Nikola Tesla: The Father of WPT

Researcher

(Image taken from huffingtonpost.com)

      

    What great individual created the idea of wireless power transfer? Why the answer is Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla lived between the years 1856 and 1944. He was a renowned Serbian-American inventor, often accredited for developing the famous alternating current (AC) electrical system and wireless power transfer. Tesla was always an enthusiast for electrical inventions, which prompted him to meet our beloved Thomas Edison in 1884. But Thomas Edison was not so fond of Tesla because his system was considered inferior.  Tesla went on to develop and research in other fields as well, such as the exploration of solar energy and wave power. Can you believe that he registered over 700 patents worldwide in his lifetime?  This man was no joke when it came to his passion for electrical systems. Perhaps the greatest discovery Tesla made was the idea of being able to wirelessly transfer power to any point across the world. However, he was never able to finish his research due to financial reasons, which haunted him for the rest of his life. Tesla died at the age of 86, but his legacy still continues to thrive till this day.

(Image taken from wordpress.com)

    Nikola Tesla was a man with many talents, who achieved so many great ideas. It’s almost impossible to list all of the work and research he contributed in his life-time. The biggest achievement he made was creating our current AC electrical system. He is often referred to as the “Father of the AC electrical system.” Tesla was competing with Edison to establish which electrical system will be implemented in the United States, and later the world. Edison had his DC system and Tesla had his AC system. Can you guess who won? Well, it was Tesla who came out to be victorious and it was the logical choice.  Why, you might wonder? According to Tesla, he stated that the DC system couldn’t be transported more than two miles because it lacked the capability to step up to high voltage levels, which was necessary for long transmissions. In simpler terms, dc systems were weak and inefficient, which is why Tesla’s superior AC system won the duel. The implementation of Tesla’s AC system had tremendous impacts on our technologies today. Almost all of our electrical power runs on alternating current and many devices operate on it. Can you imagine, what would happen if we had adopted Edison’s DC system instead? Probably, there would be a lot of problems and instability in our power.  Without Tesla innovations, electrical engineering wouldn’t be where it is today.

(Wardenclyffe Tower, Image taken from Wikipedia.org)

    Imagine if we already had wireless power transfer technology for years now. How would you be feeling right now?  The truth is we could have had wireless power technology for years now if it weren’t for J.P. Morgan. Nikola Tesla discovered that it was possible to wirelessly transfer electrical power. His project was named the Wardenclyffe Tower, which was supposed to provide free electricity throughout the world. Tesla was so close to actually proving his theory, but like with many issues money had a huge role. In 1917, J.P. Morgan cut off funds for the project because it wasn’t designed for telegraphy, but for wireless power transfer (To learn more about what happened, click HERE). Furthermore, the U.S. government destroyed the tower completely due to espionage conspiracies. Despite the major setbacks, many scientists and engineers today still refer back to his work on wireless power transfer. It’s such a shame that we weren’t able to complete the Wardenclyffe Tower, imagine how advanced we would be right now if it was constructed. 

(Image taken from Google.com)

     Electrical engineering would not have advanced so far if it weren’t for Tesla’s achievements. In many ways, Tesla laid the basic foundation for many aspects of electrical engineering. Just to name some of his achievements, he discovered: “the fluorescent light, laser beam, wireless communications, remote control, robotics, radio, etc” (Vujovic, 1998). Nikola Tesla is more than just the father of the AC electrical system; his legacy will inspire future innovations in the field of electrical engineering. 

 Want to learn more about Tesla, then check out this TED Talk HERE

References

Hui, S.Y.R.; Wenxing Zhong; Lee, C.K., "A Critical Review of Recent Progress in Mid-Range             Wireless Power Transfer," Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions on , vol.29, no.9, pp.4500,4511, Sept. 2014 doi: 10.1109/TPEL.2013.2249670

Nikola Tesla. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 07:33, Jun 21, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/nikola-tesla-9504443.

Valone, T. (2012, June 12). Free Energy from Tesla’s Wireless Electricity. An instant solution to the planetary energy ‘crisis’. . Retrieved June 22, 2014, from http://arcanumdeepsecrets.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/free-energy-from-tesla%E2%80%99s-wireless-electricity-an-instant-solution-to-the-planetary-energy-%E2%80%98crisis%E2%80%99/

Vujovic, L. (1998, July 10). Tesla's Biography. Tesla's Biography. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from http://www.teslasociety.com/biography.htm