Nikola tesla, how amazing is it?

1On June 6th, 884, a French cruise ship slowly docked at new york Port.

On the deck of the cruise ship, stood a handsome young man dressed in untidy clothes. His eyes are full of excitement and curiosity about this strange city.

At that time, the young man had only 4 cents in his pocket. Besides, there is only one letter of recommendation left.

This letter of recommendation is addressed to Thomas Edison, a famous inventor and entrepreneur. There is a sentence in it:

"I know two great people, one is you and the other is this young man."

Yes, this young man who came to new york alone is the protagonist of this article-the great inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer nikola tesla.

Everyone should be familiar with the word "Tesla".

For many years, legendary entrepreneur elon musk and his "Tesla" electric car and energy company have been reported by the media every three days, which can be said to be omniscient.

Musk named the company "Tesla" to pay tribute to nikola tesla.

How awesome is the idol of a cow?

In addition to the company name, students of science and engineering will also know that Tesla is the unit of magnetic flux density (magnetic induction intensity), and the symbol is t, 1T= 10000Gs (Gauss). This unit is also in memory of nikola tesla.

Tesla has always been regarded as one of the most legendary figures in the history of science. Many people compare him with Leonardo da Vinci.

There are too many rumors and anecdotes around him. Some people say that he invented death ray and flying saucer; Others say that he predicted the outbreak of World War I; Even many people believe that the famous Tunguska Big Bang is his masterpiece.

What kind of person is Tesla? Is he really God? What rumors about him are true or false?

In today's article, let's meet this mysterious scientific genius.

1856, 10 In July, Tesla was born in Smirjan, a village near gospic, Lika Province, Austria-Hungary.

Tesla's parents are both Serbs. His father's name is Milutin Tesla, and he is an Orthodox priest. His mother's name is Juka Mandik, the daughter of another priest.

There is also a story about the birth of Tesla. It is said that on the day Tesla was born, there was a rare thunderstorm in the local area. So the midwife said, "This child is the child of the storm." . Tesla's mother immediately corrected, "No, it's the son of light."

Tesla is the second child in the family, with 1 brother and 3 sisters. 1863, my brother Dane was killed in a riding accident, which brought great mental stimulation to Tesla, who was only 7 years old at that time. He told the adults that he had seen an "illusion". Later, people thought that this was the first sign that Tesla was suffering from mental illness.

Tesla is a clever boy. Except for rambling sometimes, it is said that his memory is excellent.

1866, 10-year-old Tesla came to junior high school in gospic town and showed amazing talent in mathematics, so that teachers often suspected him of cheating in exams.

187 1- 1874, Tesla went to high school in Karlovac.

1875, 19-year-old Tesla entered Graz University of Technology in Austria to study physics, mathematics and mechanics. During this period, he became interested in electricity.

Because of economic reasons (or mental problems), Tesla was forced to interrupt his college studies in the second year.

1877, Tesla entered Prague University. Two years later, he got a job as an assistant engineer in maribor. Soon after, he returned to Prague University for further study, and officially graduated at 1880.

188 1 year, Tesla came to Budapest and worked as an engineer in the newly established Hungarian telegraph office. Because of his excellent working ability, he soon became a manager.

1882 In April, in pursuit of better development, 26-year-old Tesla came to Paris, France.

He got a job as a trainee engineer in Edison Continental Company.

Edison multinational company is a branch of the United States, headquartered in Europe. Its founder is Thomas Edison, a famous inventor and entrepreneur.

188 1 year, Edison's company demonstrated its DC power and lighting system at the Paris electric show, which caused a sensation throughout the European continent. As a result, orders from all over Europe flocked to buy their products.

However, at the lighting system start-up ceremony held in Strasbourg, Germany, a catastrophic accident happened-pulling the switch caused an explosion and blew up a wall of the train shed.

Tesla, who can speak German, was sent by the company to deal with this problem. Company leaders also promised that if it is solved, there will be a generous bonus.

Later, with the efforts of Tesla, the problem was solved. In the process of solving the problem, he also made the first induction motor model.

However, when Tesla returned to Paris, the company refused to pay the previously promised bonus, which disappointed Tesla.

Soon after, Charles Bachero, the general manager of the branch, wrote a letter of recommendation to Tesla, "suggesting" Tesla to go to the United States for development.

So, there is the scene at the beginning of this article.

After coming to new york, Tesla met Edison as he wished. Edison realized Tesla's talent and let him work in his own laboratory.

During this period, Tesla repeatedly recommended his own induction motor and multiphase communication invention to Edison, but it did not interest Edison.

At that time, all Edison's attention was focused on direct current. He gave up alternating current, not because of ignorance, but because most of his company's products and systems are based on direct current. If you switch to alternating current, it will bring huge economic losses.

In desperation, Tesla can only continue to improve direct current for Edison.

Tesla's work is fruitful, and many of his designs improve the efficiency and control ability of the system. However, when Tesla proposed to increase the weekly salary from 18 USD to 25 USD, it was rejected by the company.

Later, Edison promised Tesla that if he could improve some existing problems of the company's DC car, he would get a bonus of 50,000 US dollars (equivalent to the current 65,438 US dollars+0,000 US dollars). As a result, after Tesla solved the problem, Edison broke his word again. He said:

"When you (Tesla) become a mature American, you will like American jokes."

To be clear is to play with you. What else is there to say? Quit! Soon, Tesla resigned from the company and parted ways with Edison.

After resigning, Tesla and two friends founded Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing Company and applied for some patents. But Tesla really didn't have any business sense, and was quickly cheated of the patent and kicked out of the company.

Tesla, who had nothing, was forced to do manual labor (digging ditches) for two years, and his daily salary was only $2.

1887, Tesla made a comeback. With the help of two investors, he founded Tesla Electric Company. He set up a laboratory in Manhattan, where he developed and perfected his own AC induction motor. This time, he applied for more than 30 patents in one breath.

AC VS DC, who is the final winner?

1888, Tesla was invited by American Institute of Electrical Engineers (predecessor of IEEE) to give a lecture on alternating current. His speech caught the attention of George Westinghouse, a famous entrepreneur.

Westinghouse is the founder of Westinghouse and a competitor of Edison.

1In July, 888, Tesla sold the invention patent related to alternating current to Westinghouse, and spent a year instructing Westinghouse engineers.

Later, Westinghouse started the world's first AC power supply system near Boston, officially opening the "current war" with Edison.

In fact, there is no technical difference between AC and DC. The characteristics of the two are very obvious: alternating current is easy to change, transmission loss is low, cost is low, but it is dangerous; Large DC loss, short transmission distance, high cost, but safe.

As mentioned earlier, Edison has been promoting direct current in order to protect his own interests. In order to attack alternating current, his means can be said to be doing everything possible.

At that time, Edison bribed some American state government officials to change the local death penalty from hanging to alternating current electrocution.

He also hired pupils to catch cats and dogs for communication experiments and electrocute them. He even electrocuted an elephant in public with alternating current to discredit its position in people's minds.

1893, at the Chicago World Expo, this "current war" finally came to fruition.

At that time, Edison's newly established General Electric Company and Westinghouse Company launched a fierce competition on the lighting rights contract for the World Expo. General Electric Company cruelly reduced its quotation from $65,438+$08.49 to $5.95 per lamp, resulting in a total quotation from $65,438+$07,000 to less than $450,000. Westinghouse, on the other hand, is even more ruthless, offering less than $400,000 directly. In the end, Westinghouse won the contract.

When Westinghouse lit the group lights for the World Expo through the AC system, the whole city boiled.

This is a historic victory of alternating current. Since then, alternating current has gradually replaced direct current and become the first choice of urban power supply system.

1895, Tesla designed the world's first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls on the border between the United States and Canada, and it was also the world's first AC power plant. Its power was transmitted to Buffalo, 35 kilometers away, and became the main power source of the city.

Later, with a series of large and small power stations built one after another, the whole power station group supplied a quarter of the total demand in new york and Ontario.

Until today, these hydropower stations are still operating normally, which has become a great miracle in the history of human science for a hundred years.

1895 In May, at the National Electrical Exposition held in Philadelphia, Edison finally euphemistically acknowledged Tesla's contribution:

"At this Expo, the most surprising thing is that (Tesla) demonstrated the transmission capacity of Niagara Falls. In my opinion, it solves an important problem related to electrical development. "

However, in the same year, an unfortunate thing happened to Tesla.

A bizarre fire broke out in his laboratory in new york, and the whole laboratory was burnt down. His half-life research results, a lot of research equipment and experimental data are all gone.

The cruel blow didn't crush Tesla, and he quickly established a new laboratory.

From 65438 to 0899, Tesla moved to Springs, Colorado, and established the Tesla Experimental Station, devoted to the research of high voltage electricity.

In the laboratory, Tesla successfully made artificial lightning. He also observed lightning and studied atmospheric electricity through his receiver.

Later, his research direction gradually turned to wireless transmission of energy and electricity. To put it bluntly, it is wireless charging.

1899, Tesla ignited a vacuum bulb with radio waves from a remote oscillator.

1900 65438+ 10 In October, Tesla left Springs and returned to new york to start his craziest "Global Wireless Power Project".

He asked J.P. Morgan, the world's richest man, for an investment of $654.38 million+$50 million, and he borrowed $654.38 million+$50 million to start building a large Tesla coil (wireless energy transmission tower) on Long Island in the United States. He hopes to provide wireless communication and wireless power transmission services to both sides of the Atlantic through this coil.

Tesla's bold plan was named "Wardendyffe Project". The launch tower he built, also known as Walden Lake Tower.

When Tesla was addicted to the Huwart Lake Project, his Italian competitor, Guillermo Marconi, with the financial support of Carnegie and Edison, achieved great success with his wireless telegraph technology.

190 1 year, Marconi realized the long-distance radio communication across the Atlantic.

After Marconi's success, Tesla's investors (including J.P. Morgan) gave up their support for Tesla and gradually withdrew their funds. (Later, the angry J.P. Morgan used his influence to delete all the content about Tesla in the textbook. )

In desperation, 1906, Tesla abandoned the project and announced the shutdown.

19 14 When World War I broke out, Tesla's patent income in Europe dropped sharply. 19 17, Tesla declared bankruptcy, and Walden Tower was demolished and sold to pay off debts.

After the age of 60, Tesla lived in extreme poverty and began to have symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

According to the record, he is obsessed with the number "3".

He always swims 33 times in the public swimming pool every day. If he can't remember clearly, he will start from the beginning. Before entering the building, he often walked around the building three times. When leaving the building, he only turned right, then walked the whole block, and finally left "freely". When he eats, he must divide the food into three parts and put 18 napkins on the side, otherwise he will feel uncomfortable all over.

He is afraid of germs and hates shaking hands with others. Before every meal, he polishes all the tableware. He hates jewelry, especially pearl earrings. It is said that he bends his toes a hundred times every night, saying that it can stimulate brain cells. ……

Due to his withdrawn personality in his later years, Tesla rarely dealt with people and always went it alone. His best friend is a pigeon in the local park. He often feeds pigeons, and even if he is unwell, he will ask someone to help him feed them.

Tesla lived in a hotel in new york for the last ten years of his life. His room number is 3327.

In the meantime, his friends in Europe tried to raise money for him, but he refused. His main living expenses come from a small pension sent by his hometown Yugoslavia.

1943 65438+1On October 7th, Tesla died of heart failure in his hotel room, at the age of 86, and never married.

Shortly after Tesla's death, the US Supreme Court revoked Marconi's original judgment and ruled that Tesla was the inventor of radio. (Others believe that this is because the US government does not want to pay Marconi the high radio patent royalties during World War II. )

1956 In July, on the occasion of the 0/00th anniversary of Tesla's birth/kloc-0, people began to re-recognize Tesla and his contribution. Many of Tesla's reputations and status have been restored.

1957, Tesla's ashes were transported back to Belgrade and placed in Nikola Tesla Museum.

1960, the international electrotechnical commission in Munich determined Tesla as the international scientific unit of magnetic induction intensity.

1975, Tesla was officially introduced into the National Inventor Hall of Fame.

Tesla has obtained more than 65,438+0,000 invention patents (some say 700), most of which are related to alternating current and radio systems.

In addition to the contributions mentioned above, Tesla has some very distinctive inventions.

drone

During the period of 1898, Tesla carried out the experiment of remote-controlled automatic dinghy in the lake of new york Central Park, and achieved great success. This remote control boat communicates with the controller by radio, which can be said to be the earliest wireless control technology.

roentgen rays

Tesla engaged in X-ray research in the early days and completed some experiments. Some people think that Tesla discovered X-rays earlier than Roentgen. However, the fire in 1895 destroyed many research records, which made Tesla's research results unable to be proved.

1896, Tesla took this X-ray image: the shadow of a foot in a shoe.

Roentgen wrote in a letter to Tesla on July 20th: 190 1: "Dear Sir! I'm surprised at your beautiful discharge photos. I am very grateful to you. If I knew how you did it! I want to express my special respect, WC Roentgen. "

Earthquake machine

1893, Tesla's steam-powered mechanical oscillator was patented, and its vibration can be used to generate electricity. When he calibrated the machine for the experiment, the machine began to vibrate violently, which almost collapsed the whole building.

The violent vibration attracted police and ambulances. Tesla's assistant didn't tell them the truth, just told them that it was an "earthquake".

Flying furnace (flying saucer)

1928, Tesla applied for a patent for flight technology, which was about an airplane using brand-new engine technology. Tesla calls this new technology "space driver" and "anti-electromagnetic field propulsion system", which is very sci-fi.

At that time, Tesla did not make a prototype, but designed a complete set of drawings. According to the manuscript map published later, it is completely a flying saucer, which is incredible.

Death ray

Death ray is Tesla's most famous fantasy invention and the most controversial invention. Also known as "Death Ray" (Tesla himself called it "Peace Ray").

Tesla believes that by accelerating the mercury isotope to 48 times the speed of sound, the generated light beam will generate enough energy to destroy an army whose entire distance is only limited by the curvature of the earth.

Tesla tried to sell this idea to several governments, including the United States, a few years before his death. But the Soviet Union is the only country that has experimented with this, but it has not produced the expected effect.

In addition to death ray, Tesla also studied robotics, ballistics, information science, nuclear physics, theoretical physics and many other fields in his later years. Because of this, after Dantes's death, the FBI confiscated all his design drawings and experimental works and classified them as top secret.

Tesla has achieved countless things in his life, but unfortunately he didn't win the Nobel Prize.

19 15 It was reported that he and Edison would win the Nobel Prize together. But in fact, the final prize was awarded to someone else.

Some people say that Tesla and Edison refused to win the prize together because they hated each other. But there is no evidence to prove it. Tesla is a practical inventor with insufficient theoretical level, which may be one of the main reasons why he didn't win the Nobel Prize.

Although Tesla has never won the Nobel Prize, he has a close relationship with the Nobel Prize.

For example, Roentgen, who discussed X-rays earlier, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 190 1. 19 10, Tesla recommended Maria sklodowska Curie's achievements in radioactive elements, so that Madame Curie won the second Nobel Prize (chemistry prize).

193 1 On Tesla's 75th birthday, he received letters from more than 70 pioneering scientists and engineers, including eight Nobel Prize winners in physics (including Einstein). He was also on the cover of Time magazine.

1943, at Tesla's funeral, three Nobel Prize winners in physics gave speeches.

All these are enough to show the great achievements of the uncrowned king.

There is no doubt that Tesla is the most legendary inventor in human history. Many of his inventions have promoted the progress of human society.

Although he showed an eccentric personality in his later years, he often made shocking remarks, which cannot erase his contribution.

However, we don't need to deify Tesla. He is an inventor with all kinds of fantastic ideas and hopes to realize them. Isn't the process of scientific exploration a process of constant dreaming?

Finally, let's pay tribute to this talented inventor-

Thank you, the great nikola tesla!