N IC O L A T E S L A

HUBERT SELWENT
NICOLA TESLA
• HE WAS OF SERBIAN DESCENT.
• HE WAS BORN ON 10 JULY 1856 IN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE IN SAMILIJAN (TODAY IS THE
TERRITORY OF CROATIA ).

• TESLA DIED 7 JANUARY 1943 OF A CORONARY ARTERY CLOT (ZAKRZEP TĘTNICY WIEŃCOWEJ) IN NEW
YORK.

• HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST ENGINEERS OF HIS TIME AND INVENTED MANY INTERESTING INVENTIONS
THAT WE STILL USE TODAY.
HIS PARENTS
Nicola Tesla's parents Milutina Tesla and
Georginy Mandić always supported him.
Nicolas thought he got his intelligence from
his mother.
HIS CHILDHOOD
• AS I MENTIONED BEFORE HE WAS THE SON OF MILUTINA TESLA AND GEORGINY MANDIC. HIS PARENTS
WERE OF GOOD SOCIAL STATUS. HE DID NOT HAVE MANY FRIENDS BECAUSE RELATIONS WERE NOT HIS
CUP OF TEA. HIS FATHER INSISTED ON HIM TO BECOME A PRIEST BUT HE WAS KEEN ON PHYSICS. LOCAL
PRIMARY TEACHER SAW NICOLA’S PASION TO PHYSICS AND HE CONVINCED HIS FATHER TO ALLOW
NICOLA TO CONTINUE HIS EDUCATION. THEN THE TEACHER GOT A SCHOLARSHIP FOR HIM AND THANKS
TO THAT TESLA WENT ON TO STUDY ENGINEERING. AFTER GRADUATING HE MOVED TO BUDAPEST AND
STARTED WORKING THERE.
MOVING TO THE USA AND HIS GREAT INVENTIONS

• IN THE 1884 HE WENT TO THE USA TO WORK THERE FOR ONE OF THE Edison
GREATEST SCIENTISTS AND NICOLA’S LATER GREAT RIVAL - EDISON.
AFTER A FEW DAYS OF WORK, EDISON NOTICED THE BOY'S GREAT
TALENT AND PROMOTED HIM. IN THE USA TESLA INVENTED ROTARY
ENGINE (SILNIK OBROTOWY) AND MADE POPULAR ALTERNATING
CURRENT. UNFORTUNATELY, EDISON REFUSED TO USE THE TESLA’S
IDEA OF USING ALTERNATING CURRENT TO POWER DIFFERENT
DEVICES.
 UPS AND DOWNS
• AFTER HIS ARGUMENT WITH EDISON, NICOLA TESLA HAD A
DIFFICULT TIME. IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE, BUT THIS GREAT
SCIENTIST HAD NO MONEY TO LIVE ON AND HAD TO WORK
AS AN ORDINARY LABOURER. HOWEVER, ONE OF HIS
FRIENDS HELPED HIM TO GET OUT OF THIS HARD TIME AND
TO SET UP HIS OWN BUSINESS: „TESLA ELECTRIC LIGHT
COMPANY”. IN HIS COMPANY'S LABORATORIES, TESLA
DEVELOPED THE BASICS OF AC GENERATION AND
TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY, WHICH IS STILL USED
AROUND THE WORLD TODAY (FOR EXAMPLE IN HEATERS OR
Stock certificate for the Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing
Company IRONS).
COMPETING WITH EDISON

• SURPRISED BY TESLA'S SUCCESS, EDISON LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN ABOUT THE ALLEGED DANGERS OF
USING ALTERNATING CURRENT. HOWEVER, THE FACTS SPOKE FOR THEMSELVES, AND TESLA'S
INSTALLATIONS BEGAN TO SLOWLY TAKE OVER THE MARKET FOR THE PRODUCTION AND TRANSMISSION
OF ELECTRICITY IN THE US, THE GENERAL ELECTRIC AUTHORITIES FORCED TESLA TO SELL HIS PATENTS
FOR AC EQUIPMENT AND FORCED EDISON TO SWITCH ALL OF HIS POWER PLANTS TO THE NEW TESLA
SYSTEM.
 RADIO
• IN 1898 AFTER MAXWELL PUBLISHED HIS THEORY OF THE
ELECTROMAGNETISM, TESLA CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF CONSTRUCTING A
HIGH-VOLTAGE COIL (CEWKA WYSOKIEGO NAPIĘCIA) AND THEN OBSERVING
DURING THE PROCES. THAT IT SENT OUT VERY STRONG ELECTROMAGNETIC
WAVES. THAT IS HAVE TESLA BEGAN WORKING ON A DEVICE THAT COULD
RECEIVE THESE WAVES. FOR MANY YEARS TESLA FOUGHT WITH MARCONI
OVER A PATENT FOR A RADIO, ARGUING THAT MARCONI'S INVENTION USED A
COIL PREVIOUSLY PATENTED BY TESLA WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION.AT FIRST
MARCONI WAS THOUGHT TO BE THE CREATOR OF THE RADIO, BUT IN 1943
early transmitter and receiver
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT GRANTED PATENT RIGHTS TO TESLA.
WHY DID I CHOOSE HIM ?

• NICOLA TESLA IS MY IDOL BECAUSE HE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A MODEST AND HARD-WORKING PERSON. HE

MADE UP MANY INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD SO WE CAN SAY HE WAS CREATIVE. HE NEVER
GAVE UP AND ALWAYS STOOD UP FOR HIMSELF. HE CERTAINLY ACHIEVED A LOT AND IN THE FUTURE I
WOULD LIKE TO BE LIKE HIM.
CURIOSITIES

• HE HAD A SIBLING WHO DIED IN CHILDHOOD.IN TESLA OPINION HE WAS SMARTER THAN HIM.
• TESLA HAS HIS MONUMENT IN HIS HOMETOWN.
• HE INVENTED THE RADIO REMOTE CONTROL.
• HE DID NOT GET THE NOBEL PRIZE BECAUSE HE WAS COMPETING WITH EDISON.
1. What was built in his hometown?
2. Who was he by descent?
3. Who was his biggest rival?
4 . What is his name?
5. What was the name of his hometown?