Tesla's birthday

[mcdan]

We should probably pause and say thanks to Nicola Tesla. It's his birthday today! The term "vacuum tube" is attributed to him.

 

[ablethevoice]

Mr. Tesla has always been my scientific hero. Sure Einstein came up with some spectacular theories and maths to describe the universe, but Tesla was an engineer, not "just" a theorist. His lifetime output, IMO, is far more spectacular than Edison (that SOB!). AC, transformers, 3 phase power, modern electric motors, his Tesla pump, radio control... geez, I could go on and on.

There is some controversy around which questions whether or not Marconi stole some of Tesla's work in order to make his early radio equipment.

Speaking of Tesla, did any of you happen to catch that new syfy program WAREHOUSE 13? I liked the Tesla stun gun. Can I have one of those?

 

[tensleep]

Tesla is definitly one of my favorites! If I ever get to build my shop, I'm gonna call it Wardenclyffe! Gotta love Hawkins, too, for a modern brainiac celebrity type.

 

[tentoze]

Tesla's Hotel Room
-Rennie Sparks (The Handsome Family)-

In the last days of wonder
When spirits still flew
where we sat holding hands
In half-darkened rooms

Nicola Tesla
In the hotel New Yorker
nursing sick pigeons
by the open window

dreamed of a death ray
To disintegrate matter
detected Morse code
From faraway planets

he couldn’t stand the touch
of hair or of skin
but stroked feathers gently
on trembling wings

and drew plans for a camera
To photograph thoughts
Vacuum tube lights
Wireless phones

In the last days of wonder
When spirits still flew
Round bubbling test tubes
In half-darkened rooms

Edison and Westinghouse
in silk brocade
ate oysters Rockerfeller
with French champagne

But Tesla grew thin
eating only saltines
going days in his lab
Without any sleep

dreaming of god
as an X-ray beam
he was hit by a cab
while crossing the street

lying on his bedspread
he struggled to breathe
the light bulbs exploded
the air filled with wings

In the last days of wonder
When spirits still flew
Tesla vacated
his half-darkened room

 

[tensleep]

Thanks for the tribute, Tentoze!

Check out today's Google banner. I think it is a tribute to Tesla as well.

 

[madwing]

nice. he gave us everything that is modern, and died considered a fool and a fakir.

to nicola tesla!

(by the way, spider robinson has brought him to life again in his callahan crosstime saloon series...a great series to read, in any case, but nt in it makes it that much sweeter. and jake is a toobhead.)

 

[tensleep]

nice. he gave us everything that is modern, and died considered a fool and a fakir.

to nicola tesla!

(by the way, spider robinson has brought him to life again in his callahan crosstime saloon series...a great series to read, in any case, but nt in it makes it that much sweeter. and jake is a toobhead.)

Thanks for the tip on the reading material! Is Tesla a main character or is there a character patterned after Tesla?

 

[WhiteSE]

Thanks Nicklas!!

 

[madwing]

Thanks for the tip on the reading material! Is Tesla a main character or is there a character patterned after Tesla?

he's a semi-main character (very involved in a couple of the books...i'll have to think on which ones, but i know he's big in "callahan's key", and "lady slings the booze", and maybe one more), but it's tesla "for real", so to speak. great reads!

 

[markthefixer]

www.spiderrobinson.com

Please help save Nikola Tesla's memory.

Wardenclyffe, Nikola Tesla's only surviving labratory is currently for sale, and the owners are threatening to raze the buildings in spite of the state acknowledging their importance as an historical landmark.

The Tesla Science Center wants to save Wardenclyffe, and turn it into the museum it should be.

Fans of the CALLAHAN'S series know that Tesla was an important figure in Spider's heart, and he mentioned Wardenclyffe in several books beginning with CALLAHAN'S KEY. Anyone interested in preserving the memory of Tesla can make a donation to The Tesla Science Center to help save Wardenclyffe.

Yes, I am a Spider Robinson fan.

And our world as we know it would be a far different thing without Tesla's contributions.

 

[RODALCO]

Nikola Tesla

Thanks Nikola for what you have done for us with the invention of the A.C. power system.
It is a far superior than the DC power system initially suggested.

Transformers
Induction motors
High frequency high Voltage Tesla Transformer
and more...

You should have gottten a lot more credit for your pursuation to make it happen.

You are definitely not forgotten in my mind

RIP my friend

Raymond

 

[ducati_EL34]

www.spiderrobinson.com





Yes, I am a Spider Robinson fan.

And our world as we know it would be a far different thing without Tesla's contributions.

What? You think no one else would have discovered AC and the other items he discovered?

 

[rito25]

I like some of the crazier ideas and rumors he had. Like the wireless car he invented or the moon laser.
He was definitly my favorite inventor.

 

[TheRed1]

I encountered Mr. Tesla recently while reading the autobiography of Benjamin Garver Lamme (another of the great, early electrical engineers who also worked for Westinghouse). Tesla was the quintessential genius who dreamed up fantastic machines out of thin air; whereas Lamme was the guy behind the scenes who did the computational analysis - most of it in his head - that made them reality. I would love to know what the "interesting information and advice" that Tesla gave Lamme was! Neither ever married; both, presumably, obsessed with their work.

When I first came into the company (Westinghouse), in 1889, Mr. Tesla was still actively engaged on the development of his motor. They were even considering it for street car propulsion. A short section of track had been laid in a big lot next to our works for the purpose of making some tests. I do not know, however, whether the matter ever got as far as building a motor suitable for mounting in a car. Mr. Tesla was a fine fellow, especially around the test room. He used to say that he furnished, involuntarily, high grade knives to nearly everybody in the test room and machine shop. He always bought good pocket-knives, costing about $2.50 and everybody soon learned this. He always said that if he happened to lay his knife down, and turned his back for a moment, he was "out" a pocket-knife.

I used to watch the induction motor work when I had the opportunity but I could not make much of it as, at that time, everything was "cut and try" and I did not have any knowledge of what they were trying to do. However, I became much better acquainted with Mr. Tesla after he moved to New York a few years later, and he used to give me most interesting information and advice.

The last time I saw him, a number of years ago, he happened to drop in unexpectedly at our East Pittsburgh works at lunch time. He came to the lunch room alone and looked in at the door. There was a large table full of people and I was the only person in the room that had ever met, or even seen Mr. Tesla. As soon as I saw him, I invited him to come in, and motioned him to the only vacant place at the table. I did not take the trouble to introduce him to the people individually, but simply said, "Gentlemen, this is Nikola Tesla." He then sat down, and in a few minutes, through his conversational powers, he was dominating the whole tableful of people, and talking to everybody as if they were old friends.

 

[stoutblock]

If ever there was a freaky dude it was Tesla. To this day no one can figure out how he knew, what he knew, when he knew it. Most scientists have hundreds and hundreds of failures for every success. He seemed to nail it from the start over and over.

Was he devine?

In any case, he was way, way ahead if his time...

 

[jaymanaa]

He's my electronics hero too. He was the brains behind so many things. The story of how he drew the principal for the induction motor in the dirt with a stick (while on a lunch break) for a co-worker is my favorite maybe. That general theory has not to my knowledge been improved upon to this day. I wonder how many induction motors the average house has in it today?:scratch2: Can you imagine getting a weekend to hang out with that guy today, and show him how HIS inventions shaped the world. Then you could show him a microchip and blow his mind.:thmbsp:

 

[stoutblock]

When Edison was inventing the incandescent light bulb, Tesla was inventing the florescent tube...

When Edison was trying to wire homes with DC Tesla was wiring the entire Chicago worlds fair with AC…

 

[jaymanaa]

When Edison was inventing the incandescent light bulb, Tesla was inventing the florescent tube...


…

The story I got on that was, Tesla was working for Westinghouse and they beat out Edison for the worlds fair lighting contract. Edison was pissed and would not let them use his incandescent bulb, so Tesla sat down one evening and whipped up the fluorescent. I wonder what it would be like to have that sort of understanding about electrons and other things at the atomic level. Scary smart that guy was.:yes:

 

[hypertone]

Modern technology is only possible because of Tesla's accomplishments. Tesla>Edison.

 

[ducati_EL34]

Modern technology is only possible because of Tesla's accomplishments. Tesla>Edison.

You mean like nuclear bombs, ballistic missiles, and bacteriological warfare? I see your point... :scratch2: