Nikola Tesla: Forgotten Visionary of Wireless Power and Tech

Electric service emerged in the late 19th century, with figures like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison wiring cities in the 1880s and 1890s. Nikola Tesla's legacy, however, has been largely overlooked despite his profound contributions to modern technology.

Nikola Tesla: The Unsung Visionary

Tesla is credited with inventing the electronic ignition for cars and hundreds of other devices still used daily. He was hailed as the "inventor of the 20th century" at its dawn, yet his name was later excluded from schoolbooks and public discourse due to political and economic reasons. In the age of the internet, it has become increasingly difficult to hide his impact.

Tesla believed electric power was a vast, natural resource surrounding us. He was widely recognized in his time, as famous as Stephen Hawking or Steve Jobs are today. Until 1902, people in New York knew who he was. Inventors were once treated like stars, a stark contrast to today. Tesla was friends with two US presidents and Mark Twain, and socialized with New York's elite. His articles were widely published and he was a well-known social figure in New York, often seen as the "ultimate gentleman."

The War of Currents and Suppressed Innovations

Tesla's fame for electricity even overshadowed Thomas Edison's. While Tesla's new inventions made headlines, Edison launched a marketing campaign against Tesla's alternating current (AC) systems, publicly electrocuting animals to demonstrate its supposed dangers. Edison's fierce rivalry led him to advocate for the electric chair to run on Tesla's AC.

Modern technology, including AC power and radio frequencies for wireless communication, is built upon Tesla's foundational work. Many advancements that shape our lives, such as the internet and mobile phones, were envisioned by Tesla.

One of Tesla's most ambitious projects was the Wardenclyffe Tower, aimed at demonstrating wireless electrical power transmission. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of high-frequency currents and the rotating magnetic field, achievements deemed of "utmost use to mankind." However, the Nobel committee, perhaps due to their traditional views, hesitated.

Tesla's Vision for Wireless Communication and Energy

In 1900, Tesla accurately predicted the advent of cellphones and wireless communication of both voice and pictures. His patents, "Method of signaling" and "System of signaling," filed in 1900, described how information could be wirelessly transferred using radio waves. He argued his system worked on different principles than Hertzian electromagnetic waves, aiming for highly private transmissions that could not be intercepted.

Wireless transmission of electricity is theoretically possible, though practical and political issues exist. Tesla's frequencies, unlike those from cellphones, are extremely long and do not cause electromagnetic effects on the body; they are electrostatic. These frequencies were even found to be beneficial and used for medical purposes. Tesla continued to earn money by working for electro-therapeutic companies that used his transmitters.

Frequencies are fundamental to many processes. The human eye detects wavelengths between 400 and 790 terahertz, and human hearing ranges from 20 to 20,000 Hertz. Our hearts beat at 1 to 1.67 hertz, and brain functions range from 0.5 to 30 hertz. The Earth also has a frequency around 7.83 hertz, similar to human brainwaves in relaxed states.

Tesla's Genius and Consciousness

Tesla believed that "the gift of mental power comes from God, divine being, and if we concentrate our minds on the truth, we become in tune with this great power." Raised in the Orthodox faith by his priest father, Tesla was inspired to invent by his mother, who came from a family of inventors and encouraged unconventional thinking.

At a young age, captivated by descriptions of Niagara Falls, Tesla envisioned a water turbine, a vision he later realized. He learned to control his consciousness, deciding what to think, create, and feel, transforming these into work. He admitted it was a constant struggle to prevent his thoughts and feelings from dominating him. His inventions often came with a "flash of light" in his head, accompanied by migraines, allowing him to visualize devices in such detail that blueprints were unnecessary.

He invented radio-controlled robots, hoping to prevent human warfare by having machines fight instead. While this didn't work, Tesla was not naive about human nature. His dream was for Earth to be an endless source of energy, eliminating the need for fossil fuels, corporations, and wars. He believed humanity was not yet ready for such an ideal world, requiring a shift in consciousness. He saw consciousness not as a brain product, but as the brain and body acting as an antenna, tapping into a field of information. Tesla protected this field to download incredible information and apply it to technologies. His eccentricities, such as not shaking hands or disliking pearls, were perhaps his way of managing external energies to maintain his focus. He avoided intimate relationships to dedicate himself fully to his inventions.

Tesla famously stated, "My brain is only a receiver. In the universe, there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration."

Wireless Power and the Ether

Tesla was the first to conceive a workable radio system, though he quickly realized its inefficiency. His focus was always on the efficiency of energy economics. His electrodes were virtual antennas for temporary charge storage, with the actual signal sent into the Earth. He believed Earth was an unlimited conductor, behaving like a vast ocean with rippling waves when receiving electrical impulses, always maintaining its natural frequency.

In Colorado Springs, Tesla successfully transmitted 50 kilowatts of electric power over 27 miles, illuminating lamps without wires, proving his theory. During his time, radio and electromagnetic waves were believed to travel through a hypothetical "luminiferous ether." This concept of an energetic ether was present until 1905, absent for 25 years, and then returned in a more energetic model with the acceptance of quantum electrodynamics in 1930.

Tesla also explored "human energy" and was skeptical of Einstein's theory of relativity, grounding his work in experimental electricity, resonance, and the ether. He believed electric currents could travel over Earth's surface at 470,000 kilometers per second, faster than light, suggesting terrestrial electrical resonance followed different principles.

While physics today struggles to unite gravity with quantum descriptions of other interactions, Tesla's theories on matter's construction were sidelined as physics pursued atomic weapons. He advocated for renewable energy and wireless power transmission through Earth, a vision that could have prevented climate change.

The Rise of Electric Vehicles and Tesla's Enduring Influence

Electric cars existed long before gasoline cars, even being more popular in the early 1900s due to ease of starting. The main difference today is vastly improved batteries and advanced electronics. Tesla Motors, named after Nikola Tesla, successfully changed public perception of electric cars. While electric cars produce zero emissions at the vehicle, their power often comes from grids still reliant on coal.

Tesla envisioned a system that could wirelessly charge phones, computers, and electric cars. He intended Wardenclyffe to be a "radio city," a global wireless transmission and energy-generating facility. He believed sending electrical currents into the Earth could power devices globally, with energy also derived from the upper atmosphere, creating a complete circuit. His ideas foreshadowed mobile phones and Wi-Fi. He imagined devices with small receivers, like watches, embedded in products, receiving power and information from the Earth and distributing it through the air. Mobile phones would work everywhere, unaffected by weather, and wouldn't need charging. This system could power houses, cars, trains, and airplanes, ending reliance on fossil fuels.

Tesla's work was ahead of its time and ultimately stopped. The Wardenclyffe project ran out of money when J.P. Morgan, a key financier, withdrew support after Guglielmo Marconi successfully sent a transatlantic message using Tesla's patents. Morgan's interest waned, as he saw no profit in Tesla's grander vision of free, unlimited energy for all.

The Nobel Prize Controversy and Legacy

Tesla's contributions were deemed too far back in time (40 years) to be considered for a Nobel Prize. In 1909, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marconi and Karl Ferdinand Braun for their contributions to wireless telegraphy, despite Tesla having made crucial improvements. Marconi later received patents after associating with J.P. Morgan, despite Tesla holding earlier patents.

Tesla spent his later years defending his patents in court against Marconi's company, which was profiting from radio transmission licenses in the US. When the US government took over radio communication during WWI, Marconi sued, leading to significant financial consequences and the formation of RCA Corporation. During this time, Tesla's reputation was attacked, portraying him as a "kook and a crank."

Tesla lived in the Waldorf Astoria for many years, befriending John Jacob Astor. After Astor's death, and later George Boldt's (who owned the property), Tesla's unpaid rent led to legal action. In 1915, he lost ownership of the Wardenclyffe property. Efforts were made to discredit him and prevent him from securing funding for free energy, which some consider "one of the biggest crimes against humanity."

Tesla's quote, "I don’t care that they stole my idea, I care that they don't have any of their own," reflects his perspective. His work on wireless power, though conceived over a century ago, forms the basis of today's communication systems. Researchers have replicated some of his work, demonstrating his claims of generating massive electricity from small amounts of horsepower, eliminating the need for burning fossil fuels.

Tesla's writings often used Sanskrit terms like "Akasha" (ether) and "Prana" (energy). Swami Vivekananda believed Tesla could mathematically prove the equivalency of matter and energy, aligning with ancient Indian philosophies.

Tesla's "self-acting engine," which extracts heat from ambient air to harness solar energy 24/7, remains a testament to his vision for renewable energy. Clean air and a livable climate are human rights, and solving the climate crisis is a matter of survival.

The Suppression of Tesla's Ideas and His Enduring Spirit

In 1917, the Wardenclyffe Tower was dynamited, sold for scrap to recover Tesla's debts. Meanwhile, Thomas Edison built a motion picture empire, controlling patents and forming the Edison Trust. Independent producers, to escape Edison's monopoly, established Hollywood. The Supreme Court dissolved the Edison Trust in 1915.

No known surviving footage or confirmed voice recordings of Tesla exist, despite Edison inventing practical recording machines. Coincidentally, Edison lost his motion picture conglomerate around the same time Tesla lost Wardenclyffe. In 1915, Edison advocated for a government research laboratory for military and naval advancements, which became the Naval Research Laboratory, rooted in Tesla's work on wireless communications. Many of Tesla's concepts later appeared in US military technologies, contributing to the internet age.

FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was concerned about Tesla's political sympathies. In his later years, Tesla lived in isolation, feeding pigeons, while authorities considered military applications of his inventions. He died alone and penniless in the Hotel New Yorker on January 7, 1943 (Orthodox Christmas). That same year, the US Supreme Court recognized Tesla's patents predated Marconi's claims and were foundational to radio technology.

Tesla was largely forgotten in the 1950s and 60s, but interest in him has resurfaced, partly due to the rock band Tesla and Elon Musk naming his automobile company "Tesla." This has prompted many to learn about his contributions.

Tesla's favorite machine, the "self-acting engine," could harness solar energy globally. His ideas, though repressed, are now seen as crucial for humanity's future. He believed his ideas would ultimately prevail. As Tesla himself said, "Let the future tell the truth and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs. The future, for which I have really worked, is mine."