College

At the Austrian Polytechnic School at Graz Tesla studied mechanical and electrical engineering.  One day, one of his professors showed him a Gramme Dynamo that could be used as a motor and generator.  Tesla looked at it and asked if the Dynamo could do away with its sparking communicators.  The professor replied that it would be similar to building a perpetual motion machine.

A Gramme Dynamo
www.pbs.org

The idea of such a machine tantalized Tesla for years until one day at the age of 24 when he was living in Budapest working for the Central Telephone Exchange he had an epiphany and began making sketches that would soon develop into the world's first induction motor.

Early Induction Motor
www.pbs.org

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