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A Little Hot White Snow

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Science Traveler is my official author website and focuses primarily on my non-fiction writing – Nikola Tesla, Abraham Lincoln, Science Traveling. Not long ago I started a new blog for my more creative writing endeavors – memoir, writing prompt experimentation, and even a little preview erotica. It’s called Hot White Snow.

Bryce

The blog’s title comes from the first piece I wrote for the site, a response to a writing challenge on a now largely defunk writing website. The prompt asked us to write a story using a color as a theme, especially concentrating on any emotions connected to that color. The result was a somewhat dreamy scene involving a hot tub, frolicking snowshoe rabbits, and some steamy snowmelt.

The blog header photo above was chosen for the heat evoked by the redness arching through the cool white snow.

Other posts have included vignettes derived from my travels, some creative musings, and memoir-ish meanderings from life and loves. One of my most recent involved my Great Wall of Books.

Feel free to follow me on Hot White Snow, or check in periodically for updates cross-posted here on Science Traveler.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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Grand Palace Guard – Bangkok, Thailand

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Grand Palace Bangkok

A close up look at one of the guardsman standing watch over a temple in the Grand Palace, alongside the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, Thailand.

This is a preview of future posts on Thailand. Follow the link for a look at my adventures riding elephants in search of tigers and gibbons in Khao Yai, a major national park in Thailand.

David J. Kent is an avid traveler and is currently working on a book about his experiences traveling in Argentina. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Tens of Thousands of New Tesla Fans – And More on the Way

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These are great days for Nikola Tesla. Tens of thousands of people have become newly aware of Tesla because of the efforts of people like Nikola Lonchar (Tesla Science Foundation), Jane Alcorn (Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe), Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal), Joseph Sikorski (Tower to the People), Nenad Stankovic (Tesla Magazine), and many, many more.

I’m happy to have been a part of this…and even happier to announce that Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity is selling so fast in Barnes and Noble stores right now that the publisher has already ordered a 3rd printing to be released in February 2015. This will bring the total print run to over 50,000 books!

Electrical Execution

As anyone who has read the book knows, it consists of very readable text and is chock full of illustrations, photographs, and vintage comic strips printed on intricately designed high quality pages. And yet the book is being made available at an affordable price in an effort to reach out to as many people as possible. That strategy means that about 25,000 books have already been put in the hands of people who may not have known about Tesla before. After 2 months on the shelves, the books are still selling at more than 1000 copies a week! And with another printing on the way, many more tens of thousands of people will enter the world of Nikola Tesla.

What can you do to help spread the word?

Develop a curriculum: Currently there is an effort to build a Tesla curriculum for schools. This is being spearheaded by Nikola Lonchar and the crew at Tesla Science Foundation and Ashley Redfearn Neswick at the Tacony School. If you have ideas then please plan to attend the 3rd Annual Tesla Memorial Conference on January 10, 2015 at the New Yorker Hotel. Check out the Tesla Science Foundation Facebook page for more information.

Signing books 1-11-14

Signing books at the Tesla Memorial Conference

Donate to local libraries and schools: One of the most gratifying responses to Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has been the number of people who say they believe the book would be a wonderful addition to the curricula of schools ranging from middle school, high school, and even undergraduate college. Many people have told me that they are buying an extra copy of the book specifically to donate it to their local school or public library.

The need for such a book has been obvious. Traditionally the Tesla book market has been split between three categories – highly technical reprints of Tesla’s papers and patents, long scholarly studies of Tesla’s life, and books aimed at children or very young teenagers. Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity is an entertaining and affordable book to stimulate interest in Tesla across the range of readership – and that means more people will want to learn about this fascinating man and his contributions.

Review the book: Share Tesla with the world. More ratings and reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and BN.com means more people will hear about Tesla. So go ahead and give ratings to my book and all the other books you’ve read on Tesla. Then share them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and whatever other social networking sites you use. Let’s get the word out!

Here are more ways you can spread the Tesla word to others.

If you haven’t already, check out my e-book, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

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Abraham Lincoln and the Rule of Three

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Abraham Lincoln rose from a nearly non-existent formal education to become the 16th President of the United States. In a brief biography provided to friends endorsing his 1860 nomination he wrote “I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all.” That was the extent of his formal schooling.

Lincoln sum book rule of three

Page from Lincoln’ sum book. Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

Anyone with an interest in Lincoln – or frontier schooling in general – has likely heard those words, but very few people probably know what they mean. The reading and writing make sense, but “ciphering to the rule of three?”

It turns out the “rule of three” is a way of solving proportions, what we more commonly today call “ratios.” It is a form of cross-multiplication in which the problem is set up such that the unknown quantity is the last “extreme” in a series of numbers exhibiting a proportional relationship. The basic form is:

 

Rule of Three basic form2

The idea is to determine the value of x when you know the values of a, b, and c. The Rule of Three states that you simply rearrange this simple ratio formula into:

Rule of Three rearranged

Another way of looking at it is by laying out the three known terms in a linear sequence (a –> b –> c) and then multiplying the last term (c) by the middle term (b) and then dividing that product by the first term (a).

That’s it. Not very complicated on its face, but this simple rule could incorporate not only multiplication and division but also addition and subtraction. Lincoln likely used it to figure out proportions and costs for different supplies during the time he was a young storekeeper in New Salem. Of course, Lincoln went on to learn long division and other math functions as well, not to mention he mastered the six books of Euclid geometry. He also taught himself the law, political oratory, and the logical thinking that helped him define the slavery debate and, eventually, make him one of our greatest presidents.

Not bad for a guy with less than a year of formal schooling.

[The above is adapted from my book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius and an article published in The Lincolnian, a publication of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia.]

 

Fire of Genius

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

 

 

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Abraham Lincoln, Ballooning, and the Technology of War – Redux

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Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln is the only president to ever get a patent, an ingenious, though impractical, method for lifting boats over shoals. This interest in technology served him well during the Civil War as battles increasingly relied on mechanization for transportation, communication, and weaponry.

I’ve hinted at some of these things in previous posts and will be enlarging on this as my new book develops. As I do that, here are some relevant posts you may have missed:

James L. GreenAbraham Lincoln’s Air Force – Balloons in the Civil War: A discussion with James L. Green, a Director of Planetary Science with NASA and a worldwide expert on Thaddeus Lowe and the use of gas-filled balloons during the early part of the war. Green is working on a new book on the topic and was gracious enough to host me for a lunch discussion.

Organized by the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, this exhibition explores how cutting-edge Civil War technological innovations captured Lincoln's fascination and impacted the conduct of the war.Abraham Lincoln and the Technology of War: A recent exhibit held in the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership displayed telegraphs, weapons, and other artifacts reflecting various forms of technology that helped the North win the war.

Lincoln and the Tools of War by Robert V. Bruce: My review of the definitive treatment on the technology of weaponry in the Civil War.

While you’re at it, check out these two reviews of books comparing Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, two men born on the same day who each left a lasting legacy that changed the world.

Rebel Giants: The Revolutionary Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, by David R. Contosta.

Lincoln and Darwin: Shared Visions of Race, Science and Religion, by James Lander

Check back soon for more about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. BTW, did you know that Nikola Tesla and Abraham Lincoln have a World’s Fair connection? Find out more here.

David J. Kent is a lifelong Lincolnophile and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and an ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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10 Things You Don’t Know About Edison vs Tesla

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Henry Rollins from imdb.comWay back in May I was contacted by a producer for a TV series for the History Channel called “10 Things You Don’t Know About,” hosted by Henry Rollins. They were interested in doing a program on the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. I spoke with the producer and provided my thoughts on what interesting facts they could include, and although I didn’t make it into the final program, it aired on September 7, 2014.

10 Things You Don’t Know About Edison vs Tesla

Rollins talks to an interesting array of experts and gets himself zapped by The Oatmeal, deep dives to the sunken luxury liner Oregon, and checks out Edison’s handwritten notes for a planned science fiction book. He also delves into Mark Twain’s role as Tesla’s “test dummy,” Edison’s most profitable invention (it’s not what you think and is actually quite ironic), and Tesla’s inspiration from Christopher Columbus. All in all it’s a great program.

You can also check out my own “5 Things You Didn’t Know about Nikola Tesla,” including how Tesla was both a showman and recluse, his interest in renewable energy, and why some people thought he was an alien from another planet.

Search for Telsa in the box above for more things you didn’t know about Nikola Tesla. And if you downloaded my e-book, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time, please leave a short review and rating to help others discover Nikola Tesla.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

 

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Science Traveling – Ipswich

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It’s a busy week of writing – I’m working on articles for the Lincoln Group of DC newsletter, for Tesla Magazine, and for the Smithsonian Civil War Studies website. Amidst all of this I’m out science traveling. More on that in the future. Which gets me to a quick visit in Ipswich.

I previewed my most recent trip to my hometown in Massachusetts in this article. More articles are here (click and scroll down). The talk on Nikola Tesla I gave at the Ipswich Museum is here.

Ipswich is the “Birthplace of American Independence,” the home of the famous Ipswich clam (aka, steamers), the Clam Box, Crane Beach, and “The Castle.” It’s also home to more first period houses than any other place in the United States. In short, it’s pretty cool.

Some of the more famous houses include the Whipple House:

Whipple House, Ipswich

The John Heard House (now home to the Ipswich Museum), typical of the wealthier folks in town:

John Heard House, Ipswich

Directly across the street from the Heard House is a reconstruction of a simple timber frame structure called the Alexander Knight House, circa 1657. This was the kind of house that most families lived in during early Ipswich days (incorporated 1634):

Alexander Knight House

And then there is this yellow house. I actually don’t know much about it even though it has stood on this prominent rise overlooking the main downtown area for my entire life. I’ll  dig up more information for a later post.

Big yellow house, Ipswich

There is much more to Ipswich than these glimpses. I’ll write more later but for starters you can check out the Stories from Ipswich blog by Historian Gordon Harris.

And don’t forget – if you downloaded my e-book, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time, please leave a rating and review.

Come back on Thursday for more science traveling from Argentina. I’ll also post from the road as internet connection allows.

David J. Kent is an avid traveler and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. He is also the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and an ebook, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Did Nikola Tesla Harness Energy from the Rain?

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Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its TimeNikola Tesla is well known for harnessing the power of Niagara Falls. But did he also figure out how to harness power from the rain? Whereas hydroelectric power is limited to areas with significant natural drops like Niagara or artificial drops like Hoover Dam, the rain falls everywhere.

So one of Tesla’s wilder ideas was to foresee getting electrical power from rainy days, an energy source he thought was essentially unlimited, at least in theory. He argued that the practical energy from rain would “represent over one-half a billion horsepower,” more than six times greater than the total horsepower that could be garnered from harnessing all of the waterfalls in the United States.

Did he succeed? Find out in Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time, now available as an e-book on Amazon.

If you were one of the more than 500 people who have already downloaded the book, please take a moment to leave a review or rating on Amazon and Goodreads. Doing so helps spread the word about Nikola Tesla to as many people as possible.

To leave a review on Amazon, go here.

To leave a review on Goodreads, go here.

In related news, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity is back in Barnes and Noble stores and is selling even faster than anyone anticipated – almost 5000 copies in less than three weeks! That’s half of the entire first print run that took six months to sell out. Get yours while you still can, either at Barnes and Noble stores, BN.com online, or Amazon.com. Or order a signed and inscribed copy directly from me.

Thanks again for reading about Nikola Tesla. And watch for the next book soon!

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Thanks for Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time

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A big thank you to everyone who downloaded a copy of Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. There were over 500 downloads during this past week, which helped the e-book reach #1 in several Amazon categories. Thank you all for your support, both for this e-book and for Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (which is now back in Barnes and Noble stores this month).

Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its TimeAfter you read the e-book, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Doing so helps spread the word about Nikola Tesla to as many people as possible.

To leave a review on Amazon, go here.

To leave a review on Goodreads, go here.

Tesla: The Wizard of ElectricityAnd while you’re at it, leave a review for Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

For Amazon

For Barnes and Noble

For Goodreads

Thanks again for reading about Nikola Tesla. And watch for the next book soon!

Follow me by subscribing by email on the home page.  And feel free to “Like” my Facebook author’s page and connect on LinkedIn.  Share with your friends using the buttons below.

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Coming Soon! [UPDATE: Now Here] Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time

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July is such a great month. For starters, July 10th is Nikola Tesla’s birthday, which always results in an uptick in interest. This year we can add the release of the second printing of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, which is once again in Barnes and Noble stores nationwide and available on BarnesandNoble.com. And coming soon now available – Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

The new book will be out exclusively on Kindle e-book format later this month now. That means you can read it on your Kindle, Kindle Fire, or Kindle app for any of the popular smartphones and tablets (I read via Kindle app on my iPhone). Download the app for free, then download the e-book. When it comes out I’ll even tell you how you can get the e-book free too – for a limited time specifically to thank all of you, the people who have been supporting my first Tesla book and Nikola Tesla himself.

Want a sneak preview? Check out the opening page after the cover photo below.

Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time“My paramount desire today, which guides me in everything I do, is an ambition to harness the forces of nature for the service of mankind.” – Nikola Tesla

The active pursuit of renewable energy sources may seem like a new phenomenon. Only in the 1970s, as a result of the oil crisis and OPEC limitation of oil exports, did the modern world begin to seriously consider the widespread use of energy derived not from coal, oil, and natural gas, but from the sun, wind, and water. Unfortunately, this surge in interest was largely abandoned in the 1980s as the country redirected investment into the military as a means of “winning” the cold war. Now, with the 21st century upon us and with an emphatic understanding that fossil fuels are causing man-made global warming, we are seriously revisiting a shift to renewable energy. We lost over thirty years of renewable energy development, but even that delay pales in comparison when considering the first recognized need for renewable energy by a man named Nikola Tesla.

In fact, Tesla was into renewable energy long before it became cool to be into renewable energy. As the header quote indicates, Tesla had sought to harness the forces of nature for the good of mankind. And he was doing this a hundred years ago.

This volume will explore the motivations of Nikola Tesla and some of his contributions that predate our current efforts to harness the power of nature. The book is intended as an overview rather than a comprehensive treatise on renewable energy then or now. The primary goal is to show that Nikola Tesla, and others, were already seeing the need for renewable resources long before the current resurgence in interest. This e-book expands on a concept briefly addressed in my earlier book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, published by Fall River Press (2013).

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There is much more that follows. I start by delving into his world-changing contribution to getting power from Niagara Falls…and then it really gets interesting. Tesla was a proponent of solar power, windmills, tidal energy, even getting power from the rain. He developed a system of geothermal energy. He claimed to have harnessed the power of cosmic rays and even the Earth itself. Tesla had all of these ideas when others were focused on energy from coal, oil, and gas – resources that Tesla said were wasteful, dirty, and finite.

He was definitely a man ahead of his time. Find out more in Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. Coming soon! Available now!

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. You can order a signed copy directly from me, download the ebook at barnesandnoble.com, and find hard copies at Barnes and Noble bookstores, as well as online at B&N.com and Amazon.com.

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