When it comes to inventors, our grade school history books taught us many things. They taught us to thank Edison for the light bulb, Bell for the telephone and Whitney for the cotton gin. One inventor they may have overlooked, however, is Nikola Tesla. Not often adulated as much as his colleagues, Tesla, nevertheless, has impacted modern technology perhaps as much as history’s household names.
Nikola Tesla: Who He Was
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American who lived between 1856 and 1943. In some circles, he was most famous for one thing: falling out with his boss, Thomas Edison. Yet rather than being discussed in opposition to Edison, he is worthy of being discussed in comparison to him: there is a chance Tesla’s inventions have enriched your life more than Edison’s.
In fact, a few of the Inventions Credited to Tesla include:
The Remote Control:
Without Nikola Tesla, it’s fair to say our society would be a bit more barbaric. We’d actually have to get up from the couch whenever we wanted to change our TV channel. Tesla first demonstrated the remote control at Madison Square Garden in 1898.
Robots:
Tesla had an imagination that paralleled an episode of The Jetsons. He envisioned a world where robots would serve as helpers to humans. He was not only a man of vision but one of action. Often dubbed “the father of robotics,” Tesla’s remote controlled boat is considered one of the world’s first robots.
Electric Motors:
With his 1888 invention of the AC motor, Tesla ingratiated himself forever in automobile lore. The Tesla Roadster motor that shares his name was groundbreaking in the field of all-electric vehicles.
The Radio:
Though Guglielmo Marconi is sometimes credited with the invention of the radio, it was found that he actually used technology patented by Tesla. Tesla was finally given his dues when the U.S. Supreme Court officially ruled that he would be recognized as the radio’s inventor in 1943.
The Tesla Coil
Anyone who uses a smartphone, tablet or the Internet has the Tesla Coil to thank. According to Andrew’s University, the Tesla Coil is, in laymen terms, a lightning generator or spark plug. In more technical terms, it is a “resonant transformer circuit used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high-frequency, alternating-current electricity.”
But why should this coil be important to you? The answer is simple: it is, in some way, the basis of nearly all wireless communication today.
A Man Ahead of His Time
After Tesla invented his coil, he began to study all forms of wireless transmission. According to the Washington Post, Tesla, backed financially by JP Morgan, built a tower that would serve as the transmitter for his wireless transmission system. This tower was intended to use the free natural frequencies of the Earth to transmit data, images, voice messages and texts.
Tesla believed in this tower. He assured Morgan that he would make money by manufacturing receivers of these transmissions. As Tesla promised Morgan in 1904, “An inexpensive receiver, not bigger than a watch, will enable him to listen anywhere, on land or sea, to a speech delivered, or music played in some other place, however distant.” His idea was to provide instant access to information anytime, from anywhere. In other words, his idea was the Internet.
Unfortunately, as the economy collapsed and World War I approached, Tesla’s financial backing dried up, and his tower was demolished. Though the tower died, the ideology did not. It took nearly 100 years, but Tesla’s ideas finally came to fruition in the form of the smartphone.
Byline
Colin Stratton is a freelance writer who mainly focuses on computer technology, cell phones and general gadgetry. Cell phones owners looking to protect their investment should consider viewing the mobile insurance brand Protect Your Bubble.
Image credit goes to electronicandyou.
