Electricity has been a human companion for over 150 years. The convenience of production and transportation of this type of energy made it the main one for the mass consumer. And when it became clear that with the help of electricity it is possible not only to rotate the wheels, but also to control the automatics, we were doomed to the invention of computers, individual communication systems and the global computer network. If, for some reason, electricity suddenly disappears from humanity at this stage, then this will throw our civilization back at least to the beginning of the Middle Ages (and not at all 150 years, since we have forgotten how to do anything without the help of electrical energy).
Surprisingly, the principle of operation of almost all electrical devices around us was formulated by one person - the Serbian electrician Nikola Tesla. As the son of a priest, young Tesla was interested in sciences, primarily physics. Having entered the Harz University, he began to study electrical engineering courses. It was there, in 1878, that Tesla realized how imperfect DC machines are, which are used everywhere, and firmly decided to correct this annoying misunderstanding.
The fact is that mankind has been using electricity for more than one century, however, not fully understanding its laws, this type of energy has not been used quite rationally. There, at the Tesla University, he gets acquainted with the works of Maxwell, the famous theorist of electricity. Just three years after graduation, Tesla formulates the principles of a rotating magnetic field, thereby destroying the last obstacle that separates humanity from the widespread introduction of electrical energy. However, the ideas of the genius are not recognized either in his homeland or in the "enlightened" France, and the young inventor moves to America.
In America, the young inventor was taught the first lesson of capitalism. The famous Edison (yes, yes, the same, the inventor of the light bulb, phonograph and the first movie camera), being Tesla's chief, masterfully appropriated 24 of his patents. When a young scientist turned to him for a monetary reward, Edison said that, they say, he still does not know English well and, like, "we did not agree on anything, it was a joke." On the same day, Tesla resigns and until the end of his life he openly feuded with Edison, criticizing him and his inventions in every possible way.
However, the break with Edison gave the young genius the opportunity to realize himself in full. Over the next six years, Tesla discovered and patented an asynchronous motor (a year before its implementation by Dolivo-Dobrovolsky), a synchronous generator and a high-frequency transformer. Four years before Popov and Marconi, he conducted the first radio communication session. And in 1895, at the Niagara hydroelectric power station, the first synchronous alternating current generator, assembled according to Tesla's project, was first put into operation as a source of electrical energy. The profitability of the project was so obvious that since then exclusively synchronous generators were used everywhere and all consumers switched to alternating current.
In principle, this could have ended. Tesla immortalized his name and created devices that humanity will use for several hundred years. In addition, the material output exceeded all his expectations. Tesla sold patents alone for about $ 80 million in modern terms; in addition, he had shares in several enterprises.
However, as it turned out later, all this was only part of the genius's plan, and he left the most interesting for later. Beginning in 1900, Tesla began a series of experiments with wireless power transmission. To do this, in the American wilderness, he buys a plot and equips it for his laboratory.
The most interesting thing is that since that time Tesla has not officially invented or patented anything, but, according to the testimony of friends and frequently changing temporary employees, he works in his laboratory with even more enthusiasm than before. Here it must be said that basically, Tesla conducted experiments at night and alone: he hated working in a team, in addition, electricity is several times cheaper at night.
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Later, he builds an even larger laboratory, on the territory of which he places a giant fifty-meter tower - a high-frequency transformer. Tesla makes a number of experiments with her and declares that they are completely successful. After that, in a short interview for the press, he declares that he can now transmit the energy of electricity over great distances, and, if necessary, is able to light up the light over the North Pole for expeditions staying there at the polar night. The final series of experiments is carried out on June 30, 1908 - it is on this day that the Tunguska phenomenon is observed in Siberia. Naturally, no one would ever have thought that Tesla's experiments had anything to do with this.
However, there are several facts that allow us to assume that Tesla still had a hand in this event. Firstly, the place of the fall is located practically on the same meridian as the Tesla laboratory. Second, the fall time coincides with the start time of the experiment. And, one more thing: six months before the experiment, Tesla asks the US government for data on sparsely populated areas of Siberia and the Indian Ocean.
But the most interesting thing happened 22 years after these events. On August 13, 1930, on the border of Brazil and Peru, a "meteorite fall" happened, which, like two drops of water, repeated the events on Tunguska in 1908. The similarity of these two phenomena was simply amazing: in both cases there were no fragments of "meteorites", both phenomena were accompanied by two explosions, between which several seconds passed, and in both cases the nature of the damage to the area was completely identical.
What did Tesla have to do with this? The most direct thing is that in the fall of 1930 he announced that he had discovered the rays of death and could use them. You can, of course, call all these coincidences, but aren't there too many coincidences? Be that as it may, after the death of the inventor, the FBI confiscated all documents related to Tesla's developments. Their fate has not yet been clarified. Currently, more and more researchers are showing interest in the works of Nikola Tesla. Will they be able to repeat the experiments of the great engineer? Will it be possible to create devices for wireless transmission of electrical energy? We'll find out in the foreseeable future.