Tesla: The Forgotten Genius of Electricity - Paperback

by James Samuels (Author)

Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 - 7 January 1943) was an inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer. He was an important contributor to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla harnessed the savage power of Niagara Falls, invented the telephone amplifier, the arc light, the Tesla coil. Of the two hundred and twelve patents granted him, one hundred and ten are in essential use today. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor. This work helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution. Because of his eccentric personality and his seemingly unbelievable and sometimes bizarre claims about possible scientific and technological developments, Tesla was ultimately ostracized and regarded as a mad scientist by many late in his life. Tesla died with little money at the age of 86 in a hotel suite in New York City. This book is the story of his life and accomplishments - and the secrets behind his greatest inventions. "Well-researched and fascinating study on one of our greatest forgotten scientists." - Publisher's Weekly