It was invented using alternating current. Nikola Tesla's inventions, or the world through the eyes of a genius

Nikola Tesla is “the man who made the 20th century”. This is what contemporaries say about him. He is a scholar of Serbian origin who has spent most of his work in the United States. Years of life - 1856-1943. He invented several variants of the engine and alternator, and his entire scientific life was aimed at promoting the ideas of using alternating current, wireless and free power transmission. Also, the scientist actively studied the ideas of free energy, which are now trying to implement various pseudoscientists and charlatans for the purpose of profit. In this article, we will look at the greatest inventions of Nikola Tesla and which ones are used in the modern world.

Alternating current

In the late 19th - early 20th centuries, there was a period in the history of electrical engineering that is often called the "War of currents". Its meaning was in the struggle between the supporters of DC and AC networks, or the struggle between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. During the struggle against Tesla and his associates, both financial and moral pressure, such as black PR and slander, took place.

Patent No. 447921 - Alternator, dated March 10, 1891. Accordingly, Nikola Tesla promoted the idea of \u200b\u200busing alternating current for power supply - it was economically profitable, since by converting voltage values \u200b\u200busing transformers, it was possible to reduce the load on long lines, for example, between cities. This allowed the use of wires with a smaller cross-section, which significantly reduced the cost of infrastructure development. In short, alternating voltage won the war, but in the United States, the last DC consumer was turned off already in 2007. By the way, the first large power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1894, where 10 three-phase generators with a total capacity of 75 MW were installed. It was the brainchild of the Tesla-Westinghouse tandem. There is also a monument to the great scientist.

The first thing that comes to mind when the name of this inventor sounds is the Tesla coil. It is actively used in amateur and demonstrations at various exhibitions. Externally, it is a pillar with an extension at the end, from which electrical discharges or lightning are extracted.

Nikola Tesla used this device to generate a high frequency current and transmit it over distances. In fact, its device resembles a transformer, where there are two windings and a high frequency generator.

This structure was assembled for wireless data transmission and electricity. However, the idea was not implemented, and investors stopped funding when it became known that the creator had invested in the invention of the idea of \u200b\u200bfree electrification. The structure was a 47-meter wooden tower with a copper hemisphere at the top. The money ceased to be allocated already at the final stages of construction, which is why the outstanding engineer remained on the verge of bankruptcy and stopped construction.

According to one version, the tower was created to become part of the worldwide wireless data transmission system. Nevertheless, the project was not fully implemented and brought to practical application. Because of this discovery, the scientist is sometimes called the predictor or father of wireless networks.

Interesting! Conspiracy theorists and fans of entertaining stories associate the fall of the Tunguska meteorite with Tesla's experiments either on Wondercliffe Tower, or with experiments with the death ray.

Radio and remote control

Historically, the discovery of radio belongs to the Italian Guglielmo Marconi (patent for the invention - 1905, and the first connection between the continents - 1901) and the Russian engineer Popov. However, in 1897, Nikola Tesla patented the first radio receiver and transmitter. The Italian engineer took as the basis for its development and in 1904 Tesla was deprived of the right to invention.

Biographers associate this with the confrontation of the inventor with Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie, who did not recognize his discoveries and ideas, trying in every possible way to discredit inventions. Interestingly, the first criminal to be executed with electricity was executed by alternating current, thus rival DC popularizers Edison and Carnegie threw a stone into the garden to Tesla, Westinghouse and others. By 1943, the US Supreme Court recognized the genius's contribution to radio development.

Nevertheless, at the Madison Square Garden electrical exhibition in 1898, Nikola Tesla presented a remotely controlled submarine.

AC motor

The first asynchronous AC motor belongs to the discoveries and inventions of Nikola Tesla. Unlike the asynchronous machines used in our time, it worked from two phases, not three. The patent is dated 1888. Later, the rights to its production were bought by one of the scientist's sponsors - George Westinghouse.

The engineer planned to use the invented engine as an alternative to the internal combustion engine, but then few people took seriously the issues of replacing fuel engines with electric ones. Nevertheless, there were attempts to develop a car based on it. The modern Tesla electric car has nothing to do with the great inventor.

This is best seen as a reference to history. Nikola Tesla invented the electric car in 1931. The 1931 Pierce Arrow was taken as a basis. The scientist on it drove around New York for about a week, but the main mystery was the question of where the engine gets its energy from - there were no wires or visible large batteries. There was only a small black box, and the author of the invention referred to the fact that the car takes energy from the ether.

He also owns a number of other discoveries, inventions and patents for electric motors of various designs, including the anchor of electric machines.

Interesting! Researchers claim that the great scientist's notes do not say anything about an ether-powered engine.

X-rays

According to the official version, Wilhelm Roentgen discovered radiation in 1895, which later received his name. But back in 1887, Nikola Tesla conducted experiments with vacuum tubes, then the scientist recorded special rays capable of shining through objects. Including there were experiments related to photographing bones, in the picture below you can see an example of his photographs.

Free energy and rays of space

Nikola Tesla assumed that a mass of particles hovers around us, the energy of which can be captured and used for useful purposes. Thus receiving unlimited energy. Part of these projects was the Wondercliff tower, Tesla coil and other devices mostly associated with the use of inductors.

The video discusses this issue in more detail:

Our contemporaries are still trying to extract energy from the ether, they have thematic forums and clubs. Nevertheless, Africa still has problems with water, and tariffs for utilities are only growing. Apparently all modern developments are useless and often based on simply capturing radio waves and converting them into electricity.

Conclusion

In the scientific world, in our case in physics, scientists and engineers are honored by naming a phenomenon or value by its name. This is what happened with Nikola Tesla, despite all his inventions, his contribution to science and a brilliant mind, only the unit of measurement of the magnetic field induction is named after him - Tesla (T). However, the above is not a complete list of the great scientist's discoveries, this should include various performances and demonstrations where Nikola Tesla lit light bulbs, passing a current through himself or experiments with "cold fire", which was intended to replace water and bath procedures.

Because of such demonstrations in our time, speculation and judgments about his contribution and discoveries in electricity arise that cannot be proved. His modern fans confidently claim the author's undeserved oblivion and bankruptcy. They associate this with the pressure of the special services, the ruling clans of that time and others. Due to the lack of funding for the inventor in those years, most of the discoveries remained lost, and some of what Tesla invented was considered by his fans to be classified.

So we have considered all the greatest discoveries and inventions of Nikola Tesla. Finally, we recommend watching a video that clearly demonstrates the most important creations of the inventor:

Materials

Tesla coil

The first thing that comes to mind when the name of this inventor sounds is the Tesla coil. It is actively used in amateur electronic homemade products and demonstrations at various exhibitions. Externally, it is a pillar with an extension at the end, from which electrical discharges or lightning are extracted.

Wondercliff Tower

Radio and remote control

Nevertheless, at the Madison Square Garden electrical exhibition in 1898, Nikola Tesla presented a remotely controlled submarine.

AC motor

He also owns a number of other discoveries, inventions and patents for electric motors of various designs, including the anchor of electric machines.

Interesting! Researchers claim that the great scientist's records do not say anything about an ether-powered engine.

X-rays

Free energy and rays of space

The video discusses this issue in more detail:

Conclusion

Because of such demonstrations in our time, speculation and judgments about his contribution and discoveries in electricity arise that cannot be proved. His modern fans confidently assert about the undeserved oblivion and bankruptcy of the author of the wireless transmission of electricity. They associate this with the pressure of the special services, the ruling clans of that time and others. Due to the lack of funding for the inventor in those years, most of the discoveries remained lost, and some of what Tesla invented was considered by his fans to be classified.

So we have considered all the greatest discoveries and inventions of Nikola Tesla. Finally, we recommend watching a video that clearly demonstrates the most important creations of the inventor:

Related materials:

Children are taught not to stick their fingers in the socket! And why? Because it will be bad. With a more detailed explanation, there are often problems: some kind of voltage, current, something flows somewhere. So that in the future you yourself can explain to your children what's what, we will now explain to you. This article is about alternating and direct currents, their differences, application and the history of electricity in general. Science needs to be made interesting, and we humbly try to do it as best we can.

For example: what is the current in our sockets? Variable, of course! With a voltage of 220 Volts and a frequency of 50 Hertz. And the network through which the current is transmitted is three-phase. By the way, if at the words "phase" and "zero" you fall into a stupor, read what it is, and the day will be doubly lived in vain! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Everything in order.

A brief history of electricity

Who Invented Electricity? And nobody! People gradually understood what it was and how to use it.

It all started in the 7th century BC, on one sunny (and maybe rainy, who knows) day. Then the Greek philosopher Thales noticed that if you rub amber on wool, it will attract light objects.

Then there were Alexander the Great, wars, Christianity, the fall of the Roman Empire, wars, the fall of Byzantium, wars, the Middle Ages, crusades, epidemics, the Inquisition and again wars. As you understand, people were not up to some kind of electricity and ebony sticks rubbed with wool.

In what year was the word "electricity" invented? In 1600, the English naturalist William Gilbert decided to write a work "On the magnet, magnetic bodies and the big magnet - the Earth." It was then that the term appeared "electricity".

One hundred and fifty years later, in 1747, Benjamin Franklin, whom we all love very much, created the first theory of electricity. He viewed this phenomenon as a fluid or immaterial liquid.

It was Franklin who introduced the concept positive and negative charges (previously separated glass and resinous electricity), invented a lightning rod and proved that lightning is electrical in nature.

Everyone loves Benjamin, because his portrait is on every one hundred dollar bill. In addition to his work in the exact sciences, he was a prominent political figure. But contrary to popular misconception, Franklin was not the president of the United States.

1785 - Coulomb finds out with what force the opposite charges are attracted, and the ones of the same name are repelled.

1791 - Luigi Galvani accidentally noticed that the legs of a dead frog were contracting under the influence of electricity.

The principle of operation of the battery is based on galvanic cells. But who created the first electrochemical cell? Building on Galvani's discovery, another Italian physicist, Alessandro Volta, in 1800 creates the Volta pillar, a prototype of a modern battery.

During excavations near Baghdad, they found a battery more than two thousand years old. Which ancient iPhone was charged with it remains a mystery. But it is known for sure that the battery has already "sat down". This incident seems to say: maybe people knew about electricity much earlier, but then something went wrong.

Already in the 19th century, Oersted, Ampere, Ohm, Thomson and Maxwell made a real revolution. Electromagnetism was discovered, the EMF of induction, electrical and magnetic phenomena were tied into a single system and described by fundamental equations.

By the way! If you do not have time to deal with all this on your own, there is now a 10% discount for our readers. any kind of work

The 20th century brought quantum electrodynamics and the theory of weak interactions, as well as electric cars and the ubiquitous power lines. By the way, Tesla's famous electric car runs on direct current.

Of course, this is a very brief history of electricity, and we have not mentioned a lot of names that have influenced the progress in this area. Otherwise, I would have to write a whole multivolume reference book.

D.C

Let us first recall that current is the movement of charged particles.

Direct current is current that flows in one direction.

A typical DC power source is a galvanic cell. Simply put, a battery or a rechargeable battery. One of the oldest artifacts associated with electricity is the Baghdad battery, which is 2000 years old. It is believed that she gave a current of 2-4 volts.

Where DC is used:

in the power supply of most household appliances;
in batteries and accumulators for autonomous power supply of devices;
for power supply of car electronics;
on ships and submarines;
in public transport (trolleybuses, trams).

The easiest way is to visualize the direct current on a graph. This is how it looks:

D.C

Household appliances operate on direct current, but alternating current is supplied to the network sockets in the apartment. Almost everywhere, direct current is obtained by rectifying alternating current.

Alternating current

An alternating current is a current that changes magnitude and direction. Moreover, it changes at regular intervals.

Alternating current is used in industry and power supply. It is he who is received at the stations and sent to consumers. Already on site, the conversion of alternating electric current into direct current is carried out using inverters.

Alternating current (AC). Direct current - direct current (DC). The abbreviation AC / DC can be seen on the transformer booths where the conversion takes place. It is also the name of an excellent Australian rock band.

And here is a visual representation of alternating current.

Alternating current

An alternating current flows in a circuit in two directions: back and forth. One of them is considered positiveand the second is negative.

Since the magnitude of the current changes not only in direction, but also in magnitude, do not think that your outlet is constantly 220 volts. 220 is the rms voltage value, which happens 50 times per second. By the way, in America, a different AC standard is used in the network: 110 Volts and 60 Hertz.

War of currents

The active use of direct current began at the end of the 19th century. Then Edison brought to mind the light bulb (1890) and founded the first power plants in New York, which produced direct current with a voltage of 110 volts.

The use of direct current was associated with significant losses during its transmission over long distances. Alternating current could not be used due to the fact that there were no corresponding meters and motors that operated on alternating current. The process of converting direct current into alternating current was also difficult. In this case, the alternating current could be transmitted without loss over long distances.

At that time, Nikola Tesla came to America from Serbia, who got a job in the company for Edison. Tesla invented the AC electric motor, realized all the benefits and suggested to Edison its use.

Tesla and Edison

Edison did not listen to Tesla and, moreover, did not pay his salary. This is how the famous opposition of inventors began - the war of currents.

It lasted over a hundred years and ended in 2007. Then New York completely switched to AC power supply.

Why is alternating current more dangerous than direct current

In the war of currents, in order not to suffer losses and financial collapse from the introduction and use of Tesla's ideas, Edison publicly demonstrated how alternating current kills animals. The case in which an American citizen died from an alternating current shock was very detailed and widely covered in the press.

For a person, alternating current is generally more dangerous than direct current. Although you always need to take into account the magnitude of the current, its frequency, voltage, resistance of the person who is being shocked. Consider these nuances:

Alternating current with a frequency of 50 Hertz is three to four times more dangerous to life than direct current. If the frequency of the current is more than 1000 Hertz, then it is considered less dangerous.
At voltages around 400-600 volts, alternating and direct currents are considered equally dangerous. Above 600 volts, direct current is more dangerous.
Alternating current, by its nature and frequency, energizes the nerves more strongly, stimulating the muscles and heart. That is why it carries a great danger to life.

Whatever current you work with, be careful and vigilant! Take care of yourself and your nerves, and also remember: professional student service with the best experts will help to do this effectively.

At the dawn of human discoveries in the field of electricity and the first attempts to use it in everyday life, a heated debate broke out about which current is better to use to meet human needs: constant or alternating? It all depends on the sources of consumption. Today it is clear to everyone. And in the eighties of the nineteenth century, because of the questions of which current is better and how it is more profitable to transmit electrical energy, a 125-year war (which ended only at the end of November 2007) broke out between rival firms - Edison Electric Light Company and Westinghouse Electric Corporation ". So where did it all start?

In 1878, Thomas Edison founded the Edison Electric Light Company, which would later become known worldwide as General Electric. The company soon became rich and won the respect of Americans, including the desire, as Edison himself put it, "to make electricity so cheap that only the rich could burn candles." Over the nine years of its existence, the company has built more than a hundred DC power plants operating on a three-wire Edison system. Edison's direct current worked perfectly with incandescent lamps and the first electric motors - the only items at that time that needed electricity. The counter invented by Edison also operated only on direct current. However, such a powerful offensive by one company could not be tolerated by its competitors, who tried to oppose Edison's direct current to alternating current. One of these competitors turned out to be a leading scientist-engineer and part-time successful businessman George Westinghouse.

After reviewing Edison's patent, George Westinghouse immediately noticed a weak link in his DC power plants - a large loss of power in the wires. However, even knowing the flaws of the Edison system did not allow him to develop something breakthrough that could compete on equal terms with Edison's proposal.

Let's figure out what were the main pros and cons of competing systems. The main problem of Edison's direct current, as noted above, was the problem of transferring current over long distances, or rather the accompanying transfer of power loss in the wires, since as the distance increases, the resistance of the wires increases. To reduce power loss during transmission, either make the wire thicker (i.e. reduce its resistance) or increase the voltage (which will reduce the current). Since science did not know how to effectively increase the DC voltage at that time, a voltage close to the needs of the consumer was used in Edison's power plants, i.e. fluctuating in the range from one hundred to two hundred volts. The power plants based on these calculations did not allow transferring to the consumer the greater power required, say, for industrial enterprises.

Thus, consumers located at a distance not exceeding about one and a half kilometers from the power plant could effectively use the generated electricity. To overcome such a barrier of distance could be difficult and expensive measures. For example, the commissioning of thick wires or the construction of an entire network of local power plants, which no budget of even the richest states could afford.

The alternating current voltage was quite simply changed with the help of a transformer invented by Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov in 1876. This made it possible to transmit current for hundreds of kilometers, both through high-voltage main lines, and to create lines of lower voltage for supplying electricity directly to consumers.

However, at that time (and even now) no one disputed the fact that light bulbs (the most common electrical appliance) work better on direct current. Suitable AC motors did not exist at the time of the appearance in the United States of electric networks, which made the use of direct current the only possible one. In addition, the use of alternating current for transmission of energy over a distance is much more difficult to implement, controllable, predictable, in comparison with the transmission of electricity using direct current.

A similar alignment of forces in favor of Edison's direct current existed until the moment when Tesla, while still an employee of the Edison firm, having successfully worked in 1885, did not receive a salary increase. This led Tesla to refuse to support DC use and continue working for Edison.

So, in 1887, Westinghouse met Nikola Tesla and his inventions. Tesla, working to the limit of human strength, very quickly obtained patents for several alternating current devices. In the business world, a battle has begun to work with the owner of the rights to the most efficient AC system. Tesla had several competitors, and the main ones were William Stanley, who was improving the Golar Gibbs apparatus (a more modern transformer) at the George Westinghouse company, and Elihu Thomson of the Thomson Houston Electric Company.

In the final confrontation between Thomson and Tesla at the famous lecture at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in May 1888, the latter was victorious. The Serbian inventor, presenting his system, proved that it was capable of transporting electricity hundreds of miles from its source, while his rival's design allowed power transmission to be carried out at a distance of no more than a mile. Since Tesla's second competitor in the field of AC research, Mr. Stanley, was also virtually unable to oppose anything, the Serbian scientist became the sole author of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe most advanced AC motor. It was after this event that George Westinghouse was able to persuade the young scientist to mutually beneficial cooperation.

In two years, Westinghouse's revenues quadrupled, and a successful businessman was able to offer Tesla a rather large sum for his patents. Over the years of cooperation between Tesla and Westinghouse, the Serbian scientist has rescued over 100 thousand dollars, which in terms of modern money would amount to several million. Having received stable funding, Tesla moved from his home in New York to the best hotel in Pittsburgh in 1888, and since then the scientist no longer lived in his private home, preferring him to living in a hotel.

So, Tesla's engine has made a real revolution in power transmission. Thus, the War of the currents began. Many reduce this war to a simple confrontation between Tesla and Edison, or the companies of the latter and Westinghouse. However, there are actually several times more people who are really interested, and most importantly, those involved in this war. In the confrontation between direct and alternating current, one can see the struggle not only of various North American firms, but also of their transatlantic competitors.

Both American and European companies have launched a large-scale war to conquer the US electricity market. Despite the fact that Tesla's inventions still outweighed the balance in favor of alternating current, Thomas Edison and his supporters were not going to give up at all. Edison launched an open PR war against Westinghouse and Tesla by publicly demonstrating the AC killing of animals. Moreover, the tragic death of a certain Mr. Pope, which occurred due to a malfunction of the transformer in his basement, played into the hands of Edison. The death of this man was widely reported in the press and, apparently, gave birth to the idea of \u200b\u200bexecuting death row prisoners by electric shock in the head of Edison-funded engineer Brown. Brown decided to take advantage of this idea in the interests of Edison's company, proposing to carry out the sentence not with "safe" direct current, but with "dangerous" alternating current. The move turned out to be very successful: the income of the Westinghouse company was seriously reduced, and people were simply afraid to use alternating current.

In 1891, Tesla's three-phase AC system was presented at an exhibition in Frankfurt am Main. Apparently, the furor created by this system helped the Westinghouse company to win the tender for the construction of the largest power plant at that time on Niagara Falls. AC and Tesla were winning again. Another fact in favor of AC was the purchase by Edison of the Thomson-Houston company, which studies and builds units based on alternating current. However, Edison was not going to give up his brainchild - direct current and black PR in relation to alternating current. So Edison filmed and then widely circulated in the press footage of an alternating current execution of an elephant who trampled three people in 1903.

The DC power supply was reluctant to give up its positions. Although at the beginning of the 20th century most power plants supplied alternating current, there were many direct current consumers. Alternating current for them was converted to direct current using mercury rectifiers. DC power plants in the United States were built until the 1920s. In Europe, alternating current won outright victory much faster than in the United States. This is probably due to the fact that in Europe the positions of Edison's General Electric were completely insignificant, and people carried out electrification, largely based on the arguments of physicists, and not on the tricks of Edison's black PR. So in the Scandinavian countries they finally switched to alternating current in the 40-60s of the XX century. Nevertheless, in the United States until the 90s, there were 4,600 disparate DC consumers, and in 1998, attempts began to convert them to alternating current.

With the disappearance of the last DC consumer, in November 2007, the chief engineer of Consolidated Edison, which provided DC power, cut the symbolic cable. This put an end to the War of Currents.

Alternating current is a kind of current, the direction of flow of which is constantly changing. It becomes possible due to the presence of a potential difference that obeys the law. In everyday terms, the shape of an alternating current resembles a sinusoid. The constant is capable of changing in amplitude, the direction is the same. Otherwise, we get alternating current. The interpretation of radio technicians is the opposite of the school one. Students are told - constant current of the same amplitude.

How is alternating current generated

The beginning of alternating current was laid by Michael Faraday, readers will learn more about it below. Shown: electric and magnetic fields are connected. The current becomes a consequence of the interaction. Modern generators work by changing the magnitude of the magnetic flux through the area covered by the copper wire loop. Any conductor can be. Copper is selected from criteria of maximum suitability at minimum cost.

Static charge is mainly formed by friction (not the only way), alternating current arises as a result of processes invisible to the eye. The value is proportional to the rate of change of the magnetic flux through the area covered by the loop.

The history of the discovery of alternating current

For the first time, attention was paid to alternating currents due to its commercial value after the inventions created by Nikola Tesla were born. The material conflict with Edison marked the strong imprint of the fate of both. When the American businessman took back his promises to Nikola Tesla, he lost a lot of profit. The outstanding scientist did not like the free treatment, the Serb invented an industrial-type AC motor (the invention was made much earlier). Businesses have enjoyed exclusively permanent. Edison promoted the specified look.

Tesla showed for the first time that much greater results can be achieved with alternating voltage. Especially when energy has to be transmitted over long distances. The use of transformers can easily increase the voltage, sharply reducing the resistance loss. The receiving side returns the parameters to their original values. Save a lot on wire thickness.

Today it is shown: direct current transmission is more economical. Tesla changed the course of history. If a scientist had come up with DC / DC converters, the world would have looked different.

The active use of alternating current was initiated by Nikola Tesla, who created a two-phase motor. Experiments in the transmission of energy over significant distances have put the facts in their place: it is inconvenient to transfer production to the Niagara Falls area, it is much easier to lay a line to the destination.

School version of the interpretation of alternating and direct current

Alternating current exhibits a number of properties that distinguish the phenomenon from direct current. Let us first turn to the history of the discovery of the phenomenon. Otto von Guericke is considered the ancestor of alternating current in the everyday life of mankind. He was the first to notice: natural charges of two signs. The current is capable of flowing in different directions. Regarding Tesla, the engineer was more interested in the practical part, the author's lectures mention two experimenters of British origin:

William Spottiswood is deprived of the Russian-language Wikipedia page, the national part is silent about work with alternating current. Like Georg Ohm, a scientist is a talented mathematician, it remains to be regretted that it is difficult to find out what exactly the husband of science was doing.
James Edward Henry Gordon is much closer to the practical side of electricity. He experimented a lot with generators, developed a device of his own design with a capacity of 350 kW. He paid a lot of attention to lighting, power supply of factories and plants.

It is believed that the first alternators were created in the 30s of the XIX century. Michael Faraday experimentally investigated magnetic fields. The experiments aroused the jealousy of Sir Humphrey Davy, who criticized the student for plagiarism. It is difficult for the descendants to find out the correctness, the fact remains: the alternating current has existed unclaimed for half a century. In the first half of the 19th century, an electric motor was invented (by Michael Faraday). Worked powered by direct current.

Nikola Tesla first guessed to implement Arago's theory of a rotating magnetic field. It took two phases of AC (90 degree shift). Along the way, Tesla noted: more complex configurations are possible (patent text). Later, the inventor of the three-phase motor, Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, tried in vain to patent the brainchild of a fruitful mind.

For a long time, alternating current remained unclaimed. Edison opposed the introduction of the phenomenon into everyday life. The industrialist was afraid of large financial losses.

Nikola Tesla studied electrical machines

Why is alternating current used more often than direct

Scientists recently proved that direct current transmission is more profitable. Losses of line radiation are reduced. Nikola Tesla turned the course of development of history, the truth prevailed.

Nikola Tesla: safety and efficiency issues

Nikola Tesla visited a rival Edison company promoting a new phenomenon. I got carried away, often experimented on myself. In contrast to Sir Humphrey Davy, who shortened his life by inhaling various gases, Tesla achieved considerable success: he conquered the milestone of 86 years. The scientist discovered that changing the direction of the current flow at a speed of more than 700 times per second makes the process safe for humans.

During the lectures, Tesla took a light bulb with a platinum filament with his hands, demonstrated the glow of the device, passing high-frequency currents through his own body. He argued: the phenomenon is harmless, even benefits health. The current, flowing over the surface of the skin, simultaneously cleans. Tesla said that the experimenters of the old days (see above) missed amazing phenomena for the reasons indicated:

Imperfect mechanical generators. The rotating field was used in the literal sense: with the help of the engine, the rotor was spun. This principle is powerless to produce high frequency currents. Today it is problematic, despite the current level of technology development.
In the simplest case, manual breakers were used. There is nothing to say about high frequencies.

Tesla himself used the phenomenon of charge and discharge of a capacitor. We mean an RC chain. When charged to a certain level, the capacitor begins to discharge through the resistance. The parameters of the elements determine the speed of the process proceeding according to the exponential law. Tesla is deprived of the opportunity to use methods of controlling circuits with semiconductor switches. Thermionic diodes have been known. Let's venture to suggest that Tesla could use products by imitating zener diodes, operating with a reversible breakdown.

However, security issues are deprived of the honorable first place. The frequency of 60 Hz (generally accepted by the USA) was proposed by Nikola Tesla as optimal for the operation of his own motors. Very different from the safe range. It is easier to construct a generator. In both senses, alternating current outperforms direct current.

Through the air

To this day, there are unsuccessful disputes regarding the pioneer of radio. The passage of a wave through the ether was discovered by Hertz, describing the laws of motion, showing an optical affinity. Today it is known: an alternating field furrows space. Popov (1895) used the phenomenon when transmitting the first Earthly message “Heinrich Hertz”.

We see that pundits are friendly with each other. How much respect the first message shows. The date remains controversial, each state wants to assign the primacy completely. The alternating current creates a field that propagates through the ether.

Today, broadcast bands, windows, walls of the atmosphere, various media (water, gases) are well known. Frequency plays an important role. It has been established that each signal can be represented as a sum of elementary sinusoidal oscillations (according to Fourier's theorems). Spectral analysis operates with the simplest harmonics. The total effect is considered as the resultant of the elementary components. An arbitrary signal is decomposed by the Fourier transform.

Atmosphere windows are defined in a similar way. We will see the frequencies passing through the thickness, good and bad. The latter does not always turn out to be a negative effect. Microwaves use 2.4 GHz frequencies, which are shock absorbed by water vapor. Waves are useless for communication, but they are good for culinary abilities!

Newcomers are concerned about the propagation of the wave through the air. Let us discuss in more detail the riddle unresolved by scientists.

Hertz vibrator, ether, electromagnetic wave

The interrelation of electric, magnetic fields was first demonstrated in 1821 by Michael Faraday. A little later they showed: the capacitor is suitable for creating oscillations. It cannot be said that the connection between the two events was immediately realized. Felix Savary discharged the Leyden jar through a choke with a steel needle as its core.

It is not known for certain what the astronomer was trying to achieve, the result turned out to be interesting. Sometimes the needle turned out to be magnetized in one direction, sometimes in the opposite direction. Generator current of the same sign. The scientist correctly concluded: a damped oscillatory process. Not really knowing the inductive, capacitive reactance.

The theory of the process was summed up later. The experiments were repeated by Joseph Henry, William Thompson, who determined the resonant frequency: where the process lasted for a maximum period of time. The phenomenon made it possible to quantitatively describe the dependence of the characteristics of the circuit on the constituent elements (inductance and capacitance). In 1861, Maxwell derived the famous equations, one consequence is especially important: "An alternating electric field generates a magnetic one and vice versa."

A wave appears, the induction vectors are mutually perpendicular. Spatially repeat the shape of the generating process. The wave surfs the ether. The phenomenon was used by Heinrich Hertz, unfolding the capacitor plates in space, the planes became emitters. Popov guessed to put information in an electromagnetic wave (modulate), which is used everywhere today. Moreover, in the air and inside semiconductor technology.

Where is alternating current used

Alternating current is the basis of the principle of operation of most devices known today. It's easier to say where constant is applied, readers will draw conclusions:

Direct current is used in batteries. Variable generates motion - cannot be stored by modern devices. Then, in the device, electricity is converted into the desired form.
The efficiency of DC brushed motors is higher. For this reason, it is beneficial to use these varieties.
Magnets act with direct current. For example, intercoms.
The constant voltage is applied by the electronics. The consumed current varies within certain limits. In industry, it is called permanent.
Constant voltage is applied by CRTs to create potential, increase cathode emission. We will call the cases analogous to power supplies for semiconductor technology, although sometimes the difference is significant.

In other cases, alternating current shows a significant advantage. Transformers are an integral part of technology. Even in welding, direct current does not always dominate, but any modern equipment of this type has an inverter. It is much easier and more convenient to get decent technical characteristics.

Although historically, static charges were first received. Let us recall wool and amber with which Thales of Miletsky worked.

Three-phase current is a type of signal that goes through at least three wires, and the frequency on each branch is the same, and the phases are equidistant from each other (by 120 degrees).

Complex path of three-phase current

It is well known that Nikola Tesla was the first to put into practice Arago's theory of a rotating magnetic field. The inspiration came suddenly, while walking with a friend in nature. Taking a patent, Tesla simultaneously laid down a veto in the document on the use of any number of phases, more than one. Therefore, the Russian scientist Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, who voluntarily fled to the German company AEG, could not acquire a patent for his own three-phase motor ...

This historical excursion is made so that the reader understands how inscrutable the ways of the Lord are. How ornate was the fate of young Tesla, who gave - and this is said without exaggeration - to the world an alternating current, including three-phase current. And in addition, he outlined the approximate areas of frequency and voltage changes. Without Tesla's genius, the use of batteries might have continued today. It is clear that technical progress was not possible without alternating current.

Arago and the rotating magnetic field

Most modern inventions are based on discoveries made by the British and French in the first half of the 19th century. The metric system was conceived by Laplace, who held an important post at the Academy even before Bonaparte. The SI is based on a length of ten millionth of a quarter of the Paris meridian (the arc passing through the magnetic Earths, the location of the true ones remained unknown).

Carrying out this task, Arago went initially to Spain to take measurements. Let's focus on a simple fact: times were turbulent. By the time of Arago's travel, the fact of surrender in Spain to a 22-thousandth army under the command of Dupont belongs. Contrary to the terms of surrender, the sons of Arragon sent the French - after long ordeals - to a deserted island, where they were kept in appalling conditions. As a result, only a quarter returned to their homeland, and Emperor Napoleon imprisoned Dupont in a castle, the most terrible prison in France.

Arago repeatedly in a short period of three years found himself on the verge of death and invariably patiently continued to carry out work on measuring the meridian. Nuance - Laplace proved the change in the size of the Earth according to the movement of the Moon. It is impossible to exactly consider the now generally accepted meter (from the Greek - standard, measure) as a scientifically explained measure of length. And copies made of a special alloy are kept under special conditions. However, in the USA, Britain and a number of other countries, the yard is still used, the exact origin of the unit is not known for certain.

Arago was one of the first to recognize the majesty of the work in electricity by Oersted and Volta, stating in general terms that these two men laid the foundation for the construction of a new building over the centuries. Consistent with the ideas of Laplace, picked up by Schweigger, Arago begins to experiment with the former and quickly finds a new direction. It's about induction. There are 8 years to live before Michael Faraday's experiments, and Arago, together with Foucault, demonstrates to the Academy the mutual influence of a compass needle and a rotating copper disk - a metal that does not belong to iron and alloys.

This means that the first asynchronous motor appeared long before the patent on May 1, 1888 (US381968 A) by Nikola Tesla of the AC synchronous machine. Arago discovered Foucault's eddy currents, which gave hundreds of ideas to future generations. Michael Faraday is considered the father of brushed motors. Read about the latter in a note about. At first it seems that Faraday's motor is synchronous, since a permanent magnet is used, but this opinion is wrong. Subsequently, the development of the idea led to the appearance of sliding contacts that change the polarity of the winding poles, which already leads directly to the distribution manifold.

Nikola Tesla and alternating current

The account of the events associated with Nikola Tesla is based on the First Russian Biography, authored by Rzhonsnitsky. As the writer testifies, at the end of 1881, the inventor was struck by an unknown ailment, accompanied by unusual symptoms:

The senses sharpened so much that Tesla heard the movement of the cart along the street and felt the vibrations produced in the house.
The light touch felt like a blow.
Eyesight made it possible to see even at night.
The whisper sounded like a shout.

At the time described, the mind of an engineer (a communications company in Budapest) was working on the task of creating an AC motor. As expected, relief from symptoms occurred suddenly, the cause remained unexplained. While recovering, on a February evening, Tesla walked in the park with a former classmate of Stsigeti, quoted his favorite poets, for example, Goethe, together admired the pictures of nature, the sunset. Having uttered another verse of the memorable poem, Nikola realized that a complex technical problem had been solved.

And in addition, the subconscious mind suggested to him the technique of reversing the shaft. In his autobiography, Tesla noted that he quickly sketched the future design. Thus, the invention dates back to 1882.

Not relying on the prevailing opinion that Dolivo-Dobrovolsky made a great contribution to the development of three-phase current, this is not very true. As proof, the text of the review provides a customized image from Nikola Tesla's patent. It can be seen that there are six poles on the stator and rotor. Dolivo-Dobrovolsky noted the superiority of three phases over two. This is the great merit of the scientist, as well as the invention of the "squirrel cage" of the rotor of an induction motor. But the three-phase current and the number of phases exceeding one were introduced by Nikola Tesla. Westinghouse was doing a similar thing by the mid-80s, but the latter was not successful.

Although working in the Budapest telegraph office took a lot of effort, Tesla barely had time to write down the new designs of the AC synchronous motor in his notebook. At the end of 1882, Nicola was expected to be transferred to the position of an engineer for the adjustment of electrical installations. Traveling around Europe, the Serbian genius constantly came across the brainchild of Thomas Edison and well studied the principle of action. The talented Tesla offered many improvements to the existing equipment and quickly gained respect in the professional environment.

Work in Strasbourg stalled, Tesla was invited to bring the frozen train out of the impasse. In 1883, the inventor went to France, where he started to work. On the basis of the workshops, simultaneously with the adjustment of Edison's equipment, the young man constructs the first synchronous AC motor. Success came with the speed of connecting the last wire. Bowsen, the acting mayor, after a single demonstration of the novelty became an ardent admirer of the inventor's talent.

French entrepreneurs, seeing the advantages of alternating current, did not dare to invest, there was no tradition of using several phases at that time - it would be necessary to buy a power source for installation. Meanwhile, Tesla brilliantly fulfilled the order of the company and was already expecting an award agreed in advance, but not fixed by a contract. The acquired funds, according to Nikola's plan, would become the initial capital for the production of AC motors.

But Edison apparently heard rumors of a demonstration of a two-phase AC motor. Probably, a certain businessman brought the latest information to the American by telegraph. Edison's Continental Company began to redirect Tesla from official to official. The latter sent Nicholas back to the first, and the first to the second again. The circle is complete. Realizing that he was fooled by a solid amount of $ 25,000, Tesla decided to change his occupation from that time.

Three Phase Current Travel to America

The hurt young Nikola decided to seek his fortune outside the country. Having already chosen Russia as his new place of residence, Nicola hears Charles Bachlor's advice to go to Edison personally and offer his own services. So fate directed Tesla to the USA. At the same time, Bachlor confidentially announced that there was a disorder with science in Russia - for this reason, Yablochkov was forced to bring the experiments to the end in France.

A kind-hearted man, Charles gave a letter of recommendation to Tesla, so that the young scientist was welcomed overseas. In Paris, the poetry lover remained robbed by local crooks who loved chanson. Little things in my pockets were enough for the cheapest ticket to Le Havre. Hungry and frozen, Tesla sat in the cabin, but happily attracted the attention of the ship's captain. He invited the scientist to his cabin and, having heard the story of the wretch, did not refuse hospitality.

An unexpected scuffle on the deck made Tesla, who had good fist fighting skills, fight back, and the captain, who noticed the fight, changed his mercy to indifference. Fortunately, it was not far from New York, and Goethe's admirer finally stepped ashore, where he quickly earned his first money by helping the owner of a local workshop.

A letter of introduction helped Tesla to see Edison. The irony of fate - without the specified piece of paper, the inventors would not have met. Edison listened indifferently to ideas about alternating current. What makes us make an assumption about his advance awareness. Tesla was already known to the Continental Company, its employees had previously refused to reward Nikola. The Americans made it possible for the Europeans to re-feel the value of their own promises.

Edison promised Tesla now $ 50,000 for the next improvement of his cars. What made up the state at that time. Tesla, who worked 20 hours a day, introduced a number of innovations, while simultaneously creating a new type of power source, fulfilling his part of the verbally concluded agreement. As last time, the award was zero - Edison said that he had a good joke in American.

In the spring of 1885, having severed ties with the Continental Company, Tesla embarks on a lonely voyage. However, local businessmen already knew the inventor as a talented engineer: he created an arc lamp for street lighting purposes. But instead of payment I received ... some difficult-to-sell shares. Tesla learned a lesson three times before he realized that he had to keep his eye on the bigwigs.

Having worked as a loader, an auxiliary worker, digging out an unknown number of ditches, Nicola lost interest in America. But in April 1887, Obadaya Brown got in the way. The foreman quickly realized the advantages of Tesla's ideas and offered to meet his brother Alfred, who worked as an engineer at a telegraph company. The conversation took place drunkenly, but the next morning they both moved in the right direction.

The agreement was to develop something on the basis of Brown's laboratory (at Tesla's discretion) to demonstrate in front of lawyer Charles Peck. A metal egg spinning in a magnetic field of solid size looked really amazing (this is how the world's first asynchronous motor took place). There was money to develop the concept of alternating, including three-phase, current.

"The man who invented the 20th century!" - so Tesla is called by modern biographers, and they do it without any exaggeration. He gained his fame thanks to progressive views and the ability to prove their worth. Tesla conducted dangerous experiments in the name of science, and in certain circles is considered a figure associated with mysticism. In the latter case, most likely, we are dealing with speculation, but what is known for sure is that the inventions of Nikola Tesla contributed to progress throughout the world.

Nikola Tesla's legacy

First, we will consider inventions that are important from a scientific point of view, but rarely occur in the daily life of a modern person.

We will talk about one of the most famous and spectacular inventions of Nikola. The Tesla coil is a kind of resonant transformer circuit. Used this fixture to produce high voltage high frequency.

Tesla's coil was one of the tools for studying the nature of electric current and the possibilities of its use.

Tesla used coils while conducting innovative experiments in the field of:

electric lighting;
phosphorescence;
x-ray generation;
high-frequency alternating current;
electrotherapy;
radio engineering;
transmission of electrical energy without wires.

By the way, Nikola Tesla was one of those people who predicted the emergence of the Internet and modern gadgets.

Tesla's coil is an early predecessor (along with an induction coil) to a more modern device called a flyback transformer. It provides the voltage required to power the cathode ray tube of televisions and computer monitors. Versions of this coil are widely used today in radio, television and other electronic equipment.

The coil can be seen in all its glory in science museums or at special shows.

Tesla Coil in action is always a sight to behold:

This structure, also known as Tesla's Tower, was built with the aim of providing wireless telecommunications and demonstrating the possibility of transmitting electricity without wires.

According to Tesla's idea, the Wardencliff Tower was supposed to be a step towards the creation World Wireless System... His plans were to install several dozen transmitting and receiving stations around the world. Thus, there would be no need to use high-voltage power lines. That is, in fact, we would receive one worldwide power plant. By the way, Tesla managed to transmit electricity "through the air" from one coil to another, so his ambitions were not unfounded.

Today Wardencliff is a closed facility

The Wardencliff project required a large capital investment and was initially supported by influential investors. However, when work on the construction of the tower was almost completed, Tesla lost funding and was on the verge of bankruptcy. This is because Wardencliff could have been a prerequisite for free electricity supplies around the world, which could ruin some investors whose business was tied to the sale of electricity.

Fans of various conspiracy theories associate the fall of the Tunguska meteorite in Siberia and Tesla's experiments with the Tower.

X-rays

Wilhelm Roentgen officially discovered radiation named after him on November 8, 1895. But in fact, this phenomenon was first observed by Nikola Tesla. Back in 1887, he began to conduct research using vacuum tubes. During his experiments, Tesla recorded "special rays" capable of "shining through" objects... At first, the scientist did not attach much importance to this phenomenon, given that prolonged exposure to X-rays is dangerous to humans.

Nikola Tesla was the first to draw attention to the danger of X-rays

However, Tesla continued to research in this direction and even conducted several experiments before Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery, including photographing the bones of his hand.

Unfortunately, in March 1895, a fire broke out in Tesla's laboratory, and the records of these studies were lost. After Roentgen's discovery, Nikola, using a vacuum tube device, took a picture of his leg and sent a colleague along with congratulations. Roentgen praised Tesla for the quality photography.

The same shot of a foot in a boot

Contrary to popular belief, Wilhelm Roentgen was not familiar with Tesla's works and came to his discovery on his own, which cannot be said about Guglielmo Marconi ...

Radio and remote control

Engineers from different countries worked on radio communication technology, while the research was independent of each other. The most striking example: Soviet physicist Alexander Popov and Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi, who are considered the inventors of radio in their countries. However, Marconi gained great worldwide fame, for the first time establishing radio communication between the two continents (1901) and receiving a patent for an invention (1905). Therefore, it is believed that he made the greatest contribution to the development of radio communications. But what does Tesla have to do with it?

Radio waves are everywhere today

As it turned out, it was he who first revealed the nature of radio signals and in 1897 patented the transmitter and receiver... Marconi took Tesla's technology as a basis and made his famous demonstration in 1901. Already in 1904, the Patent Office revoked the radio patent for Nicola, and a year later awarded it to Marconi. Apparently, this was not without the financial influence of Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie, who were in confrontation with Tesla.

In 1943, after the death of Nikola Tesla, the US Supreme Court sorted out the situation and recognized the more significant contribution of this scientist as the inventor of radio technology.

Let's rewind a little. In 1898, at the electrical exhibition in Madison Square Garden, Tesla demonstrated what he called "teleautomatics." In fact, it was boat model, the movement of which can be controlled remotely via the remote control.

This is what Tesla's radio-controlled boat looked like

Nikola Tesla showed in practice the possibilities of using radio wave transmission technology. Remote control is all over the place today, ranging from a television remote control to drone flights.

Tesla's induction motor and electric car

In 1888, Tesla received a patent for an electric machine in which rotation is created under the influence of alternating current.

We will not go into the technical features of the operation of an asynchronous motor - those who are interested can read the relevant material on Wikipedia. What you need to know is that the engine has a simple design, does not require high manufacturing costs and is reliable in operation.

Tesla intended to use his invention as an alternative to internal combustion engines... But it just so happened that during this period no one was interested in such innovations, and the financial situation of the scientist himself did not allow him to roam especially.

Interesting fact! A monument to the great inventor has been erected in Silicon Valley. It is symbolic that he is distributing free Wi-Fi.

It is impossible not to mention the shrouded in mystery tesla's electric car... It is because of the doubtfulness of this story that we will not deduce it as a separate item. Moreover, it was not without an electric motor.

1931, New York. Nikola Tesla demonstrated the operation of a car in which ostensibly instead of an internal combustion engine, an 80 hp AC engine was installed. The scientist drove around on it for about a week, accelerating to 150 km / h. And the catch is this: the engine was running with no visible power source, and to recharge the car ostensibly never put. The only thing the motor was connected to was a box assembled from light bulbs and transistors that Tesla bought from a nearby electronics store.

A 1931 Pierce Arrow car was used for the demonstration

To all the questions, Nikola answered that the energy was taken from the ether. Newspaper skeptics began to accuse him of almost black magic, and the annoyed genius, taking his box, refused to comment or explain anything at all.

A similar event in Tesla's biography does take place, but experts still doubt that he found a way to get energy for a car from "air". Firstly, in the scientist's notes there is not even a hint of an ether-powered engine, and secondly, there are suggestions that Nikola thus fooled the public in order to draw attention to the very idea of \u200b\u200belectric cars. And directly for the movement of this prototype, either a hidden battery or an internal combustion engine with a modernized exhaust system could be used.