The picture above is from "The Oatmeal," a popular web comic and entertainment site by Matthew Inman.
On the crowd-funding site IndieGoGo, Inman raised a grand total of $2,740,922 for building the first Tesla Museum on Saturday, September 29th, 2012. He expected only $1.7 million.
Nikola Tesla's alternating current is used for nearly all commercial and all domestic electrical needs. Electricity heats water, keeps lights on, and powers electronic gadgets and systems. It is essential to modern life.
In 2007, Con Edison ceased its service of direct current electricity, ending 125 years of operation since Edison opened the generation plant in 1882. It only changed to provide alternating current.
On the crowd-funding site IndieGoGo, Inman raised a grand total of $2,740,922 for building the first Tesla Museum on Saturday, September 29th, 2012. He expected only $1.7 million.
Nikola Tesla's alternating current is used for nearly all commercial and all domestic electrical needs. Electricity heats water, keeps lights on, and powers electronic gadgets and systems. It is essential to modern life.
In 2007, Con Edison ceased its service of direct current electricity, ending 125 years of operation since Edison opened the generation plant in 1882. It only changed to provide alternating current.
So What's the Difference?
Alternating Current
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Direct Current
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Advantages
Disadvantages
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Advantages
Disadvantages
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Alternating Current became the standard because it was more efficient, inexpensive, and effective than direct current. It would not have been possible without Tesla destroying his contract with Westinghouse, voiding his millions of dollars in royalties. This momentous turning point allowed Westinghouse to share alternating current with the world, revolutionizing technology and the advancement of a modern society dependent on electrical energy.
Tesla didn't follow the laissez-faire model of scientific advancement. Unlike Edison, he worked on inventions for the edification of society and the sake of science itself. All of his projects, from improved arc lighting and alternating current to the Wardenclyffe experiments were to improve the world. His conscious decision to forgo his contract with Westinghouse, forsaking millions of dollars he rightly earned, set Nikola Tesla apart and above from the other scientists of his era. While Edison was an inventor-businessman, Tesla was purely an inventor, whose innovations in electrical science proved to be a turning point, both in how inventors should innovate, and how technological advancement would proceed.
The 21st Century is the "Rise of the Geek." The internet age has ushered in an influx of advancements, all possible through alternating current electricity powered computers and the rapid sharing of ideas, collaboration among peers. Only now is Tesla getting the recognition he deserves, his museum funded by donations over the internet, thousands inspired by the greatest geek who ever lived.
Tesla didn't follow the laissez-faire model of scientific advancement. Unlike Edison, he worked on inventions for the edification of society and the sake of science itself. All of his projects, from improved arc lighting and alternating current to the Wardenclyffe experiments were to improve the world. His conscious decision to forgo his contract with Westinghouse, forsaking millions of dollars he rightly earned, set Nikola Tesla apart and above from the other scientists of his era. While Edison was an inventor-businessman, Tesla was purely an inventor, whose innovations in electrical science proved to be a turning point, both in how inventors should innovate, and how technological advancement would proceed.
The 21st Century is the "Rise of the Geek." The internet age has ushered in an influx of advancements, all possible through alternating current electricity powered computers and the rapid sharing of ideas, collaboration among peers. Only now is Tesla getting the recognition he deserves, his museum funded by donations over the internet, thousands inspired by the greatest geek who ever lived.