مکالمه فعالانه

THE FORGOTTEN GENIUS

Active Speaking

Nikola Tesla was a mysterious man. He was a genius who opened the door to the modern world.

What did Tesla open? Tesla opened the door to the modern world.

However, he is often forgotten in history books. Radio, remote controls, and x-rays are just some of the incredible inventions that he gave the world, but he died a poor man.

Did Tesla die a rich man? No, he didn’t die a rich man. He died a poor man.

His most important invention, a system to produce and transmit electricity using AC power, is still used today to power the world. Without Tesla, we might still be living in a world of darkness.

What might happen to the world without Tesla? Without Tesla, we might be living in a world of darkness.

Tesla was born in a small town, in what is now Croatia, in 1856. From a young age, Tesla was a dreamer and an inventor.

What kind of child was Tesla? He was a dreamer and an inventor.

At the age of five, he designed a unique water wheel different from any other water wheel in his country. His ideas were not always successful, however. Once as a child he tried to fly by jumping off the roof of his house with an umbrella.

What did he do as a child? As a child he tried to fly by jumping off the roof of his house with an umbrella.

Another time, he tried to make a motor powered by june bugs. A friend ate his bugs, which ended his project.

Why did his project end? His project ended because his friend ate his june bugs.

Tesla also had a strange illness throughout his life. He would experience flashes of light.

What would he experience? He would experience flashes of light.

Sometimes these flashes would also include visions. At times, he could not tell the difference between these visions and reality. During one vision as a child, he saw Niagara Falls and a wheel powered by the waterfalls.

What did he see? He saw Niagara Falls and a wheel powered by the waterfalls.

Later, he told his uncle about his vision and said that one day he would travel to America and make it come true. At the age of 28, Tesla traveled to the U.S. to work for the famous inventor, Thomas Edison. He arrived in New York City with only four cents in his pocket and a letter of introduction from one of Edison’s European business partners.

How much money did he have? He had four cents.

Today, Thomas Edison is most famous for inventing the light bulb, but he created over a thousand inventions. At that time, he had a successful power company.

What kind of business did Edison have? He had a successful power company.

He had invented a system of producing and transmitting power using direct current or DC. Edison recognized Tesla’s great mind and hired him to work on his DC system. He offered Tesla fifty thousand dollars to improve his system.

How much money did Edison offer Tesla? He offered Tesla fifty thousand dollars.

Fifty thousand dollars in today’s money is equal to a million dollars! Tesla worked incredibly hard for Edison.

Was Tesla lazy? No, Tesla wasn’t lazy. He worked incredibly hard.

His day usually started at 5:30 in the morning and he didn’t stop until 10:30 at night. After working these long hours for almost one year, he made great improvements to Edison’s DC system.

Was Tesla successful? Yes, he was successful. He made great improvements to Edison’s DC system.

These improvements made Edison lots of money, but when Tesla asked him for the fifty thousand dollar payment, Edison laughed. He told Tesla, the money was just a joke and said, you don’t understand American humor.

Did Edison pay Tesla the fifty thousand dollars? No, Edison didn’t pay Tesla the fifty thousand dollars.

Tesla did not care about money, but he was deeply hurt. He could no longer trust Edison, so he quit. Unable to find work as an engineer, he had to take a backbreaking job digging holes for power lines.

What was Tesla’s next job? His next job was digging holes for power lines.

Ironically, the power lines were for Edison’s DC power system. The problem with Edison’s DC system was that it was not an efficient way to transmit electricity.

Was Edison’s DC system efficient? No, Edison’s DC system wasn’t efficient.

Using direct current, electricity could only be transmitted for short distances. This meant that power plants would need to be built in every neighborhood.

Where would they need to build power plants? They would need to build power plants in every neighborhood.

This would be incredibly expensive and would have taken a long time. Of course, this many power plants would also make Edison a lot of money.

Would this make Edison a lot of money? Yes, this would make Edison a lot of money.

Tesla believed that there was a much more efficient way to produce and transmit electricity using a system called AC, alternating current. Tesla received the money he needed to produce his AC system from the powerful businessman, George Westinghouse.

Where did Tesla get his money? Tesla got his money from George Westinghouse.

It worked. AC was cheaper, safer, and more efficient. Edison was afraid that his DC system would lose to Tesla’s AC system, so he attacked Tesla and his alternating current.

What was Edison afraid of? He was afraid that his DC system would lose to Tesla’s AC system.

It was called the War of Currents. Edison said Tesla’s alternating current system was dangerous and would surely kill people. In truth, Tesla’s system was safer.

Which system was safer? Tesla’s system was safer.

Edison traveled the country holding public demonstrations where he connected animals to AC electricity and killed them. Many cats, dogs, pigs and even an elephant were all cruelly killed in Edison’s war against Tesla and AC power.

What kind of animals did Edison kill? He killed cats, dogs, pigs, and even an elephant.

Of course, Edison didn’t tell people that DC electricity could also kill.

He didn’t stop with killing just animals. Edison persuaded the state of New York to make the first electric chair, using alternating current.

What kind of current did the first electric chair use? The first electric chair used alternating current.

Just like with animals, this was a slow and painful method of killing human prisoners. Despite Edison’s attacks, Tesla was slowly winning the war of currents. In 1893, Tesla’s childhood vision came true.

Did Tesla’s vision come true? Yes, Tesla’s vision came true.

Tesla and Westinghouse won a contract to make an AC power plant at Niagara Falls. In one day, he produced more power than all the power plants in the world combined.

How much power did he produce in one day? He produced more power than all the power plants in the world combined.

That same year, Westinghouse also won a contract to provide electricity to the Chicago World’s Fair.

It was the greatest demonstration of electrical power in the world. Everyone now knew that AC was much more efficient and safer than Edison’s DC system. The war of currents was over and Tesla had won.

Who won the war of currents? Tesla won the war of currents.

Tesla had a contract with Westinghouse to receive part of all future profits produced using his invention. This contract should have made Tesla into the richest man in the world, but Westinghouse made some poor business decisions. At one point, Westinghouse was at risk of losing his company and asked Tesla for help.

Did Tesla ask Westinghouse for help? No, Tesla didn’t ask Westinghouse for help. Westinghouse asked Tesla for help.

Tesla could have watched Westinghouse lose his company and still would have become the world’s first billionaire. Instead, Tesla famously destroyed his contract with Westinghouse.

What did Tesla do to the contract? Tesla destroyed the contract.

He gave up all his future profits to save Westinghouse’s company.

Tesla didn’t care about money. His mind was always moving towards the next great invention. He went on to invent the technology for radio.

Who invented the technology for radio? Tesla invented the technology for radio.

Today, we think nothing of radio technology, but in Tesla’s time, to transmit information through the air without wires must have seemed magical. Again, Tesla’s genius attracted businessmen. They gave him money to fund his ideas, but Tesla could not think like a practical businessman.

Was Tesla a practical businessman? No, he wasn’t a practical businessman.

Tesla was always busier with bigger projects. A network of free and limitless energy that would connect the world was one dream that he worked on during his life. Tesla was so busy with his dream of providing free

energy for the world that an Italian scientist, named Marconi, beat him in the race to produce radio.

Who made the first radio? Marconi made the first radio.

Marconi went on to become famous for developing the radio, but the truth was he had stolen Tesla’s ideas.

Whose ideas did Marconi use? Marconi used Tesla’s ideas.

Another dream of Tesla’s was to make a death ray that would shoot lightning. Tesla was a peaceful man at heart. He hoped that his death ray would be so powerful that it would end war forever.

Did Tesla want to start more wars? No, Tesla didn’t want to start more wars. He wanted to end war forever.

Most people thought he had gone crazy, but when he died the U.S. government quickly took all of his research papers so no one else could build his weapon of death.

Who took his research papers? The U.S. government took his research papers.

Despite his incredible mind, he was often remembered as a strange man.

How was Tesla often remembered? He was often remembered as a strange man.

He always calculated the volume of his food and drink before eating and only did things in multiples of threes. Today he would probably be called an obsessive compulsive. He never owned a house and instead always lived in hotels.

Where did Tesla live? He always lived in hotels.

He never had a wife and never had any romantic relationships with a woman. He was afraid of touching hair or even shaking hands, which were probably connected to his lack of relationships.

What was Tesla afraid of? He was afraid of touching hair or shaking hands.

He was often surrounded by the rich and famous, but his deepest friendships were with pigeons.

Despite his inability to have relationships with people, he always wanted to help the world. At his funeral, another scientist said, without Tesla and his inventions, the wheels of industry would cease to turn, our electric cars and trains would stop, our towns would be dark, our mills would be dead …

Without Tesla, what would stop? Without Tesla, our electric cars and trains would stop.

The same could be said today. It’s hard to imagine a world without Tesla’s AC system; a system we still use today. Every light, every TV, every computer, every electrical device that we use, would not be possible without the genius of Tesla.

What did Tesla make possible? He made every electrical device that we use possible.