them about cosmic rays. They jeered 35 years ago when I
discovered the rotating field principle of alternating currents. They called me crazy when I
predicted the radio. And when I sent the first impulse around the world, they said it couldn't
be done." Nikola Tesla, 1937
Wardenclyffe Tower and "Wireless Power Distribution"
In 1900, with 150,000 dollars (51%) from JP Morgan, Tesla began planning the Wardenclyffe
Tower facility, perhaps his most controversial patent. It was billed as the start of a global
system for Wireless Telecommunications, and was also intended, more controversially, as a
demonstration of Wireless Electrical Power Distribution.
In 1903, upon hearing of Tesla's plans for wireless power transmission, Morgan refused any
more funding to support the Tower project. The tower was finally dismantled for scrap during
wartime. In the article "The Future of the Wireless Art" which appeared in Wireless Telegraphy
& Telephony, 1908, Tesla made the following statement regarding the Wardenclyffe project:
"As soon as completed, it will be possible for a business man in New York
to dictate instructions, and have them instantly appear in type at his office in London or
elsewhere. He will be able to call up, from his desk, and talk to any telephone subscriber
on the globe, without any change whatever in the existing equipment. An inexpensive
instrument, not bigger than a watch, will enable its bearer to hear anywhere, on sea or
land, music or song, the speech of a political leader, the address of an eminent man of
science, or the sermon of an eloquent clergyman, delivered in some other place, however
distant. In the same manner any picture, character, drawing, or print can be transferred
from one to another place. Millions of such instruments can be operated from but one plant
of this kind.
"More important than this, however, will be the transmission of power,
without wires, which will be shown on a scale large enough to carry conviction. These few
indications will be sufficient to show that the wireless art offers greater possibilities
than any invention or discovery heretofore made, and if the conditions are favourable, we
can expect with certitude that in the next few years wonders will be wrought by its
application."
Westinghouse allegedly commented to the effect that "Wireless electrical power"
would effectively break the power industry financially. WF? episode
Tesla and the Pyramids.
Tesla and Medicine
Tesla's name has been honored with the international unit of magnetic flux
density, the "Tesla". All magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are calibrated with Tesla
units (from 0.2 to 9 Teslas). MRI machines work on the principle of a homogeneous magnetic
field. Nikola Tesla discovered the Rotating Magnetic Field in Budapest, 1882. The Tesla unit
for magnetism was established in 1956 at the Rathaus of Munich, Germany, by the International
Electrotechnical Commission Committee in Action.
Additionally, he pioneered the use of ozone for the treatment of water, a
technique which is once again becoming popular because of its benign nature and the fact that
no chlorine or other dangerous chemicals are needed.
He also speculated about the potential curative and analgesic powers of
electromagnetism.
Aether concept
It is important to understand that Tesla's aether concept is not analogous to classical aether
theories. Tesla's aether was in fact a medium, or "perfect fluid" that wets everything in which
we are immersed, acting as an "independent carrier". It behaves as a solid to light (high
frequency) and is transparent to matter, while its effects, according to Tesla, can be felt
through inertia.
Tesla coils
The spectacular and highly visible effects produced by Tesla coils have been
the subject of controversy for years. The high frequency, high voltage energy produced
possesses strange qualities unlike conventional electricity. It defies most insulating
material, transmits energy without wires, produces heat, light and noise, and yet harmlessly
passes through human tissue with virtually no shocking effects.
Much research, money and
effort has been dedicated to the construction of similar large devices capable of producing
200 foot lightning bolts and lightning 25 miles away. The Tesla coil is the basis for much of
the ongoing research into Tesla's theories.
Conspiracy theories
Unfortunately, much of Tesla's work has been clouded by various conspiracy theories because of
the potential military and economic implications of many of his ideas. Some have claimed that
he became delusional later in life, while others have suggested that his death may have been
hastened by "pressure" from various "agencies" in order to obtain information relating to his
theories.
Immediately after his death, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) instructed the Office
of Alien Property to take possession of his papers and property, despite his US citizenship. J
Edgar Hoover declared the case "MOST SECRET" because of the nature of Tesla's inventions and
patents.
Tesla turned down a Nobel Prize when he was offered to share it with Edison.
"Tesla has contributed more to electrical science than any man up to his time." Lord Kelvin
Superstitions
Tesla was known to be superstitious, especially about numbers. He is alleged to have stated:
"If you only knew the magnificence of the 3, 6, and 9, then you would have a key to the
universe." Although it's uncertain if he actually uttered this famous quote, there is no
question he was obsessed by these numbers, and he manifested this in different ways. He would
walk around a block three times before entering a building, and he would wash his dishes with 18
napkins (18 being divisible by 3, 6, and 9). Also, he would stay only in hotel rooms with a
number divisible by three, and, in fact, he died in hotel room number 3327.
Summation
Conspiracy theories and petty politics aside, Tesla was clearly a brilliant man with ideas well
ahead of his time. There exist many interesting parallels between his visionary ideas and those
of the contemporary Electric Universe.
"I am not an inventor. I am a discoverer of new scientific principles." Nikola Tesla
"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through
equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."
Nikola Tesla
