Genius vs. Genius # 1: The Electric Rivalry Between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla
Our colleagues at TecMundo - Mega Curioso's "big brother" - are debuting a new series that will explore classic rivalries in the modern world, the moment when two geniuses of science or technology clash (some more peaceful, some more end up benefiting is humanity with the great inventions and discoveries that spring from these disputes.
The idea is that Tecmundo publishes a chapter - or a confrontation, if you prefer - a week and Mega people share here. The battles chosen involve great minds from various fields of science and technology, and they will help us tell a little about the importance of each of these geniuses, what they contributed, and how the dynamics of rivalry between them were.
To kick off the show, let's present one of the most famous rivalries in the history of technology, between two of the most genius minds in science: Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. In the coming weeks, you will see a breathtaking card with big disputes. Next week, a nuclear battle between the atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb parents, Robert Oppeheimer and Edward Teller. It will be explosive!
Let the games begin! (or "iiiiiit's tiiiiiime !!!")
Tesla's job would be to redesign the machines invented by Edison and produced by his company.
In the right corner, Thomas Alva Edison, who you probably know as one of the greatest inventors in history, associating with him the creation of the incandescent lamp, the phonograph, the camcorder and even the mimeograph, the one who copied the evidence in schools in the old days. it left the leaves smelling of alcohol.
In the left corner, Nikola Tesla, an electricity wizard responsible for creating the alternating current induction electric motor and one of the inspirers of the modern image of the “mad scientist”. As early as the 1890s, he was already talking about wireless communication through devices and created a revolution in the US and world electrical industry.
Round 1: Two Different Worlds
Thomas Edison was an American, born in 1847, and when he was small he hardly attended school, being educated by his mother, and later studying on his own. During his youth, he developed a hearing problem (probably because of scarlet fever) that he mistakenly attributed to an accident in his laboratory. He even founded 14 companies in his lifetime, including General Electrics, or GE, which still exists today.
The main reason for the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla was the patent for direct current and alternating current applications.
Nikola Tesla was born in what is now Croatia at the time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Still in Europe, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Graz, Austria, without completing the course. He worked for a company founded by Thomas Edison in Paris before being transferred to the United States at the age of 27, where he became a US citizen. There, its function would be to redesign the machines invented by Edison and produced by his company, Edison Machine Works. He made improvements to all 24 models presented to him.
It is not clear why Tesla quit work at Edison's company just six months after arriving in the United States. They say that for not having received all the overtime of the 18.5 average working hours a day, including turning into the early hours, or perhaps by the misunderstood joke made by Edison himself who, seeing Tesla arriving at 5 am without knowing he was doing repairs to the dynamos of a ship, he joked that the young scientist was good at nights (and after learning the truth would have praised Tesla, but only to his supervisor).
Round 2: Competing Technologies
The main reason for the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla was the patenting of direct current and alternating current applications, which would change the way electricity was used. The DC register already belonged to Edison and was applied to the scientist's inventions. Tesla has patented his discovery of alternating current for use in machines he had invented in Paris, such as the turbine that earned its name, the induction motor and the high voltage transformer.
To get an idea of how important Tesla's discoveries were, it is because of them that the world's first modern hydropower plant was built.
Tesla had tried to convince Edison Machine Works to develop his ideas, but was unsuccessful. By quitting his job at the company, he got George Westinghouse, owner of the Westinghouse Electric Company, to fund his projects. According to Professor Bernard Carlson, author of the book “Tesla: Inventor of the Electric Age”, the innovations of the scientist have changed people's daily lives, allowing, for example, the installation of elevators in buildings and the invention of much more practical appliances.
To get an idea of how important Tesla's discoveries were, it is because of them that the world's first modern hydroelectric power plant was built, supervised by himself and Westinghouse in Niagara Falls, home to the famous Niagara Falls. It is with virtually the same technology that today's hydroelectric plants work around the world.
Round 3: Creepy Demo
Edison, on his own - and to defend his products - did not believe in the potential of AC and went on to campaign against its use. One of the most iconic - and inhumane - episodes of this rivalry between him and Tesla involved an electric chair conviction and had the opposite effect.
The show of horrors, however, was not enough to actually generate a fight between Tesla and Edison.
Using his influence as a great businessman, Edison managed to get a death row to be executed in an electric chair that used alternating current. The idea was to show people just how lethal this kind of electricity spread could be with the intention of "burning the movie" out of Tesla. The demonstration was a complete disaster.
Not knowing how to use this type of chain, the executioners of the penitentiary have let the tension of the chair fall several times during execution, "frying" the convict in a painful and long way and without actually taking his life effectively. A few minutes later, a smell of burned flesh took over, several people watching had passed out and the prisoner was still alive. The show of horrors, however, was not enough to actually generate a feud between Tesla and Edison, who actually had a rivalry until healthy for the terms of the time.
Round 4: Complementary Geniuses?
When comparing the two geniuses, many differences can be noted. Tesla was more the face of the crazy scientist in movies and cartoons. A maniacal guy, he performed huge shows for the public and impressed people as he was struck by immense power strains at events that brought together hundreds and even thousands of people in New York.
Edison was another businessman, someone who, before his death, had filed no fewer than 1, 093 patents, nearly four times his rival.
Tesla said he created his inventions in strange visions involving drawings and flashes of light. He also claimed to be able to assemble much of what he produced only in his head, and even test them before putting them into practice. He had an impressive photographic memory and created perfect three-dimensional images in his head without losing everything.
Edison was yet another businessman, one who, before his death, had registered no less than 1, 093 patents, nearly four times more than his rival. He was a man ahead of his time, working on inventions that other people could already visualize, but he was always faster and more inventive, solving problems faster and managing to turn it into a product that could be sold to the public before anyone else. .
Final result
It is very difficult to point one of the two as more important than the other. Edison's inventions changed the daily life of humans from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, while Tesla is responsible for a revolution in the way we use electricity.
If there is still any doubt, you can enjoy the video made by Epic Rap Battles of History which puts them both to battle with the power of words:
Now it's your turn: who do you think wins this fight: Thomas Edison, the man of a thousand inventions, or the electric wizard Nikola Tesla? Leave your opinion there in the comments!
Genius vs. Genius # 1: The electrical rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla via TecMundo
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