Nikola Tesla

Switched-on supplier of the ELECTRIC CURRENT

This electric eccentric created countless inventions that led to the global generation of power.

By the way… I took risks with my experiments, even causing a building to vibrate so badly that people thought there had been an earthquake!

Visionary inventor

Born in 1856, Tesla enjoyed watching his mother invent various domestic appliances at home. After college, he took a job at the Central Telephone Exchange in Budapest, Hungary, in 1880. He said that seeing all the flashing lights sparked VISIONS OF NEW INVENTIONS. The first was a machine that amplified the sound on a telephone.

Who came before…

The relationship between electromagnetic force and electric current was first established by French physicist

André-MArie AMpère in 1820. Tesla’s induction motor used a rotating magnetic field to create movement.

In 1822, British physicist peter BArlow invented a basic electric machine called Barlow’s wheel, which was the first device to be powered by electromagnetism.

Electrical appliance Source of current Tesla moved to the USA in 1884 and started working on alternating current (AC). This was a NEW ELECTRICAL SYSTEM in which the flow of electricity around a circuit continually changes direction, in comparison to direct current (DC), which always flows in one direction. Tesla thought AC would make it easier to transport electricity across long distances.

Interior of Tesla’s Niagara Falls power plant Electric current from a Tesla Coil can be transmitted wirelessly.

Electric current switches direction

AC inventions

In 1883, Tesla invented the world’s first induction motor. This design ran on his new AC power, using a rotating magnetic field to create movement. He went on to develop the TESLA COIL, which produced AC power. He showcased his AC invention at the 1893 World Fair in Chicago.

The Tesla Coil was used in early wireless technology, such as radio transmitters.

Powering the planet

In 1895, Tesla’s AC hydroelectric power plant was built at Niagara Falls. There was widespread media interest when the town of Buffalo, New York, was powered using his new system. The AC system would soon take over as the WORLD’S LEADING POWER SOURCE.

How he changed the world

Nikola Tesla’s electric motors keep the modern world running today, featuring in all kinds of everyday items and appliances.

Did you know? Nikola Tesla Day is celebrated across many parts of the USA on his birth date, 10 July.

American blacksmith

Thomas DavenporT built the first American DC electric motor in 1834. German engineer moriTz von Jacobi was the first to incorporate electromagnets in a motor design, which was used to propel a paddle boat across Russia’s Neva River.