Nikola Tesla

Visionary inventor who pioneered alternating current (AC) electricity and wireless communication concepts

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) electrified the modern world through over 300 patents including:

• The AC induction motor enabling long-distance power transmission
• Early wireless energy experiments at Wardenclyffe Tower
• Fluorescent lighting and remote control prototypes

This Serbian-American innovator's War of Currents victory over Edison's DC system standardized AC as the global electrical framework. His 1891 high-frequency demonstrations amazed audiences with artificial lightning and wireless lamps.

Tesla's futuristic concepts included:

• Worldwide wireless communication (1893)
• Renewable energy harvesting from ambient sources
• Particle beam weapons (precursor to laser tech)

Despite dying penniless, Tesla's legacy thrives through:

• Tesla Motors (electric vehicles)
• The SI unit for magnetic flux density (tesla)
• Annual Tesla Day celebrations in STEM communities