Tesla V Edison
Anne Cook
Misty Stroud, PhD
CHM 151; CRN 25017
1 March 2013
Tesla vs. Edison Everyone knows who Thomas Edison is, and many attribute the “invention of electricity” to Edison, but this is simply not accurate. The truth is, while Thomas Edison did patent and market DC, or direct current, electricity, he did not “invent” electricity, and as a matter of fact, much of his work was actually basically stolen from other scientists, among them, one brilliant scientist, Nikola Tesla. We are all taught about Edison in school, but never once was I taught about the genius scientist who deserves much credit for many inventions, concepts, and ideas, most of which are credited to others, Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was an Austrian born Serbian scientist who emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 28 after having attended the Austrian Polytechnic School in Graz and, subsequently, moved to Budapest, where he went to work for the Central Telephone Exchange. It was during this time that Tesla invented the induction motor, which would soon revolutionize the world! After the invention of the induction motor, Tesla went to work for several electric companies in Paris and Strasburg, having been hired to improve their DC generating power facilities, during which time he tried to interest these European companies and investors in his induction motor utilizing AC current, but none were interested, so Nikola Tesla decided that he would move to the U.S. to meet and work with his hero, the greatest electrical engineer in the world, in his opinion, Thomas Edison. Upon arriving in the U.S. with 4 cents in his pocket, some mathematical calculations, a drawing for a conceptual “flying machine”, and a letter of reference for Edison from one of his European business associates, Charles Batchelor, that read, “ My Dear Edison: I know two great men and you are one of them. The other is this young man!” Tesla gave Edison this letter, and also described for him the work he had done in
Misty Stroud, PhD
CHM 151; CRN 25017
1 March 2013
Tesla vs. Edison Everyone knows who Thomas Edison is, and many attribute the “invention of electricity” to Edison, but this is simply not accurate. The truth is, while Thomas Edison did patent and market DC, or direct current, electricity, he did not “invent” electricity, and as a matter of fact, much of his work was actually basically stolen from other scientists, among them, one brilliant scientist, Nikola Tesla. We are all taught about Edison in school, but never once was I taught about the genius scientist who deserves much credit for many inventions, concepts, and ideas, most of which are credited to others, Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was an Austrian born Serbian scientist who emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 28 after having attended the Austrian Polytechnic School in Graz and, subsequently, moved to Budapest, where he went to work for the Central Telephone Exchange. It was during this time that Tesla invented the induction motor, which would soon revolutionize the world! After the invention of the induction motor, Tesla went to work for several electric companies in Paris and Strasburg, having been hired to improve their DC generating power facilities, during which time he tried to interest these European companies and investors in his induction motor utilizing AC current, but none were interested, so Nikola Tesla decided that he would move to the U.S. to meet and work with his hero, the greatest electrical engineer in the world, in his opinion, Thomas Edison. Upon arriving in the U.S. with 4 cents in his pocket, some mathematical calculations, a drawing for a conceptual “flying machine”, and a letter of reference for Edison from one of his European business associates, Charles Batchelor, that read, “ My Dear Edison: I know two great men and you are one of them. The other is this young man!” Tesla gave Edison this letter, and also described for him the work he had done in