Today was Nikola Tesla’s birthday – keen interest in nature

Lifestyle

By Christine Rousselle, Fox News

July 10, 2023 | 6.45pm

Inventor Nikola Tesla was born on this day in history, July 10, 1856, in what is now Croatia.

Tesla’s father was a priest in the Serbian Orthodox Church, notes the Encyclopædia Britannica.

His mother, though ignorant, was very intelligent.

Young Tesla showed a keen interest in science at a young age. Around the age of six, he began conducting experiments, according to the website of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in New York City.

His keen interest in nature and the way things work, combined with intelligence and curiosity, led to childhood inventions such as a June bug-powered engine, an air piston gun, and a device for catching frogs. the website said.

In elementary school, he built water turbines and dreamed of using Niagara Falls to generate power, a dream he saw come to life in 1896, the site adds.

As a young man, Tesla worked at the telephone exchange in Budapest and as a light installer in Paris.

In both of these jobs, Tesla was able to come up with improvements to existing technology.

In Budapest, Tesla improved equipment and developed an amplifier while in Paris, Tesla made improvements to Edison’s dynamos and created an automatic regulator, the Tesla Science Center said.

Tesla would move to the United States in 1884, at the age of 28.

He arrived in New York City with four cents in his pocket, the Tesla Universe website said.

That same year, Tesla met Thomas Edison.

Edison essentially hired Tesla on the spot and put him to work on the electrical system of the ocean liner Oregon, the first ship with electric lighting.

The dynamo set that powered the ship was badly damaged, and Edison was amazed to learn that Tesla had repaired it, Tesla Universe said.

Tesla would move to the United States in 1884, at the age of 28.

He arrived in New York City with four cents in his pocket, the Tesla Universe website said.

That same year, Tesla met Thomas Edison.

Edison essentially hired Tesla on the spot and put him to work on the electrical system of the ocean liner Oregon, the first ship with electric lighting.

The dynamo set that powered the ship was badly damaged, and Edison was amazed to learn that Tesla had repaired it, Tesla Universe said.

Tesla and Edison’s relationship would deteriorate the following year, Tesla Universe reported, after Edison declined an offer to pay Tesla $50,000 for an upgrade to Edison’s DC generator.

Despite Tesla’s work to improve the generator, Edison refused to pay him, reportedly saying, “You don’t understand our American humor.”

Among Tesla’s notable achievements are the patents for the dynamo, transformer and AC motor, said the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Those patents were sold to George Westinghouse in May 1888.

The transaction precipitated a titanic power struggle between Edison’s direct-current systems and Tesla-Westinghouse’s alternating-current approach, which it ultimately won, the Encyclopædia Britannica said.

In 1891, the same year he became a U.S. citizen, Tesla invented the Tesla coil, an air-core transformer with primary and secondary coils tuned to resonate, according to California State University, Long Beach.

Tesla envisioned it as a means to transmit electrical power wirelessly, the same source said.

Ultimately, Tesla would acquire nearly 300 patents over its lifetime, the Tesla Science Center said.

He was particularly interested in the concept of a wireless power transmission system.

In his later years, he reportedly became quite eccentric and had a fixation with pigeons that lived near his hotel.

Despite its lasting impact on electricity as we know it, Tesla himself died in debt and alone on Jan. 7, 1943, in the hotel room where he lived, Tesla Universe told.

In the modern era, the Tesla name is most commonly associated with an electric car brand.

Tesla, Inc. was founded as Tesla Motors in 2003 by entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, notes Encyclopedia Britannica.

Elon Musk joined the company the following year and became its largest shareholder.

The company was named in honor of Nikola Tesla, inventor of the AC motor that powers the company’s cars.

Tesla Motors produced its first car, the Roadster, in 2008, and in October 2008, Musk was named CEO.

In 2010 the company was listed on the stock exchange.

Production of the Roadster ceased in 2012, Encyclopedia Britannica said, and the company changed its name to Tesla, Inc. in 2017.

Now, the company sells several Model S, Model 3, Model Y, and Model X car models along with solar panels and Powerwalls.

The Powerwall is a battery system that can power a home in the event of a power outage, its website states.