Nikola Tesla Research Paper

Nikola Tesla was a famous inventor and physicist who is best known for his revolutions in the production and transmission of electricity. Most notably, his invention of the first alternating current. Many have compared Tesla to the Greek myth Prometheus; which tells the story of a Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind, resulting in major progress for the human race. As punishment, Prometheus was chained to a rock where an eagle ate out his liver for eternity. Tesla’s life likens to the the myth in the sense that Tesla dedicated his life to bringing electric power to the world-- bringing down lightning to earth-- even though it meant his downfall. Nikola Tesla was one of the most incredible minds of his time, and even though

Ironically enough, he was born during a lightning storm. Seconds after his birth, the midwife turned to Tesla’s mother and said, “Your new son is a child of the storm.” to which his mother replied, “No, he is a child of the light.” Tesla’s father was a priest and his mother, although uneducated, would often tinker with invention in her spare time. In fact, it was Tesla’s mother who igninted his interest in electronics. His father, however, wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a priest. Eventually, Tesla father agreed to let him pursue his inventing career, and Tesla left home to attend university. In 1875, Tesla studied electrical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute at Graz in Austria. He would often engage in heated debates with his professor about the flaws of direct current motors, and would spend his days brainstorming an motor powered by an alternating current. However, Tesla’s theories distracted him from his coursework, and his gambling addiction cost him his entire

This allows the motor to generate more power, which means it can deliver larger amounts of energy to the public. Until now, the United States was entirely powered by Edison’s direct current power stations. During the late 1800s, it was very difficult to convert direct currents to a high voltage, so Edison used a series of small, local power plants to power the U.S. However, these local power plants had to be located one mile away from the user in order to transmit power. This made electricity hard to come by, especially in rural areas. This all changed when Tesla was contracted to build a power plant in Niagara Falls and transmit power to Buffalo, New York. (Which were almost 20 miles apart.) It was here that the American public saw the power of alternating currents, and the electricity we now use today finally came to