Engineer and physicist — Nikola Tesla (Smiljan 1856 – New York 1943) was a Serbian-American engineer and inventor, among the pioneers of modern electrical engineering. Having emigrated to the United States, after a period working with Edison he developed the polyphase alternating-current system, including the induction motor based on the rotating magnetic field: this is the technology that still today allows electrical energy to be generated, transmitted over long distances and used efficiently. His alternating current prevailed over Edison’s direct current in the so-called ‘war of the currents’. Tesla also devised the coil that bears his name, studied the wireless transmission of energy and patented numerous inventions; the unit of magnetic induction was named in his honour.
Fun fact
An eccentric and solitary figure, in his later years he lived in a hotel caring for pigeons, and claimed he could mentally build and test his machines before ever building them.
Theories and contributions
- Polyphase alternating-current system — Generation and transmission of energy by means of phase-shifted alternating currents, the basis of modern power grids.
- Induction motor (rotating magnetic field) — Polyphase currents produce a rotating magnetic field that drags the rotor along, without sliding contacts.
- Tesla coil — High-frequency resonant transformer capable of generating extremely high voltages.
Present in chapters
Linked atoms
2 linked atoms.