Turns out the "war" of Tesla vs Edison was a bunch of revisionist historical BS. About the only thing accurate about Tesla from popular histories is that he did invent an efficient poly phase AC induction motor, and he did sell that license to Westinghouse. The rest, well listen to the video:
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The real Nikola Tesla
- Thread starter Cosmacelf
- Start date
The video above correctly debunks some of the ridiculous popular mythology about Tesla while downplaying or ignoring his genius. Tesla was both a genius and a crackpot. For a more balanced treatment of the man, I recommend the members-only episode about Tesla on the Our Fake History podcast, with historian Sebastian Major.
The podcast title may be misleading: Major's format is to tell a historical myth (fake history) in some detail, and then set the record straight, in even greater detail, with the real history.
Nikola Tesla made major and important contributions to the young field of electricity and electrification. He also took money from investors on the promise of using it for one project, and used it instead for another (crackpot) project. This alienated investors.
BTW, Edison did claim that AC current was deadly, but whether he believed that is another matter entirely. The "current wars" were high-stakes and Edison was not above trying to use fear to promote his own system.
The podcast title may be misleading: Major's format is to tell a historical myth (fake history) in some detail, and then set the record straight, in even greater detail, with the real history.
Nikola Tesla made major and important contributions to the young field of electricity and electrification. He also took money from investors on the promise of using it for one project, and used it instead for another (crackpot) project. This alienated investors.
BTW, Edison did claim that AC current was deadly, but whether he believed that is another matter entirely. The "current wars" were high-stakes and Edison was not above trying to use fear to promote his own system.
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