The Man Who Lit The World

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The Man Who Lit the World

Some might return from a long day of work, turn on the lamp, and flop down on the couch to read a book. Others might grab the remote and turn on the TV. However, chances are that one never really gave much thought to how these technologies work – or the people whom made it possible. If asked, some might answer that Edison laid the foundation for today’s electrical grid. Others might say that Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio. However, few would mention Nikola Tesla, perhaps one of the greatest inventors of all time: the pioneer of AC electricity, the radio, and even television. Despite being overshadowed by many other famous people of his time, Tesla’s research and inventions had a massive impact on American society and the world.

Tesla was born on July 10th, 1856 in what is modern day Croatia. He was born to his father, Milutin Tesla, and his mother, Duka Tesla. His father was a Serbian Priest while his mother was an inventor. She created many things to make tasks around the house easier, including the mechanical egg beater. Tesla attributed all of his “inventive instincts” to his mother (“Master of Lightning”). The inspiration that his mother provided would eventually lead him to create his world-changing inventions.

Tesla studied math and science at the Austrian Polytechnic School in Graz. One day, he was inspired by his physics teacher demonstrating a Gramme dynamo, a DC generator. Tesla suggested that he could make it much more efficient by removing the sparking commutators. His professor mocked him, saying that it would “be like building a perpetual motion machine” (“Master of Lightning”). It would not be until later, when he began work at a telephone company in Budapest, that this idea would ...

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...l, and the induction motor, Tesla invented many other things, including dynamos (electrical generators) and worked on a world-wide communication system. He also pioneered radar, x-ray technology, and the rotating magnetic field, the basis of all AC machinery. Nikola Tesla had an enormous impact on American society, for even to this day, his ideas and inventions are widely used and adaptions of them can be seen almost anywhere.

Regner 6

Works Cited

Alternating Motor. Nikola Tesla, assignee. Patent 555190. 25 Feb. 1896. Print.

Harris, William. "How Did Nikola Tesla Change the Way We Use Energy?" HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, 14 July 2008. Web. 18 May 2014.

"Industrial Applications - AC Induction Motor." Mouser Electronics. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.

"Master of Lightning." PBS. Web. 20 May 2014.

"Tesla's Biography." Tesla's Biography. Web. 20 May 2014.

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