What was nikola teslas most famous invention

The Tesla Foundation has estimated that Tesla held a total of over patents across five continents. However, it must be born in mind that many of these patents were for the same inventions rather than unique developments.

Interestingly, according to an analysis of his patents, his most protected invention was his pump and turbine US patents 1,, and 1,, For these, he was granted 23 patents in 22 countries. Of all his patents, 54 were granted in the United States. Tesla also either did not file patent protection for a number of other inventions he came up with throughout his career. A prime example being his application of high-frequency current for medical purposes. So, without further ado, here are ten of Nikola Tesla's most famous inventions.

This list is far from exhaustive and is in no particular order. Chances are that you have already seen this invention. It is a transformer used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high-frequency alternating-current electricity. To observers, it appears as if lightning is being shot into the air.

A Tesla coil consists of a primary coil and secondary coil, each with its own capacitor to store electrical energy. The two coils and capacitors are connected by a spark gap. A high-voltage source powers the system. The primary coil's capacitor eventually builds up so much charge that it breaks down the air resistance in the spark gap.

Then, the current flows out of the capacitor down the primary coil and creates a magnetic field. This field collapses quickly and generates an electric current in the secondary coil. The voltage zipping through the air between the two coils creates sparks in the gap and, eventually, the charge in the secondary capacitor becomes so high that it breaks free in a spectacular burst of electric current.

The resulting high-frequency voltage can illuminate fluorescent bulbs several feet away with no wire connection. By running a wire connected to the resonator around his lab he permeated his lab with electromagnetic energy and was able to light a fluorescent bulb held in his hand because the voltage drop through the air was great enough to cause a sufficient current flow.

Using a magnifying transmitter, he was also reportedly able to light a field of bulbs at a distance of 1 km. The magnifying transmitter was an adaptation of the Tesla coil, only instead of discharging to the earth, the magnifying transmitter created standing waves of electrical energy, which could be harnessed by a tuned receiving circuit.

Tesla saw the rise of the piston engine in the automobile industry as a way to make a change in the world. He developed his own turbine-style engine that used combustion to make disks rotate.

While Rontgen has been credited with developing the first X-ray films, called shadowgraphs , there is clear evidence that Tesla was also working in this area. The problem is that Tesla lost a lot of his work due to a fire in his lab. Tesla may well have produced the first x-ray image in the United States when he attempted to use a vacuum tube to obtain an image of Mark Twain. However, instead of Twain, the resulting image showed the screw for adjusting the camera lens.

He did later obtain shadowgraph images of the human body, shortly after Roentgen published his discovery on November 8, Tesla also described some clinical benefits of x-rays. Before his lab burned down, Tesla discovered that he could use his coils to transmit and receive powerful radio signals, tuning them to resonate at the same frequency.

By early , he was ready to transmit a signal 50 miles from his lab, to West Point, New York. But the fire in Tesla's lab destroyed his work. In , a street sign identifying "Nikola Tesla Corner" was installed near the site of his former New York City laboratory, at the intersection of 40th Street and 6th Avenue. In , a group of engineers founded Tesla Motors , a car company named after Tesla dedicated to building the first fully electric-powered car.

In , Tesla unveiled its first electric car, the Roadster. A high-performance sports vehicle, the Roadster helped changed the perception of what electric cars could be. In , Tesla launched the Model S, a lower-priced model that, in , set the Motor Trend world record for 0 to 60 miles per hour acceleration at 2. Since Tesla's original forfeiture of his free energy project, ownership of the Wardenclyffe property has passed through numerous hands.

Several attempts have been made to preserve it, but in , and efforts to have it declared a national historic site failed. Then, in , a group called the Tesla Science Center TSC was formed with the intention of purchasing the property and turning it into a museum dedicated to the inventor's work. In , public interest in the project peaked when Matthew Inman of TheOatmeal. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. George Westinghouse is best known for inventing an air brake system that made railroads safer and promoting alternating current technology, which revolutionized the world's light and power industries. Thomas Edison is credited with inventions such as the first practical incandescent light bulb and the phonograph. He held over 1, patents for his inventions.

Known as "Black Edison," Granville Woods was an African American inventor who made key contributions to the development of the telephone, streetcar and more. George Washington Carver was an African American scientist and educator.

Carver is famous for many inventions including a number of uses for the peanut. Galileo was an Italian scientist and scholar whose inventions included the telescope. His discoveries laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy. Alexander Graham Bell was one of the primary inventors of the telephone, did important work in communication for the deaf and held more than 18 patents. Albert Einstein was a physicist who developed the general theory of relativity. He is considered one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century.

George Eastman invented the Kodak camera, helping make photography accessible to the public. A statue of Tesla on Goat Island overlooks the falls today. In , Tesla received financial backing from J. Tesla was not a savvy businessman and suffered financially, despite his achievements. The property was later sold to a film processing company.

In , the U. His long-abandoned Long Island laboratory will soon become a museum. Earlier this year, a non-profit organization raised enough money to purchase the long-abandoned Wardenclyffe. The group plans to restore the building and turn it into a Tesla museum and science education center. Department of Energy from August to January