Has anyone read the Nikola Tesla's biography "My Inventions"? The guy makes some absolutely mind-blowing predictions. For example, in Tesla's book he predicts drone based warfare and the global electronic distribution of music almost 100 years ahead of time.<p>In the recent book about Google, "In The Plex", the author comments that reading the biography of Tesla was a major influence on Larry Page and made him mindful that he didn't get cheated out of realizing his vision by an Edison or a Morgan.
Sad. Growing up, Edison came across to me as a man worthy of idolizing. Edison was inferior to Tesla not only in terms of intellect, but also as a human being. Edison may have been a great businessman, but Tesla was the genius who was far ahead of his time. I'm glad to see his story told.
Tesla's work on wireless power transmission [1] was particularly fascinating. Apparently he figured out that electricity could be propagated through the atmosphere in waves, and the inherent efficiency (or lack thereof) problem could be solved by amplifying it using its magnetic resonant frequency, the same way sound and physical vibrations can be amplified via application of their resonant frequency. The result would be efficient wireless electricity transmission from any spot on the planet to any other.<p>His Wardenclyffe Tower project [2] in Long Island was an attempt to implement the idea, but was never completed due to financial problems. It overran its budget, and investors weren't willing to continue funding it. One of his primary patrons, John Jacob Astor, also died on the Titanic a few years later. I can't help but imagine what the world would look like today had Astor survived, funded Tesla, and Wardenclyffe successfully proven the concept.<p>1. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_energy_transfer" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_energy_transfer</a><p>2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower</a>
Tesla is the real genius of our time. I'd want to meet him before Einstein, or any other thinker of the last 100 years.<p>Edison couldn't spell Tesla, but even in those days, he who told the story best, won.
Niagara Falls, NY has a statue of Tesla: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajays/245729699/in/set-72057594081822346" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajays/245729699/in/set-72057594...</a>
Nikola Tesla is a true genius. We take many of his inventions and contributions to the world of engineering for granted. His works continue to astound us even today...<p>Edison, on the other hand was always a scumbag.. More of a marketeer than a scientist..
There's a pretty good museum of Nikola Tesla in Belgrade. Worth visiting.<p><a href="http://www.tesla-museum.org/meni_en.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.tesla-museum.org/meni_en.htm</a>
As an electrical engineering student, and having Tesla as personal hero, I love seeing people talk about him in the mainstream. A movie was made about Tesla and all the crap he had to go through from his childhood to his death. Check it out: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079985/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079985/</a>
I hadn't realized that Tesla had anything to do with logic gates, so I looked it up and found this patent: <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?vid=613809" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/patents?vid=613809</a><p>However, I'll admit that the prose is too Victorian and patent-y for me to decipher where he actually describes an AND gate.
there was a fascinating podcast about Tesla 2 weeks ago in Studio360: <a href="http://www.studio360.org/2012/jan/27/" rel="nofollow">http://www.studio360.org/2012/jan/27/</a>
While Tesla was researching wireless electricity, he was being supported by JP Morgan. Morgan had an interest in what was then a monopoly on copper. That monopoly wanted their copper wires to rule the world, not free wireless power. Tesla's vision of helping humanity didn't fit into the designs of a monopoly, so Morgan made sure Tesla's research went nowhere.<p>As Morgan said, "If anyone can draw on the power, where do we put the meter?" Tesla's mistake, as brilliant as he was, was his inability or unwillingness to see how the Dogs of Money keep all the good scraps for themselves. I know many brilliant people today with the same difficulty.
I never liked Edison. He always came off as a simple and lucky hack; just a businessman, while Tesla was the genius and inventor the world still owes all to.
Take a look at this documentary: The eye of the storm - the inventions of Nicola Tesla.<p>Two parts:
1) Tesla and the war effort 2) Tesla and Alien visitors