Essay on Tesla: a Forgotten Genius

The 19th century was a very important period in history during which many important scientific discoveries were made that helped technology to greatly improve. Those inventions and discoveries led to the second industrial revolution. Unfortunately, many great minds were forgotten or lived in the shadows of others. It is the case of Nikola Tesla, who is one of the most underestimated and important scientists whose vision allowed shaping the modern society. This text will support the idea that Tesla deserves to have his name mentioned next to the greatest scientists by explaining some of his major accomplishments which are; his victorious outcome in his battle with Edison, his idea behind the invention of the Tesla coil, his contribution to the wireless technology and his influence on other scientists who made important discoveries and findings. Lastly, his influence on today’s world will be discussed. One of the major accomplishments of Nikola Tesla is his victory in his battle with Thomas Edison, making his alternating current the one used in the world. In the beginning of his career, shortly after arriving in North America, Nikola Tesla worked as Thomas Edison’s employee.In the first months of their collaboration, Edison promised to Tesla that if he would be able to fix his DC (direct current) motor; he would benefit from a huge monetary reward. Tesla went on to successfully achieve Edison’s demand. When he went back to see Edison to claim his money, Edison told him that there was no such thing as a reward and that he did not understand American Humor. Tesla decided to abandon his work with Edison and go on to perfect his Alternating Current on his own. He then successfully designed the first motor permitting the AC transmission. A few years after his invention, George Westinghouse, founder of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, decided to buy Nikola Tesla’s patents for his AC motor and at the same time he took advantage of the situation to hire him as a consultant in his company. The fact that Tesla’s mind was now financially supported by the rich Westinghouse allowed him to perfect his invention and make him the winner of the War of the currents. His achievement was celebrated in 1883, when he was asked to illuminate the World’s Columbian Exposition that took place in Chicago using his AC current. This exposition allowed him and Westinghouse to show to the world that the AC current was safe and reliable and to succeed in making it the most used type of current in the world. Years after selling his patents of the AC motor to George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla decided to focus his work on his Tesla coil. He fully designed and developed this machine which he believed could be the source of electricity without the use of wires. His idea behind this creation revolutionized science because the machine was made to generate high frequency current at high potential across its sparkling gap and allowed for the first time electricity to travel without having to make it pass through cables. Surprisingly, it wasn’t dangerous for human beings that were in contact with the electric sparks. Nikola Tesla worked many years in his laboratories and managed to make the sparkling gap’s range even bigger as he was constructing larger coils. His biggest Tesla coil was the one he built in Colorado Springs. With this prototype, Nikola succeeded in producing a spark that lit up over 200 lamps on a distance of approximately 40 km without using a single wire. This achievement shows how Nikola Tesla was determined and how brilliant he was as a scientist and an inventor.
Tesla shifted his vision and decided to concentrate his work on wireless products. Unfortunately, even after many attempts to realize one of his most anticipated projects, he was forced to abandon it due to the lack of financing. After his great efforts with the Tesla coil, Tesla decided that he would rather put his energy in the construction of wireless apparatuses. In

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