Nikola TeslaClaimed

The exhibition presents the work and personality of Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), who with his Spirit, Accomplishments and Vision shaped the 20th century.

Spirit

Various approaches to presenting the personality of Nikola Tesla have created many myths about his life and its relation to the history of science. The impression of something tremendous and unexplained accompanies his character during his life and even after his death as they are preserved through his numerous lectures, articles and interviews. This section of the exhibition titled “Spirit”, is a chronology of Tesla’s life depicting his path, turning points and their relation to the historical moment in which he lived.

Accomplishments

Nikola Tesla, an American scientist of Serbian origin, made a vast contribution to science and the technological progress of mankind as the inventor of the rotating magnetic field, the induction motor, polyphase alternating current generator and a complete system of production and distribution of electricity. Even the international system of units “SI” as a standard unit of magnetic flux density uses the name “Tesla”. His accomplishments at the end of the nineteenth century enabled the rapid development of generation, transmission and use of alternating currents, and gave a strong impulse to the development of industry and the progress of civilization. The biggest promotion of Tesla’s alternating current system was the enormous project of building the largest power plant in the world at Niagara Falls.
If we talk about inventions applied in contemporary technology, Tesla’s research in the field of high frequency currents and high voltages come right after the results he achieved in energetics. Tesla made significant contributions in medicine, engineering, high voltage, lighting, wireless telegraphy and radio technology. However, from the point of view of goals that Tesla intended to achieve, they are even more important than previous ones, because of his pioneering ideas relevant to the development of modern technologies. Performing these researches, Tesla has for the first time examined the global problems of the planet and humanity. In many ways, Tesla’s research in the laboratories in Colorado Springs and on Long Island represents the highlight of his scientific and engineering work.
In the field of mechanical engineering, Tesla found a new principle of energy transfer with fluid or fluid that is applied to pumps, turbines, compressors and fans. In fact, his pumps without blades were so innovative that they continue to be used commercially today. Tesla’s last patented invention was the aircraft that is able to perform takeoffs and landings vertically.

Vision

Tesla’s genius is not only reflected in the depth of fathoming the secrets of nature, but also in the variety of his interests. Tesla had a multidisciplinary knowledge and often unified multiple discoveries. He was not great just because he had improved the comfort of existence of the common man with his inventions in the field of electricity, but also due to his intellectual effort to understand life in the most general form, especially human life and society overall, and his ability to indicate the direction of development related to individuals, family and that of civilization. Tesla is also unique and special because of the perspective he had as he considered the global changes of mankind.