Triumph at Niagara and a Glimpse Into the Future
Following the great success of launching the first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls, all eyes and ears of the world were on a man from a small village in Lika – Nikola Tesla. At the very moment when his polyphase systems became the symbol of a new energy era, Tesla declared that this was only the beginning. He announced his next step – wireless transmission of energy.
The Beginning of a New Chapter
This marked the beginning of the most thrilling and dramatic chapter of Tesla’s life. A chapter filled with brilliant discoveries, scientific breakthroughs, but also personal tragedies, challenges, and setbacks. A vision that lifted him to the heights of the mythical Icarus – and ultimately, led to a similar fall. Yet, unlike the myth, Tesla’s “fall” was not the end. His rise continues to inspire generations of scientists, engineers, and even dreamers and artists to this day.
Experiments with High-Frequency Currents
In the early 1890s, Tesla began experimenting with high-frequency currents. He discovered that electric fields of sufficient strength could light vacuum tubes – without any physical contact, merely through the presence of a strong field. He presented his findings in London before top scientists, including Nobel laureate Lord Rayleigh.
Personal Loss and Serbian Welcome
After Paris, he interrupted his tour due to news of his mother’s illness. Tesla returned to Gospić and spent time in Lika coping with this painful experience. He later traveled to Belgrade, where he was received as a national hero. He gave speeches and lectures and met with the famous Serbian poet Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, whose poems he translated into English.
Return to America and Great Breakthroughs
Upon returning to America, Tesla continued his research. In 1893, he succeeded in generating voltages of one million volts using his transformers – a major breakthrough at the time. In 1895, a fire destroyed his New York laboratory, along with invaluable equipment, blueprints, and notes.
Designing Perfection and Setting New Records
Like a phoenix, Tesla rose once again. He rebuilt his lab and continued working. He improved his transformer design: the secondary coil became a flat spiral, with conductors placed at calculated distances to reduce capacitance and prevent charge buildup. With this setup, Tesla achieved 4 million volts and produced sparks 16 feet long.
Colorado Springs and a New Era of Experiments
Tesla had outgrown his Houston Street lab. So, in the spring of 1899, he moved to Colorado Springs, where he built a new lab – the place where he would conduct his most famous experiments and reach crucial discoveries. More about these experiments and Tesla’s world wireless power system will be shared in the next post.
📡 Tesla was already working on what the world still dreams of – transmitting energy through the air, freely, wirelessly, and elegantly. The vision of humanity drawing power from the atmosphere lives on.
👉 Follow MilovanInnovation for the continuation of one of the greatest scientific odysseys – Tesla’s wireless power transmission project.
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