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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.

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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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Book Review – Congressman Lincoln by Chris DeRose

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Congressman Lincoln by Chris DeRoseAuthor Chris DeRose takes a more detailed look at a period in Abraham Lincoln’s life that is normally glossed over in other biographies – his single term as a U.S. Congressman. The first few chapters highlight the political status of the time, as well as the political wrangling between different factions both within and external to the Whig party. The book goes into various aspects of the key question of the day, slavery. Doing so makes it clear that the post-Civil War reinvention of history to suggest the South wasn’t fighting to maintain and expand slavery is hogwash.

Despite dismissals by others that Lincoln’s term in congress was lacking, DeRose shows that many important decisions were made and that Lincoln was much more active than most freshman congressmen. Unlike first termers in general, Lincoln was willing to stand up for what he believed, even when it wasn’t particularly popular. Several actions related to slavery that would become important later, e.g., the end of the Mexican War and how California and New Mexico were brought in to the Union, were argued and somewhat decided. Critical friendships with players that would be allies or adversaries during his own presidency are also discussed.

Overall, this is much-needed survey of Lincoln’s time in Congress.

Further note: After I had written the above review I had the pleasure of meeting Chris DeRose in September 2014. Chris presented his new book “The Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them” to the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. He has recently become Chair of the Scholarly Advisory Group at President Lincoln’s Cottage in Washington, D.C.

David J. Kent is a lifelong Lincolnophile and is currently working on a book about Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science and technology. His most recent article, “Lincoln and the Rule of Three,” was published in the September 2014 issue of The Lincolnian. 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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Renewable Energy Comes to Tesla Magazine

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Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its TimeSolar and wind energy, along with hydroelectric power, may seem like recent ideas, but Nikola Tesla had them in his sights a long, long time ago. As this post goes up on Science Traveler, the new Tesla Magazine goes to the printer. Joining the list of great authors for this issue is an article of mine called “Nikola Tesla Advocated Renewable Energy 100 Years Ago.” It’s an adaptation from my recent e-book, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time, available on Amazon.

Tesla was right when he said “It seems that I have always been ahead of my time.” While everyone else was rushing to exploit new ways of mining coal – one of the dirtiest forms of fuel on our planet – and drilling for oil and gas, Tesla had already recognized that they were wasteful and finite. Only later did we learn that our burning of fossil fuels is also causing the planet to warm. Had we known then what we know now, perhaps more people would have listened to Tesla’s ideas at the time.

The article in Tesla Magazine will be on news stands soon, so look for it among other science-related magazines on the shelves. The photo below shows the July 2014 issue; the new issue features a graphic somewhat reminiscent of da Vinci’s Vitruvian man and highlights Tesla’s “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy.” As always, publisher Nenad Stankovic has done a wonderful job pulling together some great articles.

Tesla Magazine on display

This is my second article in Tesla Magazine. I was fortunate enough to join other noted Tesla authors and leaders in the premier issue of July 2013. You can subscribe to the magazine here, and check out their Facebook page here.

Tesla Magazine TOC, first issue July 2013

It’s been a good week for my writing. I just had my article “Lincoln and the Rule of Three” published in The Lincolnian, a publication of the Abraham Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. This week will also see publication of another article of mine in the newsletter of the Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Chapter of SETAC. Along with some editing of others publications and some works-in-progress – including a grant request involving filmmaker Ken Burns – I’m keeping busy.

Now, on to the book proposal!

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

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Book Review – Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik

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Gopnik Angels and AgesThe title comes from the controversy (assuming you knew there was a controversy) over whether Edwin Stanton, upon Lincoln taking his last breath, said “Now he belongs to the ages” or “Now he belongs to the angels.” With this contrivance as a starting point Gopnik presents what amounts to six essays.

Gopnik does look at Lincoln and Darwin and their contributions, habits, beliefs, and psyches in ways different than do other writers. Whereas James Landers’ Lincoln and Darwin: Shared Visions of Race, Science and Religion (reviewed recently by me here) gets way into the weeds of comparison, Gopnik takes a more philosophical and less comparable approach. In doing so he reveals some interesting insights into how the two men thought, as well as their use of language (Lincoln the language of the law, Darwin of natural observation).

And yet, the language of the essays themselves tend toward the overtly literary. Often it seems the author is trying to impress the reader with his soliloquy rather than present an impression of the men he is profiling. The first and last chapters in particular seem more about Gopnik than Lincoln and Darwin. That said, the intervening four chapters, hopping between the two men, are worth wading through for the gems that may or may not be obvious to most readers.

I do recommend those interested in Lincoln and Darwin read the book, but for the bigger picture insights into their habits rather than the details that support them. For more comprehensive books comparing these two men born on the same day, check out the James Landers book mentioned above and a book by David R. Contosta called Rebel Giants: The Revolutionary Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

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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Where to Find Abraham Lincoln in Washington DC

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Abraham Lincoln spent about six years in Washington, D.C. The first two were from 1847 to 1849 when he served his one term as a U.S. Congressman from Illinois. The last four – the last four years of his life – were as President of the United States during one of the most tumultuous times of our nation’s history. Many statues and other honors to our sixteenth president can be found in the city, and one of the oldest organizations dedicated to the celebration of his life is based here – the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia.

LGDC banner

In these sesquicentennial years of the Civil War, the Lincoln Group of DC has been active staging a variety of events acknowledging key events in Lincoln’s presidency, as well as highlighting some of the wonderful authors and historians that write about it. Coming off our recent dinner lecture by author Chris DeRose and the beginning of this year’s Lincoln Group book discussion, the following few weeks and months are especially busy. Anyone interested in Abraham Lincoln and in the DC area can join us for the following (click on the links for more information):

October 4th: Motorcoach trip tracking Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign and its impact on the crucial presidential election of 1864.

October 21st: Dinner lecture by John McKee Barr, historian and author of “Loathing Lincoln.” (Scroll down after clicking on link)

November 8th: Symposium – The Election of 1864. A full day featuring such notable Lincoln scholars as Allen Guelzo, Jonathan White, and many more. This is absolutely not to be missed!

December 16th: Dinner lecture by Gerard Magliocca – “Turning Lincoln’s Vision into Law: John Bingham and the Fourteenth Amendment.”

And that is just the beginning! In 2015 we’ll have more monthly dinner speakers, a spring symposium, and an amazing 2nd Inauguration Day trio of events featuring Bobby Horton and a reenactment on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. [And if you look close, you might just see a certain filmmaker of documentaries on the Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, National Parks, and the Roosevelts. But ssshhhh, you didn’t hear that yet.]If you have any interest in Abraham Lincoln or the Civil War, now is the time to get involved with the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. Check out our website, read our newsletters, join our book discussion group, ride along on our expert-guided bus tours, meet current Lincoln authors at our dinner meetings, and share your interests with some of the most knowledgeable Lincoln scholars and aficionados in the world.

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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Nikola Tesla and Renewable Energy – Discovering Hydrothermal and Geothermal Power

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Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla believed that the thermo-dynamic process, i.e., the burning of fossil fuels, was “wasteful and barbarous.” He foresaw the limitations on supply and the inherent dangers to man and the environment (though even Tesla couldn’t anticipate the impacts of fossil fuels on climate change). “Whatever our resources of primary energy may be in the future,” Tesla argued, “we must, to be rational, obtain it without consumption of any material.” He believed that natural, renewable, sources of energy could “eliminate the need of coal, oil, gas or any other of the common fuels.” Two of the renewable energy sources that he investigated were hydrothermal and geothermal energy.

Tesla recognized that natural heat differentials exist in all three compartments of the environment – the oceans, the earth, and the atmosphere. Tesla saw the potential for a whole new source of energy from nature.

Hydrothermal

Tesla spent a great deal of effort determining a way to harness the temperature differential of the deep seas for power. The basic idea is that the “warmth of one layer” would be “brought into contact with the cold of another, to operate great power plants.” Tesla felt that such a system was practical to develop and operate. While he does discuss other natural sources of energy in his 1931 article “Our Future Motive Power,” most of the article is dedicated to analysis of the theory and practicality of hydrothermal energy from the sea.

Tesla dove into the project with his usual zeal, determined to create something completely new. The basic system relied on an apparatus that had existed for over a century, the cryophorus (“cold carrier”). It consisted of two large glass bulbs connected by a glass tube. The bulbs are partially filled with liquid, one bulb packaged in ice, “which is evaporated in one and condensed in the other.” After many calculations he felt the system could generate massive amounts of power

Tesla was elated. What a discovery!

Geothermal

Terrestrial powerThere are temperature differentials in the earth as well. In 1900 Tesla was already contemplating what today we call geothermal energy. In a somewhat long-winded and metaphysical treatise called “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy,” Tesla wrote that “it is a well-known fact that the interior portions of the globe are very hot, the temperature rising, as observations show, with the approach to the center at the rate of approximately 1 degree C. for every hundred feet of depth.”

Several scientists and adventurously minded dreamers had sought ways to harness this natural energy. French astronomer and physicist M. Camille Flammarion, for example, suggested that a massive hole could be bored through the crust of the earth to “sap the inexhaustible supply of heat” believed present in the Earth’s core. Among other complications, Flammarion’s idea had one huge drawback – the opening to the shaft would need to be “two hundred to three hundred yards, supported by a heavy, thick, cast-iron lining.” Flammarion insisted this plan was “practicable and possible;” in reality it was closer to delusional.

Tesla, on the other hand, felt the basic temperature differential principle was sound and that with his own discoveries (e.g., use of volatile fluids), very small diameter holes and shallow depths would be sufficient to power populated areas. Tesla felt the only requirement still to be met was “to find some economic and speedy way of sinking deep shafts.” If that could be achieved it would “open up unlimited resources of power throughout the world.”

By this time, however, Tesla was in his 75th year and without a laboratory or funds to be doing any groundbreaking research. He decided that developing these natural energy technologies “must be left to the future” and someone else. He also recognized that our energy infrastructure had already swayed toward use of “cheap” coal and oil, and that government and financial support for fossil fuels would make development of renewable resources more difficult. Even with these realities, Tesla was already anticipating the day when “our stores of coal and oil will be eventually used up” and other more sustainable energy resources would be necessary.

[The extract above comes from my e-book, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. The book is available for download on Amazon.]

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

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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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Reflections on My Anniversary (or, Why I Became a Science Traveler)

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The Traveling ScientistOne year ago today I left behind the first half of my life.  After more than 30 years as a working scientist I had decided to give up a comfortable salary for a life of (essentially) no income. I would become a poor starving writer.

It was the best decision I ever made.

I loved my previous life. Well, most of it. But the parts I didn’t like had grown in proportion to the parts that excited me. Using my skills, my knowledge, and my personal connections with colleagues and clients, I made a large amount of money – for others. Sure, my salary was nice enough, but increasingly the benefits of my labor went to others, and those others seemed decreasingly appreciative of that fact. Abraham Lincoln’s line from his Second Inaugural Address about  “wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces” kept popping into mind. Not a perfect analogy, but close enough.

I learned a lot during all those years – about science, about business, about people. I also learned that science is often trumped by business concerns and people’s perceptions. I felt there was a growing need to communicate science to the public, and that scientists weren’t always very good at meeting that need. I decided to do something about that.

Coincident with this desire was some serendipity that led to publication of my first professional book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. As the old saw grinds, “the stars aligned, angels’ voices rang down from the heavens” and all that not-so-scientifically-accurate metaphorical interlude. In real terms, stuff fell into place and it became clear this was the time to take the risk. So I did.

So where am I this one year later? I’ve traveled a bit, though not as much as I would have liked. One highlight of 2014 is an amazing trip to Argentina, with several smaller and more local trips throughout the year. I’ll squeeze in a few more jaunts before New Year’s and am busy planning for 2015 (Peru? China? Rushmore?). Science Traveling will play an increasingly important role in my future.

I’m also writing. Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity was back in Barnes and Noble stores mid-summer and was selling faster than it did last year (in fact, sales in the first 6 weeks already nearly matched all last year). To this I added a second book, an e-book exclusive to Amazon called Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time. More books are in the works, including my opus on Abraham Lincoln’s interest in science. Add in some manuscript editing, magazine articles, newsletter writing, and even some grant requests (plus my blogs, which I’ll reveal more about later), and yes, I’ve been keeping incredibly busy. All in an effort to bring science to the public – to make science fun again.

Finally, as I wind down my final year of the presidential cycle for the regional SETAC Chapter, I begin my first year in a leadership role with the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. As the director of outreach and education for LGDC I’m working with an engaged group of Lincoln scholars and aficionados to celebrate the life of Abraham Lincoln and ignite a new generation of interest. His “science geekiness” bridges my lifelong interest in Lincoln with my lifelong career in science. A perfect prelude to my forthcoming book. 🙂

I can confidently acknowledge that it’s a very happy anniversary indeed. The first of many.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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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.