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Nikola Tesla, born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Croatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a visionary inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist who made unparalleled contributions to the development of the alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla's wide-ranging achievements and inventions extended beyond the realm of electrical engineering - he was a true polymath whose insights touched the fields of radio, wireless communication, and electromagnetism. His forward-thinking experiments and theorizations laid the groundwork for the modern electric age. After his emigration to America in 1884, Tesla began working with Thomas Edison but quickly parted ways due to their conflicting views over electrical systems. This was epitomized by the War of the Currents in which Tesla, alongside George Westinghouse, advocated for AC, eventually triumphing over Edison's direct current (DC) system. Tesla's prolificacy is not confined to patents and practical inventions but is also immortalized in his writings. 'The Essential Works of Nikola Tesla' provides invaluable insight into his profound knowledge and his almost poetic vision for humanity's potential advancements, offering glimpses into his explorations and philosophical approach to science. It compiles some of Tesla's most significant writings that underscore his legacy as not merely an inventor but a thinker who transcended his epoch. Tesla died on January 7, 1943, in New York City, leaving behind a trail of inventions that steered the world into a new era of technological possibilities, and a literary footprint that continues to inspire technological innovation and scientific thought. |
