My Inventions E-Book

Nikola Tesla

• Herausgeber: eKitap Projesi
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 135

Beschreibung

   Nikola Tesla (1856 ~ 1943) was a Serbian American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engi-neer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.  
Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison in New York City. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices. His patented AC induction motor and transformer were licensed by George Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla for a short time as a consultant. His work in the formative years of electric power development was involved in a corporate alternating current/direct current "War of Currents" as well as various patent battles. 
The investors showed little interest in Tesla's ideas for new types of motors and electrical transmission equipment and also seemed to think it was better to develop an electrical utility than invent new systems. They eventually forced Tesla out leaving him penniless. He even lost control of the patents he had generated since he had assigned them to the company in lieu of stock. He had to work at various electrical repair jobs and even as a ditch digger for $2 per day. Tesla considered the winter of 1886/1887 as a time of "terrible headaches and bitter tears." During this time, he questioned the value of his education. 
 
  Chapter 1 

My Early Life: 
 
   The progressive development of man is vitally dependent on invention. It is the most important product of his creative brain. Its ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the material world, the harnessing of the forces of nature to human needs. This is the difficult task of the inventor who is often misunderstood and unrewarded. But he finds ample compensation in the pleasing exercises of his powers and in the knowledge of being one of that exceptionally privileged class without whom the race would have long ago perished in the bitter struggle against pitiless elements. 
Speaking for myself, I have already had more than my full measure of this exquisite enjoyment, so much that for many years my life was little short of continuous rapture. I am credited with being one of the hardest workers and perhaps I am, if thought is the equivalent of labor, for I have devoted to it almost all of my waking hours. But if work is interpreted to be a definite performance in a specified time according to a rigid rule, then I may be the worst of idlers. Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of life-energy. I never paid such a price. On the contrary, I have thrived on my thoughts. 
In attempting to give a connected and faithful account of my activities in this series of articles which will be presented with the assistance of the Editors of the Electrical Experimenter and are chiefly addressed to our young men readers, I must dwell, however reluctantly, on the impressions of my youth and the circumstances and events which have been instrumental in determining my career. 
   Our first endeavors are purely instinctive, promptings of an imagination vivid and undisciplined. As we grow older reason asserts itself and we become more and more sys-tematic and designing. But those early impulses, although not immediately productive, are of the greatest moment and may shape our very destinies. Indeed, I feel now that had I understood and cultivated instead of suppressing them, I would have added substantial value to my bequest to the world. But not until I had attained manhood did I realize that I was an inventor..

Leseprobe

My Inventions

[Illustrated & Biography Added]

By

Nikola Tesla

Illustrator:

Murat Ukray

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Contents

My Inventions

Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

My Early Life

Chapter 2

My First Efforts At Invention

Chapter 3

My Later Endeavors

Chapter 4

The Discovery of the Tesla Coil and Transformer

Chapter 5

The Magnifying Transmitter

Chapter 6

The Art of Telautomatics

about author:

Nikola Tesla(1856–1943) was aSerbian Americaninventor,electrical engineer,mechanical engineer,physicist, andfuturistbest known for his contributions to the design of the modernalternating current(AC)electricity supplysystem.

Tesla gained experience intelephonyand electrical engineering before emigrating to theUnited Statesin 1884 to work forThomas Edisonin New York City. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories and companies to develop a range of electrical devices. HispatentedAC induction motorand transformer were licensed byGeorge Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla for a short time as a consultant. His work in the formative years of electric power development was involved in a corporate alternating current/direct current"War of Currents" as well as variouspatent battles.

Tesla went on to pursue his ideas of wireless lighting and electricity distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs, and made early (1893) pronouncements on the possibility ofwireless communicationwith his devices. He tried to put these ideas to practical use in an ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission, his unfinishedWardenclyffe Towerproject.In his lab he also conducted a range of experiments with mechanical oscillators/generators, electrical discharge tubes, and early X-ray imaging. He also built a wireless controlled boat, one of the first ever exhibited.

Tesla was renowned for his achievements and showmanship, eventually earning him a reputation inpopular cultureas an archetypal "mad scientist".His patents earned him a considerable amount of money, much of which was used to finance his own projects with varying degrees of success.He lived most of his life in a series of New York hotels, through his retirement. Tesla died on 7 January 1943.His work fell into relative obscurity after his death, but in 1960 theGeneral Conference on Weights and Measuresnamed theSI unitofmagnetic flux densitytheteslain his honor.There has been a resurgence in popular interest in Tesla since the 1990s.

Early years (1856–1885)

Tesla wearing afolk costume,c. 1880

Nikola Tesla's father Milutin,Orthodoxpriest in the village ofSmiljan

Tesla was born on 10 July [O.S.28 June] 1856 into aSerbfamily in the village ofSmiljan,Austrian Empire(modern-dayCroatia).His father, Milutin Tesla, was aSerbian Orthodoxpriest.Tesla's mother, Đuka Tesla (néeMandić), whose father was also an Orthodox priest,:10had a talent for making home craft tools, mechanical appliances, and the ability to memorizeSerbian epic poems. Đuka had never received a formal education. Nikola credited hiseidetic memoryand creative abilities to his mother's genetics and influence.Tesla's progenitors were from western Serbia, near Montenegro.

Tesla was the fourth of five children. He had an older brother named Dane and three sisters, Milka, Angelina and Marica. Dane was killed in a horse-riding accident when Nikola was five.In 1861, Tesla attended the "Lower" or "Primary" School in Smiljan where he studied German, arithmetic, and religion.In 1862, the Tesla family moved toGospić, Austrian Empire, where Tesla's father worked as a pastor. Nikola completed "Lower" or "Primary" School, followed by the "Lower Real Gymnasium" or "Normal School."

In 1870, Tesla moved toKarlovac,to attend school at theHigher Real Gymnasium, where he was profoundly influenced by a math teacher Martin Sekulić.The classes were held in German, as it was a school within the Austro-Hungarian Military Frontier.Tesla was able to perform integral calculus in his head, which prompted his teachers to believe that he was cheating.He finished a four-year term in three years, graduating in 1873.

In 1873, Tesla returned to his birthtown, Smiljan. Shortly after he arrived, Tesla contractedcholera; he was bedridden for nine months and was near death multiple times. Tesla's father, in a moment of despair, promised to send him to the best engineering school if he recovered from the illness(his father had originally wanted him to enter the priesthood).

In 1874, Tesla evaded being drafted into theAustro-Hungarian Armyin Smiljanby running away toTomingaj, nearGračac. There, he explored the mountains in hunter's garb. Tesla said that this contact with nature made him stronger, both physically and mentally.He read many books while in Tomingaj, and later said thatMark Twain's works had helped him to miraculously recover from his earlier illness.

In 1875, Tesla enrolled atAustrian PolytechnicinGraz,Austria, on aMilitary Frontierscholarship. During his first year, Tesla never missed a lecture, earned the highest grades possible, passed nine exams(nearly twice as many as required), started a Serbian culture club,and even received a letter of commendation from the dean of the technical faculty to his father, which stated, "Your son is a star of first rank."Tesla claimed that he worked from 3a.m. to 11p.m., no Sundays or holidays excepted.He was "mortified when [his] father made light of [those] hard won honors." After his father's death in 1879,Tesla found a package of letters from his professors to his father, warning that unless he were removed from the school, Tesla would be killed through overwork.During his second year, Tesla came into conflict with Professor Poeschl over theGramme dynamo, when Tesla suggested that commutators weren't necessary. At the end of his second year, Tesla lost his scholarship and became addicted to gambling.During his third year, Tesla gambled away his allowance and his tuition money, later gambling back his initial losses and returning the balance to his family. Tesla said that he "conquered [his] passion then and there," but later he was known to play billiards in the US. When exam time came, Tesla was unprepared and asked for an extension to study, but was denied. He never graduated from the university and did not receive grades for the last semester.

In December 1878, Tesla left Graz and severed all relations with his family to hide the fact that he dropped out of school.His friends thought that he had drowned in theMur River.Tesla went toMaribor(now inSlovenia), where he worked as a draftsman for 60 florins a month. He spent his spare time playing cards with local men on the streets.In March 1879, Milutin Tesla went to Maribor to beg his son to return home, but Nikola refused.Nikola suffered anervous breakdownat around the same time.

Tesla aged 23,c. 1879

On 24 March 1879, Tesla was returned to Gospić under police guard for not having a residence permit. On 17 April 1879, Milutin Tesla died at the age of 60 after contracting an unspecified illness(although some sources say that he died of a stroke). During that year, Tesla taught a large class of students in his old school, Higher Real Gymnasium, in Gospić.

In January 1880, two of Tesla's uncles put together enough money to help him leave Gospić forPraguewhere he was to study. Unfortunately, he arrived too late to enroll atCharles-Ferdinand University; he never studied Greek, a required subject; and he was illiterate inCzech, another required subject. Tesla did, however, attend lectures at the university, although, as an auditor, he did not receive grades for the courses.

In 1881, Tesla moved toBudapestto work under FerencPuskás at atelegraphcompany, the Budapest Telephone Exchange. Upon arrival, Tesla realized that the company, then under construction, was not functional, so he worked as a draftsman in the Central Telegraph Office instead. Within a few months, the Budapest Telephone Exchange became functional and Tesla was allocated the chief electrician position.During his employment, Tesla made many improvements to the Central Station equipment and claimed to have perfected a telephonerepeateroramplifier, which was never patented nor publicly described.

Working for Edison

In 1882, Tesla began working for the Continental Edison Company in France, designing and making improvements to electrical equipment.In June 1884, he relocated toNew York Citywhere he was hired byThomas Edisonto work at hisEdison Machine WorksonManhattan's lower east side. Tesla's work for Edison began with simple electrical engineering and quickly progressed to solving more difficult problems.

Tesla was offered the task of compl

etely redesigning the Edison Company'sdirect currentgenerators. In 1885, he said that he could redesign Edison's inefficient motor and generators, making an improvement in both service and economy. According to Tesla, Edison remarked, "There's fifty thousand dollars in it for you—if you can do it."This has been noted as an odd statement from an Edison whose company was stingy with pay and who did not have that sort of cash on hand.After months of work, Tesla fulfilled the task and inquired about payment. Edison, saying that he was only joking, replied, "Tesla, you don't understand ourAmerican humor."Instead, Edison offered a US$10 a week raise over Tesla's US$18 per week salary; Tesla refused the offer and immediately resigned.

Middle years (1886–1899)

After leaving Edison's company Tesla partnered with two businessmen in 1886, Robert Lane and Benjamin Vail, who agreed to finance an electric lighting company in Tesla's name,Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing.The company installed electricalarc lightbased illumination systems designed by Tesla and also had designs for dynamo electric machine commutators, the first patents issued to Tesla in the US.

The investors showed little interest in Tesla's ideas for new types of motors and electrical transmission equipment and also seemed to think it was better to develop an electrical utility than invent new systems.

Chapter 1

My Early Life

The progressive development of man is vitally dependent on invention. It is the most important product of his creative brain. Its ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the material world, the harnessing of the forces of nature to human needs. This is the difficult task of the inventor who is often misunderstood and unrewarded. But he finds ample compensation in the pleasing exercises of his powers and in the knowledge of being one of that exceptionally privileged class without whom the race would have long ago perished in the bitter struggle against pitiless elements.

Speaking for myself, I have already had more than my full measure of this exquisite enjoyment, so much that for many years my life was little short of continuous rapture. I am credited with being one of the hardest workers and perhaps I am, if thought is the equivalent of labor, for I have devoted to it almost all of my waking hours. But if work is interpreted to be a definite performance in a specified time according to a rigid rule, then I may be the worst of idlers. Every effort under compulsion demands a sacrifice of life-energy. I never paid such a price. On the contrary, I have thrived on my thoughts.

In attempting to give a connected and faithful account of my activities in this series of articles which will be presented with the assistance of the Editors of the Electrical Experimenter and are chiefly addressed to our young men readers, I must dwell, however reluctantly, on the impressions of my youth and the circumstances and events which have been instrumental in determining my career.

Our first endeavors are purely instinctive, promptings of an imagination vivid and undisciplined. As we grow older reason asserts itself and we become more and more systematic and designing. But those early impulses, although not immediately productive, are of the greatest moment and may shape our very destinies. Indeed, I feel now that had I understood and cultivated instead of suppressing them, I would have added substantial value to my bequest to the world. But not until I had attained manhood did I realize that I was an inventor.

This was due to a number of causes. In the first place I had a brother who was gifted to an extraordinary degree - one of those rare phenomena of mentality which biological investigation has failed to explain. His premature death left my parents disconsolate. We owned a horse which had been presented to us by a dear friend. It was a magnificent animal of Arabian breed, possessed almost human intelligence, and was cared for and petted by the whole family, having on one occasion saved my father's life under remarkable circumstances. My father had been called one winter night to perform an urgent duty and while crossing the mountains, infested by wolves, the horse became frightened and ran away, throwing him violently to the ground. It arrived home bleeding and exhausted, but after the alarm was sounded immediately dashed off again, returning to the spot, and before the searching party were far on the way they were met by my father, who had recovered consciousness and remounted, not realizing that he had been lying in the snow for several hours. This horse was responsible for my brother's injuries from which he died. I witnessed the tragic scene and although 56 years have elapsed since, my visual impression of it has lost none of its force. The recollection of his attainments made every effort of mine seem dull in comparison.

Anything I did that was creditable merely caused my parents to feel their loss more keenly. So I grew up with little confidence in myself. But I was far from being considered a stupid boy, if I am to judge from an incident of which I have still a strong remembrance. One day the Aldermen were passing through a street where I was at play with other boys. The oldest of these venerable gentlemen - a wealthy citizen - paused to give a silver piece to each of us. Coming to me he suddenly stopped and commanded, "Look in my eyes." I met his gaze, my hand outstretched to receive the much valued coin, when, to my dismay, he said, "No, not much, you can get nothing from me, you are too smart." They used to tell a funny story about me. I had two old aunts with wrinkled faces, one of them having two teeth protruding like the tusks of an elephant which she buried in my cheek every time she kissed me. Nothing would scare me more than the prospect of being hugged by these as affectionate as unattractive relatives. It happened that while being carried in my mother's arms they asked me who was the prettier of the two. After examining their faces intently, I answered thoughtfully, pointing to one of them, "This here is not as ugly as the other."

Then again, I was intended from my very birth for the clerical profession and this thought constantly oppressed me. I longed to be an engineer but my father was inflexible. He was the son of an officer who served in the army of the Great Napoleon and, in common with his brother, professor of mathematics in a prominent institution, had received a military education but, singularly enough, later embraced the clergy in which vocation he achieved eminence. He was a very erudite