Famous Rivalry: Tesla Vs. Thomas Edison
Famous Rivalry: Nikolas Tesla Vs. Thomas Edison
Kayla Olson
Washburn University
Abstract
Two brilliant inventors whose famous rivalry of electrical inventions changed the course of history. Nikolas Tesla came to New York and started working for Thomas Edison in 1884. The famous feud known as the “War of Currents” started between the two in the late 1800s over whose current system was superior. Edison developed direct current, which is a current that runs continually in a single direction, like in a battery or a fuel cell. Tesla thought this current had problems and that he could improve upon it. Tesla’s solution was his invention of the alternating current.
By Edison not wanting to loose his royalties, he spread misinformation about Tesla’s AC current. This in turned caused Tesla to quit working for Edison and start working for George Westinghouse. Westinghouse helped Tesla patent and develop his alternating current, which was eventually picked up by the Niagara Falls Power Company. History would show that Tesla won the battle due to the fact we still use alternating current today to supply electricity in our every day lives. However some of the greatest electrical inventions would not be possible today without …show more content…
the genius of both Tesla and Edison.
Famous Rivalry: Nikolas Tesla vs Thomas Edison
Nikolas Tesla and Thomas Edison (Edison) were both giants of electrical engineering whose innovations changed history. Nikolas Tesla (Tesla) was born July 10, 1856, in a region of Croatia to Serbian parents. His father was a priest and his mother was an inventor of household appliances. He began his career as an electrical engineer with a telephone company in Budapest in 1881. It was there that he discovered his first invention, the rotating magnetic field. This principle of the induction motor allowed alternating current to power an engine without being first converted to direct current. According to their site,”While in Strasbourg in 1883, he privately built a prototype of the induction motor and successfully tested it”(teslasociety). However, unable to persuade people in Europe to help promote his invention, it was then he decided to take a job with Edison in New York in 1884. Edison, who eventually became his nemesis, was the iconic American inventor of the light bulb, the phonograph, and the moving picture.
It was while working in Edison’s lab in New Jersey that Tesla wanted to improve Edison’s line of dynamos. “It was then that the divergence of opinions with Edison over direct current versus alternating currents began”(teslasociety). This disagreement climaxed in “The war of the currents” as Edison fought a losing battle to protect his investments in direct current equipment and facilities. The two inventors had a clash over methodology. Tesla was an emotionally driven dreamer with years of engineering training. This training in turn allowed him to work out theories before physically implementing them. Edison relied heavily on tedious experimentation for most of his discoveries, a commitment which some historians attribute partially to his lack of a formal education. Each of them having different methods, the two inventors appeared to enjoy publicly criticizing the others’ work. This rivalry would continue to become more heated throughout their lives.
There were big oppositions between Tesla and Edison. The primary reason for their rivalry was due to their disagreement concerning which of them received credit for which theory. Many accused Edison of being a thief due to the fact that Tesla as so young when he started working for him. While those on Edison’s side believed Tesla was the thief who persuaded investors to finance his ideas by making promises that he rarely kept. “Though Tesla was famous and respected, unlike his early employer and chief rival, he was never able to translate his copious inventions into long-term financial success”(mentalfloss). Late in the 1800s Edison and Tesla came to technological blows when Tesla’s alternating current (AC) power systems, that are currently used all over the world today, came into competition with Edison’s direct current (DC) power systems. In the end it was determined that Tesla’s system was better. Tesla’s AC power system was purchased by George Westinghouse and helped develop them into what became the multinational Westinghouse Company. “Although Edison lost that war with Tesla, he is considered to be the godfather of General Electric, which is the worlds twelfth largest company today”(lifehack).
One of the greatest differences between Tesla and Edison was labor productivity.
Tesla generally worked alone on his projects and Edison generally had several people always involved helping him. Although Tesla had high levels of personal productivity, Edison always had people at his expense. They both also had legendary work ethics. Examining Tesla and Edison on an innovation output level shows a large disparity in the number of patented inventions. Edison had 1,093 U.S. patents while Tesla was only granted 112(lifehack). This is a big difference seeing Tesla had high innovation success rates in his beginning years but then they slowly plummeted after he stopped working for Westinghouse and went out on his
own.
Their legendary rivalry likely began while Tesla was working for Edison. Tesla insisted that he could increase the efficiency of Edison’s prototypical dynamos. At first Edison refused him the opportunity but Tesla’s persistence eventually caused Edison enough to let him try. Tesla had spent hours upon hours working around the clock to succeed. If he were to succeed Edison made a promise of $50,000 to Tesla. After demanding his reward and Edison not paying up, Tesla quit and went on to work odd jobs around the city. Tesla eventually raised enough money to start his: Tesla Electric Light Company, where he developed several successful patents including AC generators, wires, transformers, lights, and a 100 horsepower AC motor. Not being much of a businessman he eventually began selling most of his inventions to George Westinghouse, a mutual rival of Edison. While most of Edison’s inventions were very practical and are still in use today, in the end it was Tesla’s AC power system that won. With Westinghouse helping fulfill Tesla’s dream of building a power plant at Niagara Falls to power New York City. It is also built upon its principles and the same system of local power grids we use today.
This has influenced big studies today and are beginning to examine ways in which AC and DC power can work together with modern energy-harnessing technology to run our overall grid more efficiently. If AC had never been invented we might have power plants in our neighborhoods helping power all our electrical needs in or houses. Tesla’s inventions became the backbone of modern power and communication systems.
References
Hall-Geisler, Kristen. "What were Nikola Tesla’s Famous Inventions?", 12 January 2011. HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved 23 September 2014. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/famous-nikola-tesla-inventions.htm>
Vujovic, Dr Ljubo. “Tesla Memorial Society”, July 10, 1998. Retrieved 23 September 2014. <http://www.teslasociety.com>
Nakagawa, Tatsuya. “Thomas Edison versus Nikola Tesla: Who is more productive?”, July 10 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2014. <http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/thomas-edison-versus-nikola-tesla-who-is-more-productive.html>
Kayla Olson
Washburn University
Abstract
Two brilliant inventors whose famous rivalry of electrical inventions changed the course of history. Nikolas Tesla came to New York and started working for Thomas Edison in 1884. The famous feud known as the “War of Currents” started between the two in the late 1800s over whose current system was superior. Edison developed direct current, which is a current that runs continually in a single direction, like in a battery or a fuel cell. Tesla thought this current had problems and that he could improve upon it. Tesla’s solution was his invention of the alternating current.
By Edison not wanting to loose his royalties, he spread misinformation about Tesla’s AC current. This in turned caused Tesla to quit working for Edison and start working for George Westinghouse. Westinghouse helped Tesla patent and develop his alternating current, which was eventually picked up by the Niagara Falls Power Company. History would show that Tesla won the battle due to the fact we still use alternating current today to supply electricity in our every day lives. However some of the greatest electrical inventions would not be possible today without …show more content…
the genius of both Tesla and Edison.
Famous Rivalry: Nikolas Tesla vs Thomas Edison
Nikolas Tesla and Thomas Edison (Edison) were both giants of electrical engineering whose innovations changed history. Nikolas Tesla (Tesla) was born July 10, 1856, in a region of Croatia to Serbian parents. His father was a priest and his mother was an inventor of household appliances. He began his career as an electrical engineer with a telephone company in Budapest in 1881. It was there that he discovered his first invention, the rotating magnetic field. This principle of the induction motor allowed alternating current to power an engine without being first converted to direct current. According to their site,”While in Strasbourg in 1883, he privately built a prototype of the induction motor and successfully tested it”(teslasociety). However, unable to persuade people in Europe to help promote his invention, it was then he decided to take a job with Edison in New York in 1884. Edison, who eventually became his nemesis, was the iconic American inventor of the light bulb, the phonograph, and the moving picture.
It was while working in Edison’s lab in New Jersey that Tesla wanted to improve Edison’s line of dynamos. “It was then that the divergence of opinions with Edison over direct current versus alternating currents began”(teslasociety). This disagreement climaxed in “The war of the currents” as Edison fought a losing battle to protect his investments in direct current equipment and facilities. The two inventors had a clash over methodology. Tesla was an emotionally driven dreamer with years of engineering training. This training in turn allowed him to work out theories before physically implementing them. Edison relied heavily on tedious experimentation for most of his discoveries, a commitment which some historians attribute partially to his lack of a formal education. Each of them having different methods, the two inventors appeared to enjoy publicly criticizing the others’ work. This rivalry would continue to become more heated throughout their lives.
There were big oppositions between Tesla and Edison. The primary reason for their rivalry was due to their disagreement concerning which of them received credit for which theory. Many accused Edison of being a thief due to the fact that Tesla as so young when he started working for him. While those on Edison’s side believed Tesla was the thief who persuaded investors to finance his ideas by making promises that he rarely kept. “Though Tesla was famous and respected, unlike his early employer and chief rival, he was never able to translate his copious inventions into long-term financial success”(mentalfloss). Late in the 1800s Edison and Tesla came to technological blows when Tesla’s alternating current (AC) power systems, that are currently used all over the world today, came into competition with Edison’s direct current (DC) power systems. In the end it was determined that Tesla’s system was better. Tesla’s AC power system was purchased by George Westinghouse and helped develop them into what became the multinational Westinghouse Company. “Although Edison lost that war with Tesla, he is considered to be the godfather of General Electric, which is the worlds twelfth largest company today”(lifehack).
One of the greatest differences between Tesla and Edison was labor productivity.
Tesla generally worked alone on his projects and Edison generally had several people always involved helping him. Although Tesla had high levels of personal productivity, Edison always had people at his expense. They both also had legendary work ethics. Examining Tesla and Edison on an innovation output level shows a large disparity in the number of patented inventions. Edison had 1,093 U.S. patents while Tesla was only granted 112(lifehack). This is a big difference seeing Tesla had high innovation success rates in his beginning years but then they slowly plummeted after he stopped working for Westinghouse and went out on his
own.
Their legendary rivalry likely began while Tesla was working for Edison. Tesla insisted that he could increase the efficiency of Edison’s prototypical dynamos. At first Edison refused him the opportunity but Tesla’s persistence eventually caused Edison enough to let him try. Tesla had spent hours upon hours working around the clock to succeed. If he were to succeed Edison made a promise of $50,000 to Tesla. After demanding his reward and Edison not paying up, Tesla quit and went on to work odd jobs around the city. Tesla eventually raised enough money to start his: Tesla Electric Light Company, where he developed several successful patents including AC generators, wires, transformers, lights, and a 100 horsepower AC motor. Not being much of a businessman he eventually began selling most of his inventions to George Westinghouse, a mutual rival of Edison. While most of Edison’s inventions were very practical and are still in use today, in the end it was Tesla’s AC power system that won. With Westinghouse helping fulfill Tesla’s dream of building a power plant at Niagara Falls to power New York City. It is also built upon its principles and the same system of local power grids we use today.
This has influenced big studies today and are beginning to examine ways in which AC and DC power can work together with modern energy-harnessing technology to run our overall grid more efficiently. If AC had never been invented we might have power plants in our neighborhoods helping power all our electrical needs in or houses. Tesla’s inventions became the backbone of modern power and communication systems.
References
Hall-Geisler, Kristen. "What were Nikola Tesla’s Famous Inventions?", 12 January 2011. HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved 23 September 2014. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/famous-nikola-tesla-inventions.htm>
Vujovic, Dr Ljubo. “Tesla Memorial Society”, July 10, 1998. Retrieved 23 September 2014. <http://www.teslasociety.com>
Nakagawa, Tatsuya. “Thomas Edison versus Nikola Tesla: Who is more productive?”, July 10 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2014. <http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/thomas-edison-versus-nikola-tesla-who-is-more-productive.html>