Brad Hacker posted this on Google+ and I replied asking him how I could share it. He was nice enough to reply to me in my email with this. Note that this was posted yesterday though, so that means today is not the anniversary. Today in History: Tesla Filed Patent for “Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy” On January 18, 1902 — 113 years ago today — Nikola Tesla filed a patent for an “Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy.” After inventing alternating current (AC) and winning “The Currents War” against negative public relations campaigner Thomas Edison (who advocated direct current only, DC power), and after discovering the principles that led to the development of radio and smartphone industries, Tesla moved to Colorado in the summer of 1899 to conduct a series of secret experiments involved in this patent filing. Tesla had concluded that it would be possible to transmit electrical power wirelessly and constructed a magnifying transmitter — a high power harmonic oscillator. Tesla stated at the time, “...I feel certain that of all my inventions, the Magnifying Transmitter will prove most important and valuable to future generations.” The patent was granted nearly 13 years later on December 1, 1914. (It must have taken that long for the approver to understand the mechanics and physics behind it, haha.) Tesla spent 9 months in Colorado, conducted daily experiments and made 500 pages of notes and 200 drawings about them. Tesla proved to himself that wireless electrical energy transmission was possible, and that he could make instruments to fine-tune reception of complex electrical signals, so that only specific complex signals could be received while others were rejected. He also demonstrated that the Earth behaves as a smooth polished conductor of very low resistance and that it responds to certain frequencies of electrical vibrations. Tesla left Colorado and returned to New York where he was able to attract initial funding of $150,000 from J.P. Morgan, who had been instrumental in the formation of General Electric. Morgan’s investment was to be used to build a high power transatlantic wireless communication project. Before it could be completed, Marconi was making regular transatlantic radio transmissions with far less expensive equipment (and while utilizing 17 of Tesla’s patents). At about this time, Morgan suffered a rare business loss when he attempted to enter the London Underground field, so when Tesla asked for more funding to complete the project, Morgan refused. From this point forward, Tesla’s personal life began a downward plunge from which he never recovered. Tesla died lonely and penniless with pigeons as his only friends. [It is so hard to condense Tesla’s fascinating story into 3 short paragraphs. So please feel free to rewrite the above and post it as a comment. Also, if you have additional or better resources than these below, please let me know in the comments to this post. Thanks.] YouTube video: •https://youtube/watch?v=NeS02PnbJg4 [about 26:00; previously Tesla and Westinghouse win the current war with AC triumphant; also at 44:00]
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 01:32:53 +0000
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