Another
well-known invention of Tesla was his Tesla
Coil. It is used to produce high voltage, low
amperage, high frequency, alternating current.Tesla
used his coils in experiments involved in the
wireless transmission of energy. This was
essentially the first experiments in Radio.
(Cheney, 1981). From the years of 1893-1895 he
looked into many different things. “He
investigated high frequency alternating
currents. He generated AC of one million volts
using conical Tesla Coils and investigated the
skin effect in conductors, designed tuned
circuits, invented a machine for inducing
sleep and cordless gas discharge lamps, and
transmitted electromagnetic energy without
wires, effectively building the first radio
transmitter.” (rajvanshi, 2007). His
coils were used in radios until the 1920’s.
(Cheney, 1981). He also worked with devices
that produced effects that would later be
known as X-rays.
He also showed that high frequency
electric current could heat up food. This was
long before the first microwave oven came
about. He created a radio controlled boat in
1897. This device used logic gates similar to
what digital circuits use today. (Vukobra,
2007). Tesla Showed off his device at Madison
Square Garden. The crowd who witnessed it
could not believe that it worked the way it
did. (Cheney, 1981). He tried to sell the idea
to the US military but they were not
interested in it at the time. The military
adopted his ideas for remote control after his
death. (Seifer, 1998). He believed the
technology could be used for a radio
controlled torpedo. Tesla
also developed an electric igniter or spark
plug for gasoline engines.
In 1899, Tesla moved operations to
Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Cheney, 1981).
Tesla chose the location because he needed
room for his wireless energy experiments.
(Hunt. Draper, 1960). Tesla began looking into
atmospheric electricity and the ionosphere. He
developed ways to create artificial lightening
and produced thunder that could be heard many
miles away. (cheney, 1981).The
experiments at Colorado Springs prepared Tesla
for his next project: the construction of a
tower that would be used for Transatlantic
wireless telephony. (Seifer, 1998). However,
the tower was never fully operational. Tesla
ran out of funds before it would be completed.
Later in life Tesla began working on what
would be known as a “Death Ray”. It was a
wireless energy weapon that could be used for
ground based or aerial attack. (Seifer, 1998).
Tesla claimed to have working plans for it
until his death. He never revealed his plans.
The FBI seized all of his work when he died.
(Seifer, 1998).
The works of Nikola Tesla have influenced
the world a great deal. Because of him we have
electrical power across the country and around
the entire world. Alternating current made wide
spread electrification possible. Tesla’s
inventions have also been used in radio
broadcasting. Without Tesla, we may never have
come this far in technology. Tesla was a
visionary. Our modern conveniences are a direct
result of what Tesla experimented with.
Tesla sitting in front of a high
frequency transformer coil.
