![]() ![]() Edison’s depth of knowledge left us with this weighty observation: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy.In 1912, he built an energy “self-sufficient” home dubbing it the “Twentieth Century Suburban Residence.” Completely off the grid, it was powered by electricity and generators. Edison was an early proponent of clean energy and wind power.However, in 2012 scientists in California redesigned Edison’s battery (focusing on efficiency and low cost) to be used in electric cars-exactly what Edison had imagined about 100 years ago. Edison’s original batteries were replaced by a more efficient Ford production.The Edison electricity generators, adapted over time, still produce power today as Edison envision in 1916.What are the importance and continuing impact of Edison & Tesla? Perhaps, in the end, it was their differences that motivated each to continue competing for new possibilities in the world of science and electricity. At the end of the debate, the nod went to Tesla as the most important-but even at that the opinion was qualified by noting that these two geniuses complemented each other. Edison-a master engineer first-worked from drawings and blueprints and assorted sketches, while developing his practical technologies. Tesla-a scientist and also considered a visionary-went with the possibilities he first imagined in his head. When the polls closed, and the debates concluded, the first agreed upon consensus was that these men had very different ideas about harnessing electrical power. Edison tried to popularize the term being “Westinghoused” instead of electrocuted. The Westinghouse AC generators were used in the first electric chairs. Westinghouse also had a bitter feud with Edison. Tesla immediately quit and did odd jobs such as digging ditches until he met George Westinghouse, who gave him one million dollars for several of his patents. ![]() Tesla worked for several months and attained the efficiencies he promised and when he asked for the bonus, Edison claimed he wasn’t serious, declaring “When you become a full-fledged American, you will appreciate an American joke.” And, instead offered Tesla a $10 per week raise. Edison remained skeptical but told him that he would give him $50,000, if successful. Tesla lobbied Edison for months that he could improve the efficiency of Edison’s DC plant. Tesla proposed an AC motor and generator but Edison favored his own DC power and called Tesla’s idea “impractical”. ![]() TeslaĮdison relied heavily on experimentation and trial and error whereas Tesla had the ability to visualize and work out concepts in his mind before building a prototype. The always fashionably-attired Tesla once said about Edison, “…he lived in utter disregard of the most elementary rules of hygiene.” The Story of Edison vs. They, however, also shared distinct differences: Tesla was a germaphobe and in particular, he had a “violent aversion against the earrings of women.” Edison was a bit slovenly and totally unimpressive in appearance. The two great men shared strange commonalities: both were egomaniacs (that hated showoffs) and both were workaholics, needing less than four hours of sleep. Tesla did not have the resources he needed for his projects in Serbia and took an opportunity to move to New York to work for Edison. He could perform fundamental calculus in his mind sans written steps. About Nikola Teslaīorn Nikola Tesla had a formal education in mathematics. Notwithstanding the limitation that existed with distance from source, 500 homes could receive service. Using DC voltage, the distance from the plant for usage was limited to less than one mile. Thus, there grew a high demand for electric lighting, which led Edison to construct the first power plant in Manhattan. By using a carbon filament and improved vacuum, Edison could modify the original prototype and produce the first commercially viable bulb. The opportunity to tweak the invention arose because the original was too expensive to mass produce. We credit U.S-born Thomas Alva Edison with inventing the light bulb, but in point of fact a light bulb prototype had been invented 50 years prior to Edison’s improvement of the invention. DC, it is interesting to learn a little more about the inventors as individuals. Before getting to the poll results of Nikola Tesla vs. ![]()
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