Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla once said, “Science is but a perversion of itself unless it has as its ultimate goal the betterment of humanity.” Nikola Tesla was one of the world’s greatest inventors and was also a great philosopher. His life was not always easy; although he had great success, he also had rough points in his life. Nikola Tesla’s life fluctuated just as much as his greatest invention alternating current.
Growing up, Tesla had a pretty ordinary life, with some bad things happening and some good things happening. At a young age his older brother, Dane, died from a horse accident not only was this event horrible, but to make it worse, Tesla saw it happen, and he never forgot the sight. “Anything Nikola accomplished,’ he later wrote,
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‘merely caused my parents to feel their loss [of Dane] more keenly. So I grew up with little confidence in myself (Burgman).’” Not long after his brother’s death he found a book in his father’s library about will power and self-control, and he began to discipline himself. Tesla came close to death himself multiple times. After finishing high school in Karlovac, he came down with cholera, a serious stomach ailment. They believe he was close to death when he said to his father “Perhaps I may get well if you will me study engineering.” He said this because he knew his father wanted him to be a priest, and he was going to follow that path until this illness. His father agreed if he were to get better he could study engineering. He soon becomes better, and his father kept his word. Nikola would be an engineer. Before heading off to college, Tesla went to the mountain sides of Austria, Croatia for a short time to regain his strength.
During his second year in college his professor brought in a gramme dynamo. The machine had a crank when turned created electricity, but also could work as a worked as a motor. Tesla told his professor a way he thought he could improve the machine. The professor quickly responded with “Mr. Tesla may accomplish create things, but he certainly will never do this.” Tesla soon began to run out of money for school. He asked a Serbian company to help him, but they refused, and he soon began gambling to try to pay for his college. Most of the time he lost, but sometimes he did win. When his father found out about his gambling problems he became outraged, but his mother gave him a roll of cash and said “Go and enjoy yourself. The sooner you lose all we possess, the better” Tesla then realized he had a problem that could destroy his family, and he quit gambling and school. Soon after this, his father died, and before his death, he told Tesla to finish his schooling. This time he wanted to follow his father’s wishes. Tesla then went to the University of Prague for a short time before transferring to Budapest. Tesla got a job in Budapest repairing telephones and an assortment of other things. Just as things were starting to get better for Tesla he became ill with what he called a “nervous breakdown” that almost ended his life. Despite what the doctors thought …show more content…
would happen, he become well. Still not fully recovered, Tesla and his friend took a walk in the park, and Tesla was reciting some of his favorite poetry. He later stated, “As I uttered these inspiring words the idea came like a flash of lightning and in an instant the truth was revealed. … I cannot begin to describe my emotions.” He then drew in the sand a picture of his AC motor that he had been working so long to perfect. It took him several more years to build his motor. Tesla then got a job working at the Edison Continental Company (Burgman). Shortly after he started his new job it was arranged that Tesla would work for Edison’s company in New York.
So, Tesla began to get ready to go to New York. Before he left, two of his uncles gave him quite a sum of money to pay for the trip, but sadly some of his belongings and some of his money were stolen. (Burgan) When he arrives in America, he begins working with Thomas Edison, but after about a year Tesla is unable to convince Edison of his ideas, so the two great inventors separate. Tesla soon created his company. Throughout the next few years Tesla work on multiphase motors and applies for more than 30 patents, but after about 5 or 6 years Tesla receives news that his mother is ill. Tesla returns home after many years to see his mother. Soon, his mother dies, leaving Tesla with no parents. This was a very hard time in Tesla’s life, but after a while, he finds a new interest, and he begins working on radio technology. Things were just starting to look good for Tesla again. Then his lab burned down, all the years of work put into all of his inventions gone in a matter of hours. The fire destroys everything, including many first model designs. Tesla soon gets a new bigger lab (Biebrich). Tesla continues his work on radio technology. He soon made a radio controlled boat. Then he made what he claims to be his greatest discovery terrestrial stationary waves. Tesla continued his life working on radio technology and high-frequency
electricity. A lot of people consider Tesla a great engineer and inventor, but most do not realize how hard his life was and the struggles he endured. Tesla died on Jan. 7, 1943 in a hotel room. He died of coronary thrombosis; this is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. “We are confronted with portentous problems which can not be solved just by providing for our material existence” (Bogdan).
I hope I have answered the question “What was his personal life like?” good in here and would like to summarize by saying that he was able to overcome all odds to become a famous inventor that even had a movie made by him. I would also like to say that He made many, many products that we still use all from simple plants like peanuts in summary to the answer of the question “What did he actually do?”. He also had many hobbies that ended up in helping many people (“What did he like to do when he wasn’t working?”). I have found that this man that I knew nothing about before the report is one of the few real life people I know of that overcame so many things in his life that almost no one even knows
In 1882, Nikola came up with the idea for a brushless AC motor and made his first sketches of it rotating electromagnets. He began working for the continental Edison Company in France designing and making improvements to the electrical equipment. Then in June 1884, Tesla relocated to New York City where he was hired by Thomas Edison to work at his Edison Machine Works. He and Edison worked alongside one another making improvements to Edison’s inventions. After several months they parted ways due to a disagreement over a
Ford had many struggles and challenges come his way before he became the maker of an efficient, non costly car that shaped our world into a technological nation. One challenge he faced was the inability to sell cars when The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers did not allow him to sell cars, (“Henry Ford”). This was a huge obstacle for him because when he created the Ford Model T he needed an audience to buy his product or he was going to be bankrupt. Luckily, since Ford was persistent and always fought for what he wanted he went to court against them and won his case. Moreover, Ford was sued by his own stockholders for putting their money into his company and he lost the case. When he lost the case he didn’t just give up, he worked harder to earn back the money he lost and eventually he bought them out and was able to continue building his stocks up, (“Father of the Modern Assembly Line”). Due to his perseverance and persistenceness he was able to continue with his company and thrive instead of seeing it crumble into nothing. His attitude towards his work is how he was able to create a multi-million dollar company and not let his obstacles bring him down, but let them shape him into a better, industrious
Tesla’s career as an inventor started when he was in his late twenties. He displayed his incredible understanding of electricity and physics when he created his first invention, the induction motor. The induction motor is a small, electric motor that has become a very useful machine. In fact, most household appliances run using Tesla’s induction motor (Vujovic 1). Score one for Tesla. Soon after he invented the induction motor, Tesla moved to America to try his luck at living the American dream. While in New York City, Tesla got the amazing opportunity to work for his hero, Thomas Edison. However, Tesla soon quit working for Edison due to some disagreements between the two inventors. And so with Edison and his men biting at Tesla’s heels, Nikola set out on his own to make a name for himself (Vujovic 1). Tesla soon became Edison’s greatest competitor. While tinkering in his lab with one of his inventions called the Tesla Coil, Tesla discovered that he could send and receive radio signals when his coils were tuned to the exact same frequency...
The major encounters that Tesla and Faraday faced included social, economic, intellectual barriers. Considering socially, Faraday was considered to be a “...high-priest of Nature, revealing the hidden forces...”(Shortland) People saw Faraday as the highest of his field, the one who was the closest to God in relation to understanding his creation. This also shows the social standard at this point in time, many going to church and understanding when someone references a religious point. Also, for social encounters, we have Tesla with his description f what the future will be like. This was not a reaction to the society that Tesla was around, but a prediction of what they were to become. Tesla, hoping to see that people would grow to become stronger
As James Levine is famous for saying, “I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment.” To me, one of the greatest mentors of innovative scientific history was Nikola Tesla. That being said, if given the opportunity to spend the next year of my life in a different time period I would like to live during the year 1942 so I could work beside Tesla. This was the year before Tesla died, a time when he had experienced the full scope of his expertise and could impart that wisdom to me. My questions about his popularity would be answered in full. Questions about Tesla’s integrity could lead to the answer to the legendary disputes about what was rightfully his. Legends about genius inventions that could only be imagined
Henry Ford, the man who revolutionized the car industry forever, founded his company under the beliefs that a car wasn’t a high-speed toy for the rich but instead a sturdy vehicle for everyday family needs, like driving to work, getting groceries or driving to church. However, Henry ford did much more than just this feat. He also tried to make peace in WWI before America had joined the war. In addition, Ford made the radical new five dollars a day payment. However, Ford also had his lows. At an early age, his mother died. His first two companies had also been failures. Against many of his closest friends protests, he published an anti-semitic (Jewish) newspaper. Ford had a very interesting and unique life and he changed the automotive industry forever.
All my money has been invested into experiments with which I have made new discoveries enabling mankind to have a little easier life,” Tesla (1927). This philosophy of Tesla hold true on both accounts, Tesla did make life easier for mankind and he did invest all his money attempting to accomplish that task. “Despite his accomplishments, however, Tesla died penniless and without the accolades that would he would ultimately earn over a century later,” according to Whipps (2014). Aside from the above quote which reminds us of how determined Tesla was, we have various technologies that current culture utilizes on an everyday basis which solidifies his importance on society. For example, Tesla is responsible solely for or developing the technology or methods which enable, alternating current, light, x-rays, radios, remote controls, electric motors, robotics, lasers, wireless communications and potential limitless free energy. An argument could be made that Tesla has had such a profound influence on our society that the inevitable switch to battery operated, fully automatized motor vehicles is led by a company which utilizes the brand name of
When Henry Ford was born on June 30th, 1863, neither him nor anyone for that matter, knew what an important role he would take in the future of mankind. Ford saw his first car when he was 12. He and his father where riding into Detroit at the time. At that moment, he knew what he wanted to do with his life: he wanted to make a difference in the automobile industry. Through out his life, he achieved this in an extraordinary way. That is why he will always be remembered in everyone’s heart. Whenever you drive down the road in your car, you can thank all of it to Henry Ford. Through his life he accomplished extraordinary achievements such as going from a poor farm boy to a wealthy inventor who helped Thomas Edison. When he was a young man, he figured out how to use simple inventions, such as the light bulb. He then taught himself the design of a steamboat engine. His goal was to build a horse-less carriage. He had come up with several designs and in 1896, he produced his first car, the Model A. When Ford’s first car came out, he had been interviewed by a reporter and when asked about the history of the car, he had said “History is more or less bunk.” Ford worked in Thomas Edison’s factory for years and the left to become an apprentice for a car-producer in Detroit. While working there, he established how he was going to make the car.
arriving in New York City with four cents in his pocket, and many great ideas in
Exploring the deep, dark realms of outer space, developing new energy efficient cars, and coding computers to make life easier are all areas of science that Elon Musk has effected. In his youth, his thirst for knowledge could not be quenched. He read every book and never ran out of questions to ask about the way machines worked. College life helped Elon Musk learn the skills he would need for the outside world. As a professional entrepreneur and the CEO of three companies, Elon Musk has effected almost every area of science.
Although Elon Musk’s,CEO of Tesla, car company is named after Nikola Tesla, his efforts to electrify society and replace fossil fuels is much more aligned to the vision of Thomas Edison (Burrows). Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa on June 28,1971 (Vance, 31). Even as a kid, Elon had fantasies of colonizing planets; he brought model rockets to school and launched them during breaks. As a teenager, he held firm beliefs on using renewable energy, even in a country dedicated to mining. He also had debates with his brother Kimbal, about paperless banking or similar (Vance, 41-42). Fast-forward a couple of years to 1995, Elon and Kimbal created Zip2, a service that would make a yellow-pages type directory with a map. Similar to Google Maps today, showing the location, hours, phone number, etc. of a store, restaurant, or service (Vance,61). The company then sold their software to newspaper and media companies like The New York Times and Hearst Corporation, who knew that they were in trouble with
When Tesla stepped foot in New York he came with the idea of alternating current, drawing his dea in the sand . To get his start he went to work for Edison who was working with direct current at the time. Edison took advantage of Tesla which lead to the “Battle of the Currents”. Edison invented the direct current which was very popular in its day and is still used. Direct current created a very dim light and could only travel for two miles. With this short distance, many power stations had to be built (A&E Television Networks). When Tesla came to America, in 1884, he worked on machines for Edison in his power stations. Tesla did not stay with Edison and quit soon after Edison refused to pay him for his work. Tesla said “I predict that very shortly the old-fashioned incandescent lamp, having a filament heated to brightness by the passage of electric current through it, will entirely disappear,” (“Tesla Universe”). By predicting this, he made alternating current better and more efficient than Edison’s direct current. It could travel for hundreds of miles, and created a bright light which was the total opposite of direct current. Alternating current was purchased from Tesla by Westinghouse for over 1 million dollars (William Harris). When Westinghouse took over, the popularity of alternating current skyrockete...
Edison’s vision of invention as a process shaped much of his business approach. For Edison it was never enough to simply develop and perfect a concept or idea; he constantly drove him...
He next formed a company, the Tesla Electric Light & Manufactoring. Unfortunately, his investors disagreed with his plans for developin...