Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age

The flamboyant Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), as famous as Thomas Edison during his heyday, is now remembered largely for his eccentricities and his eponymous science museum staple, the Tesla coil. Here, University of Virginia tech and history professor Carlson (Technology in World History) sheds light on the man and plenty of his inventions. A Serbian-born engineer, Tesla came to the U.S. in 1884 to work for Edison Machine Works, whose namesake was then doggedly pioneering direct-current (DC) generators and attacking the work of his rival and alternating-current (AC) champion, George Westinghouse. Nevertheless, Tesla’s prodigious talents resulted in a watershed invention for the other team and helped pave the way for AC to become today’s electrical standard. Fascinated with wireless power transmission, Tesla also invented key components of telegraphy, radio, and television while making headlines with spectacular public demonstrations. Sadly, investors gradually lost interest—Tesla lacked the business acumen of Edison. But he was quite the showman—he regaled reporters with claims of wild inventions, like a superpowerful “particle beam weapon” that could blast planes from the sky, and drew the curious attention of Mark Twain. More technical than previous biographies, Carlson’s electric portrait might turn off casual readers, but scholars will find it illuminating. 56 photos & 32 illus. (June)