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Famous Engineers
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The Man Who Invented the 20th
Century
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While strolling through Budapest's city park
one early evening in 1882, this young engineer suddenly had a
vision that would lead to one of the greatest inventions of
all time. Grabbing a stick, he drew a diagram in the
sand explaining to his friend the principle of the induction
motor. |
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Born at midnight on July 10, 1856 (reportedly
during a fierce electric storm) in present-day Croatia, this
son of a Serbian Orthodox priest registered more than 700
inventions and more than 100 patents in his lifetime.
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He emigrated to America, arriving in New York
with only 4 cents in his pocket and immediately went to work
for Thomas Edison. However, disgusted with his low pay
and unable to persuade Edison of the superiority of AC power
over Edison's DC systems, he resigned his position. |
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Over the next 60 years, this brilliant
Serbian-American engineer paved the way for the electronic
world we now live in. His achievements include polyphase
power, the induction motor, long distance AC power
transmission, systems for wireless communication, bladeless
turbines, pumps, compressors, fluorescent light, laser beams,
electronic remote control, vertical take-off aircraft and
electrotherapy. |
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In addition to his enormous contributions in
electrical engineering, his inventions spanned the fields of
ballistics, robotics, computer science, nuclear physics,
medicine, mechanical engineering and theoretical physics.
He also invented radio, contrary to the widely held belief
that it was Marconi's invention. And his work enabled
Wilhelm Roentgen to discover X-rays in 1895. |
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He is often referred to as the "The Man Who
Invented The 20th Century". Who was this brilliant
engineer? |
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Nikola Tesla was
one of the most influential engineers in history. His legacy can
be seen around the world wherever electricity is used.
Tesla was a
voracious reader. He had a photographic memory, allowing him to
memorize entire texts that he read. Tesla would visualize a new
invention in his mind and have the entire prototype developed before
putting it on paper. He was also fluent in nine languages.
Tesla was a life
long bachelor who remained celibate his entire life. He claimed
that his chastity was very helpful to his scientific abilities.
In his later
years, Tesla became somewhat of a recluse and was even regarded by some
as a "mad scientist". He became obsessed with the number "three",
feeling compelled to walk around the block 3 times before entering a
building and demanding a stack of three folded cloth napkins beside his
plate for every meal. Medical science knew very little about
obsessive-compulsive disorder at the time, so his behavior was regarded
as evidence of insanity.
Tesla died alone
in the New Yorker Hotel in 1946 at the age of 86. Immediately
after his death, Tesla's possessions were seized by the FBI because of
concerns about technology in Tesla's papers falling into the wrong
hands. At the time of his death, Tesla had been working on the
theory behind a "death ray" which would consist of a particle beam
weapon.
Unlike many
inventors who enjoy little celebrity during their lifetimes, Tesla was
recognized in his peak years as America's greatest electrical engineer.
Despite his fame, Tesla was never very successful financially and was,
in fact, broke when he died. He received many awards during his
lifetime. After his death, the SI unit for magnetic flux density,
the tesla, was named in his honor.
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