The memory of Nikola Tesla has survived thanks to his inventions. The American engineer of Serbian origin gained eternal fame by working on the development of an electric motor and an alternating current generator, an autotransformer, a hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls, a solar battery ... but do you know that the genius scientist also intensively thought about the development of smartphones, the project of a sound ship or a camera for shooting human thoughts?
Earthquake maker
In 1887, there was an earthquake in Manhattan with unknown source, cause unknown. A few years earlier, Tesla had patented a steam-powered mechanical oscillator that - by vibrating upwards and downwards - generated an electric current. The idea of the scientist was to create an invention that would reduce the tension between the tectonic plates.
Some of Nikola Tesla's ideas were so avant-garde that it was impossible to implement them in the time he lived
The engineer admitted that it was his experimentation that shook the natural pillars of New York. Tesla admitted to journalists that one day, trying to tune his mechanical oscillator to the vibration of the building housing his laboratory, caused the earth to shake. The invention turned out to be too dangerous to use.
Camera for photographing human thoughts
Tesla tried to construct a particular type of camera that would be designed to photograph people's thoughts - and most of all, desires. The revolutionary concept was born in 1893, about which Tesla told the journalist a decade later:
I am almost convinced that a specific image formed in thought must, by reflex action, create an appropriate image on the retina that can be read by a specialized machine.
The famous inventor worked to create an apparatus capable of visualizing ideas born in our mind.
Because if a thought is actually a reflection of an image on the retina, then all that remains is to settle the issue of lighting, take a photo, and then - using the available methods - project it on the screen (...) Our minds would in fact be like open books.
Patent for mobile phones
An American engineer of Serbian origin worked on patenting the radio, while another, lesser-known project was the creation of a worldwide communication system using portable devices that would resemble modern cell phones. In 1901, while he was diligently experimenting with the creation of a transatlantic radio Tesla tried to convince J.P. Morgan, the founder of much of his work to develop small, personal devices that would make it possible to send voice messages far away.
Tesla worked, among others over the counterpart of today's smartphones!
The brilliant scientist also conducted a series of studies on wireless electricity transfer - Tesla's heritage has been used today in the construction of wireless chargers that power our smartphones.
First supersonic ship
The fascination with space, the desire to contact representatives of an alien civilization, was another powerhouse of Tesla, which worked on a special project of the spacecraft. The engineer thought about the possibility of flying from an early age. By combining their knowledge of electrical and mechanical engineering.
Urn with Tesla ashes in the museum dedicated to the inventor in Belgrade
In an article in Reconstruction in July 1919, Tesla discussed his work to develop a supersonic aircraft that would travel eight miles above the Earth's surface and generate speeds that would allow passengers to travel between New York and London in three hours. Tesla's concept assumed that the plane was powered by electricity transmitted wirelessly from ground-based power plants , eliminating the need for airplanes to carry fuel. An idea, truly electrifying.
Mighty death rays
On the anniversary of his 78th birthday, Tesla confessed in the New York Times that he had probably invented his most important invention, which could bring an end to all armed conflicts. The diameter of the death beam - one of Tesla's most shocking designs - was 12 meters, and the voltage necessary for the system was 80 million volts. The laser weapon was said to be able to eliminate remotely aviation as well as armored forces. Ultimately, the death ray was never put into effect due to lack of funds. Perhaps better, because who knows if a weapon that could end wars wouldn't give impetus to new crimes.
Tesla Monument near Niagara Falls by Frano Kršinić
Nikola Tesla remains a scientist who enjoys well-deserved fame, who is appreciated for his civilization contribution to the development of mechanics or electrical engineering, but he is also a cursed personality in his own way. His intellectual potential could not be fully realized in the times in which he lived.
I am not going to give satisfaction to those limited, jealous individuals who try to thwart my efforts. They are nothing more to me than germs of some disgusting disease. The world is not ready for my project
- Nikola Tesla confessed once. However, the story of his legacy will be continued - also on our website.
Bibliography:
- Nikola Tesla, My inventions. Autobiography, Kucharski Publishing House, 2017
- Przemysła Słowiński, Krzysztof K. Słowiński, Nikola Tesla. The Thunder Lord, 2018
- Ken Beauchamp, History of telegraphy , Institution of Electrical Engineers, London 2001.
- Margaret Cheney, Robert Uth, Tesla:Master of Lightning , New York 1999.
- J. J. Fahie, A history of wireless telegraphy , Edinburgh 1901.
- Andrzej Kajetan Wróblewski, History of Physics. From the earliest times to the present day , PWN, Warsaw 2006