Nikola Tesla in a Coil

Nikola Tesla, the AC current champion, was born on a day raging with an electrical storm.  Some people called him stark raving mad, an obsessive compulsive who was the ultimate stereotype for the term “mad-scientist.”  Whoever he was and whatever he became, just remember that Nikola Tesla is one mad scientist you’d better be grateful to.

The Young “Mad Scientist”

Nikola Tesla was born on June 28, 1856 in present day Croatia.  While studying in Austrian Polytechnic in Graz, Austria, he experimented with the uses of alternating current, the foundation of his life’s work.  He was incapable of paying the fees so he never graduated.

Reality Bites

In 1884 he arrived in the US and applied for work at Thomas Edison’s company, Edison Machine Works, with his boss’ recommendation.  Edison took notice of his talent and promised him a very handsome sum if Tesla completed the motor and generator improvements.  It took Tesla an entire painstaking year just to complete this task.  Within that time and throughout the process of improving the generators, Edison’s company earned record highs in profit over the patents he was making for them.

Upon completion, he was turned down by Edison who dismissed Tesla as a joke.  He ended up digging ditches while other people benefited from his work.  This was truly one hard lesson learned.

One Foot Forward and a Jump

Shortly after his misfortune, Nikola Tesla bounced back and created his own company.  Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing focused on developing an AC motor for transporting current.  The initial investors strongly disagreed with his plans thinking that DC would be the right way to go.  He was eventually kicked out of his own company.

This didn’t stop Tesla from doing what he felt most passionate about.  It is not common knowledge but he was the first to create an effective radio transmitter.  He also developed the spark plug.  He also thought of robotics at a time when people never even dreamt about it.  He created the first wireless electrical transmissions.  He discovered that the earth was one giant electrical conductor.

Nikola also experimented in high powered blade turbines using the AC connection.  He also laid the ground work for VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircrafts, and even the foundations of the first radar module.

Forever the Underdog

He underwent a lot of legal fiascos due to patent issues.  In the end the government ruled against his case; this left him empty handed once again.  This didn’t stop him.  Once again he sought out sponsors to fund his experiments and he worked as hard as ever to survive and fuel his quest for electrical Everest.

The stress must have caught up with him because he developed obsessive compulsive disorder which he exhibited with his unnatural fascination with the number 3.  As people weren’t much aware of obsessive compulsive disorders then, people truly thought that Tesla finally toppled over the edge.

His legacy remains in every piece of electrical technology we see; it either has been invented by him or it was he who laid the foundation for it.  His ideas, his inventions are what science fiction used to be and it is people like Nikola Tesla who bridge the gap between fiction and progress.  All his experiments, theories and explanations were totally incomprehensible for the people at that time.  Just remember, what we take for granted now, Nikola thought of first.