Nikola Who?

Every time I mention the name Nikola Tesla, most say “Who’s that?” I am in total shock that most people do not know much about Tesla and they should! So who is Tesla? What is so important to him.To me, he is one of the best inventors and scientist that the world has ever known. Tesla was born on July 9, 1856 in a asmall village of Smiljan, Croatia. He was the one to create the foundations for many technological devices in today’s society, like the television and radio. He also created the alternating current system that made universal transmission and distribution of electricity. This power system is still used today in the industrialized world.  He created the Tesla coil, the foundations of radar and radio broadcasting, before they were even created. Without him, many of the inventions today may not even be existed.

I found that Tesla was a very interesting character who had many phobias and mental illness. He had obsessive-compulsive disorder and he had the ability to perceive things just by the thought of them. It was hard for him to distinguish real life from these images, which caused him to have constant paranoia. By learning how to control and manage this ability, he was able to use it to his advantage; he could perfect his invention in his mind before ever building them. In my opinion, this ability is one of the most amazing things that I have heard of. I find it ambitious that although Tesla had phobias and a mental illness, he was able to contribute greatly to the world today.  

Also, I found it very interesting about his ideas and speculations. He had claimed that he invented a death ray that was capable of destroying about 10 000 airplanes at a distance of 250 people, communicating with other planets, and claimed that he could split the world like an apple. Furthermore, he was the first to discover terrestrial waves, where he figured out how to light up 200 lamps without any wires from a distance of 25 miles.

In the end, Nikola Tesla was one of the most important inventors that have greatly impacted the field of electrical engineering. If people are able to remember Thomas Edison and his direct current, then they should be able to know about Nikola Tesla’s alternating current. We should learn and remember who Nikola Tesla is because we are surrounded his ideas and inventions  that are important to us.

Picture source: http://www.teslasociety.com/pictures/ntesla12.jpg

Sources:

Magill, Frank N. “Nikola Tesla.” The Great Scientists. Connecticut: Grolier Educational Corporation, 1989. 136-141. Print.

"Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943)." KerryR.net. Kerry Redshaw. Web. 7 June 2011. <http://www.kerryr.net/pioneers/tesla.htm>

"Nikola Tesla Biography."  Biography.com. Web. 2011. 18 May 2011
<http://www.biography.com/articles/Nikola-Tesla-9504443>