Nikola Tesla Expository Essay

 

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Nikola Tesla: An Imaginative Inventor

Have you ever heard of Nikola Tesla?  If you said no, I wouldn’t be surprised because Tesla is not well-known for his inventions.  However, he is one of the greatest inventors of the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  Because of Tesla’s humility and lack of powerful allies, he did not get the credit he deserved for his work.  If you have heard of Tesla, it’s most likely because he was associated with Thomas Edison, one of the most well-known inventors in the last century.

Nikola Tesla was born on July 10^th, 1856 in a small Serbian Village.  His dad was a priest and his mom was a craftsman.  Even though Tesla’s mom did not have a formal education, she still could invent and make homemade tools and appliances, as well as memorize gigantic Serbian poems that were as long as books.  Tesla credited his mom for his inventing skills and photographic memory.

Tesla loved inventing.  He perfected alternating current and made it practical to use, which is what he is most respected for.  Tesla invented a lot of other things like: radio wave transmission and receiving, neon lighting, remote control, wireless electricity, and (obviously) the Tesla coil, which is used for generating electricity.  Tesla did not get all the credit for his inventions, though.  For example, Marconi took credit for the radio and was called the “Father of Radio”; he even won a Nobel Prize for it.  When asked, Tesla said, “Marconi is a good fellow.  Let him continue.  He is using seventeen of my patents.”

In addition, Tesla discovered and was experimenting with x-rays for years before Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen published his discoveries on x-rays.  Tesla gave Roentgen full credit for the discovery, even though Roentgen was amazed by Tesla’s clear x-ray images and wondered how he made them.  These two examples show Tesla was not as concerned about getting credit but using his discoveries to advance science and engineering.

When Tesla moved from Europe to America, he started working for Thomas Edison because Tesla admired him greatly.  The two were experimenting with electricity.  Edison was certain direct current (DC) was the future; Tesla disagreed.  Tesla quit working for Edison when Edison wasn’t taking Tesla’s ideas about AC seriously.  Soon after Tesla quit, Tesla’s and Edison’s “War of the Currents” began.

Tesla started developing AC technology and trying to market it.  Edison didn’t approve of this and since he had some of the most powerful men in America backing him (like the wealthy banker JP Morgan), he was able to keep Tesla down for a while.  As Tesla was perfecting AC technology, Edison showed how dangerous it was by using it to publicly electrocute stray animals and even an inmate sentenced to death.  Tesla disproved the danger of electrocutions with AC by passing AC through his own body without discomfort or pain.  However, the people believed Edison who was already well-known and respected for his inventions, including the lightbulb.

When the Chicago World’s Fair was coming up, Tesla and Edison both bid to provide the electricity for the fair.  Edison gave a bid first but Tesla’s bid was half of Edison’s due to AC costing so much less to generate.  Tesla won the bid but Edison was so mad he wouldn’t allow any of his lightbulbs to be used at the fair.  Tesla was fine with this because he had invented neon lights that could be used.  The Chicago World’s Fair was an incredible success.  Tesla could bend his neon lights into shapes and words of different colors.  The public was amazed by Tesla’s work.  This success lead to Tesla being awarded the contract to build the first ever hydro-electric power plant at Niagara Falls.  The plant provided power to Buffalo, New York proving, not only that water power could generate electricity but that AC was the method for delivering it over long distances.  This ended the “War of the Currents” with alternating current the clear winner.

You may think that after winning the “War of the Currents” that Tesla would be a household name, but he’s not.  When Tesla built the hydroplant it was so promising that J.P. Morgan wanted to invest in further buildings.  However, Tesla’s business partner and friend, George Westinghouse would not work with Morgan.  When Westinghouse said, “no”, Morgan used his business and political power to almost bankrupt Westinghouse.  When Tesla saw that Westinghouse would be bankrupt, he tore up his contract that entitled him to over a million dollars in royalties with more in the future.  This saved Westinghouse’s company but left Tesla poor and unknown for his engineering accomplishments.

Now you know why Tesla is not well known.  Just about the only recognition he got is from the “War of the Currents”.  After the “War of the Currents”, he continued to invent but with no financial success.  He was very poor and when he was old started taking in sick pigeons and nursing them back to health.  Tesla died in 1944 at the age of 86.  He died in his hotel room.  He put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door and it was up for a couple of days until a maid came in and found Tesla dead on the bed.  Two days after Tesla’s death, the War Department came and took all of Tesla’s property and notebooks as a matter of “national security”, making him even more obscure to the public.  He was truly one of the greatest inventors if the government wanted to keep his ideas and inventions safe.

Works Cited

Bieberich, Jim. "The Complete Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent Collection - Title Order." The Complete Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent Collection - Title Order. MIT, 2000. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
Inman, Matthew. "Why Nikola Tesla Was the Greatest Geek Whoever Lived." The Oatmeal.com. N.p., 2 May 2013. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
King, Gilbert. "History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
"Nikola Tesla." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Jan. 2016. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.

Patrick, Sean. Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century. N.p.: Oculas, 2013, e-book.

I hope you enjoyed it.  I worked really hard on it!