Nikola Tesla: His 1 Invention That Forever Changed The World

Born	July 10th, 1856
Died	7th of January, 1943
Famous Quote	“Be alone, that is when ideas are born.”
Known For	Inventing the polyphase AC/DC current system.
Region of the World	United States, 19th century.
Further Reading	The 7 Greatest Early 20th Century U.S Entrepreneurs

Nikola Tesla was an Austrian-born self-taught electrical engineer that would eventually change the world through one invention. Few know just how large Nikola Tesla’s impact on history and society is.

Nikola Tesla invented the polyphase AC/DC current system. This invention allowed electricity to be transmitted long distances with ease and opened up the world to electricity. As such Nikola Tesla forever changed the world.

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Without further ado, let’s jump into the one invention of Nikola Tesla that forever changed the world.

Nikola Tesla’s Polyphase AC/DC Current Motor

Nikola Tesla was a very smart man. After emigrating from Austria to the United States he started working for Thomas Edison on his telegraph operating systems.

These systems used direct current power (DC). Edison had a monopoly in the states on this type of energy generation. Tesla however noticed several problems with this style of energy generation.

Nikola Tesla in 1887 invented the polyphase AC/DC motor. Overnight this allowed energy to be generated on the AC current system.

Even though Edison would lobby heavily against the use of the AC current system due to its high voltage eventually AC would win. This would have never been possible without Tesla’s AC polyphase generator.

Nikola Tesla noticed the need for his AC current generator to be widely available to the public. In 1891 Tesla’s financer, George Westinghouse, would tell Nikola Tesla that he needed a lower royalty from Tesla or else he would be bankrupted and Tesla would have to deal with the bankers.

Nikola Tesla agreed and released Westinghouse from royalty payments. Six years later Westinghouse would buy the patent from Tesla for a lump sum of $216,000 ($7 million today).

The polyphase AC/DC generator would allow for large amounts of electricity to be sent far distances by alternating the current. Direct current (DC) never changed and would need ever-increasing amounts of power to power devices further away.

As a result, the polyphase AC/DC generator could send electricity more efficiently over long distances. Naturally, this eventually won out over Edison’s DC generators.

Nikola Tesla would go on to experiment with other inventions of his. These would include experiments with x-rays, wireless power, and bladeless turbines. However, none of these would impact the world to the degree of the polyphase AC/DC generator.

How Nikola Tesla’s Polyphase AC/DC Generator Changed the World

What Nikola Tesla gave to the world was a way of sending electricity over long distances. Previously under Edison’s D/C generators anybody who wanted electricity would have to buy land around the generator.

Tesla would allow power plants to start propping up across the world. These power plants would generate a tremendous amount of energy that would then be sent across power lines to Tesla’s AC/DC generators.

For the first time in human history, electricity could be transmitted across the United States with ease.

Today this has drastically impacted our lives. We can see the effects of Nikola Tesla in every single electric appliance we turn on or operate.

If Tesla had not lived then you would have to buy your own electricity generator or live next to a massive powerplant in order to get electricity. With Tesla’s inventions you can now get electricity delivered straight to your house through power lines.

As such with this one invention Nikola Tesla changed the world forever.

What Inventions Was Nikola Tesla Working on When He Died?

Nikola Tesla did not stop inventing once he sold the patent to his AC/DC generator.

Over the next several decades up until his death in 1943 Nikola Tesla would nonstop work on several inventions.

Of the several inventions that Tesla would go on to the market after his generator here are a few.

Radio Remote Control Torpedo

One of Nikola Tesla’s outlandish inventions was a radio-controlled torpedo for the U.S navy.

Using electric waves and a transponder Nikola Tesla successfully created a boat that could be controlled remotely.

Tesla wanted to market this boat to the U.S navy to be fitted with an explosive charge and turned into a torpedo. However the Navy did not see a need at the time, nor could they see the feasibility.

Wireless Power

Nikola Tesla believed that electric power could be transmitted with ease remotely. He would go on to experiment continuously and spend nearly all of his money to build stations to send power remotely.

Tesla believed that he could build a transistor that could send power across the Atlantic. Attempting to successfully create this however would ultimately bankrupt Tesla who would spend his life pursuing wireless electric transmission.

Conclusion

There you have it; an entire article that goes over the 1 invention that forever changed the world.

Nikola Tesla was an immigrant to the United States with no formal education. In spite of this he would go on to create one of the most important inventions in the history of mankind.

Here at The History Ace I strive to publish the best history articles on the internet. If you liked content like this then feel free to subscribe to the free newsletter and share around.

Further, you can check out some of the other articles below.

Sincerely,

Nick