Nikola Tesla: podcast appearances and interviews

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer, futurist, and inventor known for his contributions to the development of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Born on July 10, 1856, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Tesla studied engineering and physics during the 1870s without earning a degree. He gained practical experience in telephony and the electric power industry in the early 1880s before migrating to the United States in 1884. After a brief period working at Edison Machine Works in New York City, Tesla established his own laboratories and companies in the city to develop electrical and mechanical devices. His AC induction motor and related polyphase AC patents, licensed by Westinghouse Electric in 1888, became foundational to the polyphase system used in power distribution. Tesla conducted experiments with mechanical oscillators and generators, electrical discharge tubes, and early X-ray imaging, aiming to develop marketable inventions. He built one of the first wirelessly controlled boats and became renowned as an inventor and showman, demonstrating his achievements to audiences including celebrities and wealthy patrons. Throughout the 1890s, Tesla pursued ideas for wireless lighting and worldwide wireless electric power distribution through high-voltage, high-frequency experiments in New York and Colorado Springs. His uncompleted Wardenclyffe Tower project was an ambitious attempt at intercontinental wireless communication and power transmission. Later years saw Tesla experimenting with various inventions, often living in New York hotels due to financial difficulties. He passed away in New York City in 1943. Tesla’s legacy was revived in the 20th century, and the unit of magnetic flux density, the tesla, was named in his honor.