Nikola Tesla: The extraordinary life of a modern Prometheus
Match the following figures – Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi, Alfred Nobel and Nikola Tesla – with these biographical facts:
Spoke eight languages
Produced the first motor that ran on AC current
Developed the underlying technology for wireless communication over long distances
Held approximately 300 patents
Claimed to have developed a “superweapon” that would end all war
The match for each, of course, is Tesla. Surprised? Most people have heard his name, but few know much about his place in modern science and technology.
The inventor at rest, with a Tesla coil (thanks to a double exposure).
Dickenson V. Alley, Wellcome Collection, CC BY
The opening of a new biopic of Tesla provides a timely opportunity to review the life of a man who came from nowhere yet bec...