Nikola Tesla Books
FOREWORD by Professor Aleksandar Marincic Nikola Tesla is one of those rare human beings who devote their life to the search for those secrets of nature whose discovery helps mankind cope in its everlasting 'fight with unmerciful powers of Nature'. The breadth of Tesla's scientific considerations was considerable. He invented the polyphase alternating current system of generation, transmission and utilization the system we still use today. He succeeded in generating highfrequency currents and opened numerous fields for their use, including radio and lighting, as well as those in industry and medicine. In later life, he fulfilled his childhood dream of making bladeless turbines and pumps. With his writing and speeches he intrigued the minds of scientists and non-scientists alike, and his finished and unfinished research probed into the deepest secrets of electricity. Tesla's technical education was limited to two years polytechnic studies at Gratz, Styria where he devoted himself to mathematics, physics and mechanical engineering. From Gratz he went to Prague with the object of completing his scientific education with philosophical studies at the University. From Prague he went to Budapest to work in a new telephone company. It was there, in 1882, that he evolved his induction motor and alternating system of power transmission. Seeking better opportunities to promote his invention, he took the position of electrical engineer in a French Company in Paris for two years. Perhaps the most important step in his life was his acceptance of the position of a designer of direct current dynamos and motors with the Edison Company in New York, where he arrived in 1884 in 'the land of golden promise'. However, it was only in April 1889 that a company was organized which enabled his invention to be developed practically, through an exclusive license with the George Westinghouse Company. He remained in the United States until his death in 1943. 7
