Chapter 1 Tesla's interest in inventing began early when he was a boy in Croatia r 1 IMAGINING POSSIBILITIES on July 10 1856 Nikola Tesla was born in Smiljan Lika modern day Croatia A bad thunderstorm rumbled overhead just as Nikola arrived To some people the dark clouds cursed seemed like an unlucky sign Would Nikola's life be
TECH TALK My mother was an inventor of the first order She invented and constructed all kinds of tools and devices Nikola Tesla 23 38°s Nikola's mother said no As lightning flashed across the night sky she predicted he would have a bright future Years later Nikola proved her right He became a famous inventor engineer and physicist His most famous inventions involved electricity Nikola's childhood was shaped by science and creative thinking His mother was a skilled inventor who designed several unique home appliances including a mechanical eggbeater Watching her sparked Nikola's curiosity about the way things work Nikola's father was a priest in the Serbian Orthodox Church He hoped Nikola would follow in his footsteps But Nikola was far more interested in science than religion Even as a boy Nikola thought like an engineer He was fascinated by natural forces and imagined incredible possibilities that didn't occur to most children Nikola was 5
deeply inspired by a steel engraving or carving of Niagara Falls in New York When he studied the image he saw more than rushing water In his vision the falls were turning a giant wheel Nikola believed this wheel could be used to harness the energy of the falls It would be a while before Nikola conquered Niagara Falls Meanwhile he built unique machines on the family farm Not all of them worked Nikola designed a glider an aircraft without an engine from an umbrella Unfortunately the invention failed to make him fly When Nikola leapt off the roof of his house the glider simply crashed to the ground with him His injuries kept him in bed for six weeks but they didn't slow the flow of Nikola's creative ideas When young Nikola saw a picture Cof Niagara Falls he imagined a wheel that could turn the waterfall's power into energy usable
As a student Nikola impressed his teachers with his quick mind and sharp memory He easily performed complicated math problems in his head In fact Nikola was so skilled that teachers sometimes suspected him of cheating EXPLORING ELECTROMAGNETISM In 1873 Nikola became seriously ill He had cholera a dangerous infection that causes severe stomach problems For months he struggled to recover His father promised that Nikola could attend engineering school if he got better By 1875 the young man had regained his health and was attending college in Austria One day during class Nikola's physics teacher demonstrated the transmission of electricity using a motor and a generator called a dynamo When a student turned a crank the dynamo used electromagnetism to make an electric current The current flowed through a wire to the motor on the other side of the room Then the motor used the electricity to produce motion During the nineteenth century electricity was a new and exciting power source As Nikola watched this mysterious motor spark and hum he believed he could make it better 7
