Discuss Tesla

[Snookie]

I think Tesla was greater and smarter than Edison.

I have always been interested in his theories of wireless transmission of energy.

Here's a primer for those not familiar with this genius.

Nikola Tesla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[TheOldSchool]

Tesla > Edison. When Tesla won the contract for ac/dc currents to light the Worlds Fair over Edison, Edison tried to screw him by not letting him use his patented "light bulb."

So what did Tesla do? Oh just invented his own, completely different type of light bulb. Ac/dc current became the dominant form of electric transmission from then on.

Edison also stole many of his ideas and worked with John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in the world, to try to destroy Tesla.

To this day no one has built a full scale Tesla coil so his theory on wireless transmission of electricity has never been fully pursued.

 

[Snookie]

Tesla > Edison. When Tesla won the contract for ac/dc currents to light the Worlds Fair over Edison, Edison tried to screw him by not letting him use his patented "light bulb."

So what did Tesla do? Oh just invented his own, completely different type of light bulb. Ac/dc current became the dominant form of electric transmission from then on.

Edison also stole many of his ideas and worked with John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in the world, to try to destroy Tesla.

To this day no one has built a full scale Tesla coil so his theory on wireless transmission of electricity has never been fully pursued.

The power companies would hate it. They would make less profit.

 

[Pogo]

Tesla > Edison. When Tesla won the contract for ac/dc currents to light the Worlds Fair over Edison, Edison tried to screw him by not letting him use his patented "light bulb."

So what did Tesla do? Oh just invented his own, completely different type of light bulb. Ac/dc current became the dominant form of electric transmission from then on.

Edison also stole many of his ideas and worked with John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in the world, to try to destroy Tesla.

To this day no one has built a full scale Tesla coil so his theory on wireless transmission of electricity has never been fully pursued.

I believe he did this in Colorado, transmitting power over something like 40 miles.
It's a nice thought but if we imagine the level of EMR being pumped out, not likely healthy. Not to mention the effect it might have on the radio dial.

Tesla was a true genius with an inborn grok of energy. In another story one of his devices (I don't remember what it was supposed to do) was so efficient it created an earthquake in Manhattan. Police came to his door (knowing who was likely behind it) to find him hacking at the little machine with an axe.

To this day, stagehands will refer to an AC cord as an "Edison", which always strikes me as bizarre since AC was Tesla's idea and Edison fought it tooth and nail. Electronics makes for strange traditions.

"Tesla > Edison" - agreed. Edison was practical but Tesla was inspired. My ex-GF's father (still living) worked for Edison. Said he was a bastard.

"Prodigal Genius" by John O'Neill is a good read.

 

[Snookie]

Tesla > Edison. When Tesla won the contract for ac/dc currents to light the Worlds Fair over Edison, Edison tried to screw him by not letting him use his patented "light bulb."

So what did Tesla do? Oh just invented his own, completely different type of light bulb. Ac/dc current became the dominant form of electric transmission from then on.

Edison also stole many of his ideas and worked with John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in the world, to try to destroy Tesla.

To this day no one has built a full scale Tesla coil so his theory on wireless transmission of electricity has never been fully pursued.

I believe he did this in Colorado, transmitting power over something like 40 miles.
It's a nice thought but if we imagine the level of EMR being pumped out, not likely healthy. Not to mention the effect it might have on the radio dial.

Tesla was a true genius with an inborn grok of energy. In another story one of his devices (I don't remember what it was supposed to do) was so efficient it created an earthquake in Manhattan. Police came to his door (knowing who was likely behind it) to find him hacking at the little machine with an axe.

To this day, stagehands will refer to an AC cord as an "Edison", which always strikes me as bizarre since AC was Tesla's idea and Edison fought it tooth and nail. Electronics makes for strange traditions.

"Tesla > Edison" - agreed. Edison was practical but Tesla was inspired. My ex-GF's father (still living) worked for Edison. Said he was a bastard.

"Prodigal Genius" by John O'Neill is a good read.

I can grok it, Stranger!

 

[TruthSeeker56]

Tesla actually built a a huge "Tesla coil" on Long Island, and it was mounted on a huge tower, but when the funding ran out, the project died. The building and foundation of the tower are still intact.

Also, history tells us that George Westinghouse is the father of alternating current, but it was Tesla, working for Westinghouse, who actually invented alternating current and made it a viable alternative to Edison's DC current.

 

[whitehall]

The Tesla legend seems to be bigger than Tesla fact. His theories are no secret and yet none of them has managed to produce a viable energy breakthru.

 

[Oddball]

The Tesla legend seems to be bigger than Tesla fact. His theories are no secret and yet none of them has managed to produce a viable energy breakthru.

AC was such a viable breakthrough that Edison spent considerable effort smearing his competitor.

 

[Spoonman]

here is the big difference between tesla and edison. Tesla gave up his contracted compensation for his idea because his passion to see it make it to market was greater.

 

[Pogo]

The Tesla ltegend seems to be bigger than Tesla fact. His theories are no secret and yet none of them has managed to produce a viable energy breakthru.

AC was such a viable breakthrough that Edison spent considerable effort smearing his competitor.

Oddball's absolutely right. Tesla in large part made our entire power grid system possible; Edison would have had us tied to DC stations plunked down every few blocks; Tesla's AC made long-range transmission possible.

The politics of invention especially in that fertile period of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, were as nasty as any government political drama, and its spinmeisters left us a legacy of both the overappreciated (Edison, DeForest) and underappreciated like Tesla. And don't even get me started on Armstrong vs. Sarnoff, the radio equivalents of Tesla and Edison...

 

[whitehall]

The Tesla legend seems to be bigger than Tesla fact. His theories are no secret and yet none of them has managed to produce a viable energy breakthru.

AC was such a viable breakthrough that Edison spent considerable effort smearing his competitor.

The A.C. system was developed in Europe based on the work of people like Guillaume Duchene in the 1850's, Ganz Works in the 1870's and Sebastion Ferranti in the 1880s. In the US, Westinghouse invested in AC technology while Edison stubbornly clung to DC technology. Tesla had a few patents in the Westinghouse system but his influence is overrated.

 

[Grumblenuts]

Tesla had a few patents in the Westinghouse system but his influence is overrated.

Tesla invented the Electro Magnetic Motor in 1888.

"Commutatorless" alternating current induction motors seem to have been independently invented by Galileo Ferraris and Nikola Tesla.

What really separates Tesla from the pack is his early, seemingly innate understanding of how electricity and magnetism pair to drive everything in nature.
It's "Electro Magnetic" coupling. And thanks to Einstein leading everyone way off track, precious few understand it now.