It’s almost Nikola Tesla’s birthday, and that means it’s almost time for the release of my new e-book on Tesla and his interest in renewable energy. I received an amazing number of suggestions for the title of the book, and now I’m looking for feedback on the preliminary book cover design.
Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts. After much consideration, I’ve narrowed the book title down to two options, both of which are amalgams of several of 30 or so ideas received. They capture both the name Nikola Tesla and the idea that he was ahead of his time envisioning how to harness “the power of nature.” The title options are:
1 – Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time
2- Nikola Tesla: New Perspectives on Renewable Energy
While I’m trying to decide on a final title I’m also working on the cover design. I wanted the cover to be bright and appealing, plus reflect in some way Tesla’s legacy of his first foray into what today we call renewable energy. What do you all think of this designs?
The photo is of the Tesla statue on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, where Tesla’s alternating current designs enabled development of electrical power from the falling waters. I like the perspective of the shot…looking up his outstretched cane as he gazes out upon the power and energy of Horseshoe Falls.
So the dual question remains: which title, and what do you think of the cover design? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook author’s page. If you haven’t already, “Like” my page so you can keep up to date on progress of the e-book and how to get a free download when it is released.
I’m looking forward to the feedback. Thanks everyone for all your support and assistance in renewing interest in Nikola Tesla. And don’t forget to check out all the other Tesla birthday events coming up in the next two weeks.
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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Nikola Tesla would be 158 years old on July 10, 2014 if he were still alive. In a way, Tesla has had a rebirth in recent years: Wardenclyffe is being turned into a museum and science center; Tesla has become a pop culture icon (and a car company); and books about him are selling off the shelves. This birthday has special meaning both for Tesla and for me. With that in mind here is an update of some key events over the next month or so.
Renewable Energy book goes live!: My Tesla and Renewable Energy ebook becomes available on Amazon the end of this month, just in time for Tesla’s birthday. In an amazing response to my previous article I received almost 30 suggestions for a title of the book. I’ll be opening up a vote for the final title shortly. I’ll also be opening up a vote for the final cover design, so keep an eye on this website and my Facebook author page. Be sure to “Like” the Facebook page because I’ll be giving loyal fans free access to the ebook when it first comes out.
Second printing of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity: My first Tesla book was a great hit and sold out the print run at Barnes and Noble. Because it has tons of photos, graphics, and some really cool cartoons, the book requires several months to reprint. In honor of Tesla’s birthday the second printing of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity will be in Barnes and Noble stores in July. The exact dates will depend on the specific store, so if you don’t see it prominently displayed please ask store staff if they have any copies. They sold quickly last year so grab them while they are available (or order a signed and inscribed copy of the first printing directly from me now).
Tesla in schools?: I’ve also discussed with the Tesla Science Foundation and school principal Ashley Redfearn Neswick about using Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity as part of a school curriculum. Recently this idea has expanded to possibly writing additional books on how to teach Tesla (for teachers) and different grade levels (for students). This is part of a broader effort by TSF and Neswick to build a Tesla curriculum.
Brown Bag Lecture at Ipswich Museum: For those in New England, I’ll be giving a brown bag lunch lecture on Nikola Tesla on July 7th at the Ipswich Museum. Did you know that Tesla had a business venture with John Hays Hammond, Jr., famous not only for work he did on robotics (with Tesla) but for the Hammond Castle in Gloucester, Massachusetts? I’ll talk about that and other parts of Nikola Tesla’s life. There will also be a book signing at the event.
Tesla Days in Philadelphia: The Tesla Science Foundation is sponsoring its annual Tesla Days on July 9-10 in Philadelphia. Check out the link for more information.
Teslamania in Toronto/Niagara Falls: Immediately following, on July 10-13, Tesla Magazine is sponsoring Teslamania, a multi-day celebration of Nikola Tesla’s life and work. Most of the events are in Toronto but there is a side trip to nearby Niagara Falls to view the power of nature that so inspired Tesla to harness hydroelectricity.
There will be a lot more as both my books on Nikola Tesla are available this summer. Join my Facebook author’s page to keep up on events. Everyone who has “Liked” my page will be eligible to access the ebook for free. Also look for a newsletter to start up later this summer.
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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The clock is ticking.The finishing touches are being made. And the countdown has begun. Coming in late June is my new ebook on Nikola Tesla’s interest and advocacy of renewable energy. As I wrote in September of 2012:
How many people knew that Nikola Tesla was a proponent of renewable energy? More than 100 years ago Tesla was pushing the idea that fossil fuels – most coal and oil at that time – were not sustainable resources.
Tesla’s first foray into renewable energy, what he called “harnessing the energy of nature,” was his contribution to hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls.
But Tesla didn’t stop there. He looked at other natural sources of energy too, including the sun (solar power), the wind (windmills), and water (tides, ocean waves, even power from the rain). He believed we could harness the power of cosmic rays. He developed a system for geothermal energy. And he believed the energy of the earth could be unlimited.
All of this and more will be discussed in an new ebook to be available in June 2014. But before that happens I need a good title, and I’m asking for your help. Tesla and Renewable Energy is my working title, but perhaps you all can come up with something that has a bit more pop, a bit more excitement, a bit more, well, natural energy.
Watch this page in the future because I’ll also be asking for your help in choosing the final cover for the book. More on that shortly.
If the new Tesla ebook isn’t exciting enough, the second printing of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity will be in Barnes and Noble stores in July. It should also be available for order on the Barnes and Noble website (maybe even on Amazon). Or you can buy a signed and inscribed copy directly from me.
David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. 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.
Tesla is popping up all over. And that’s a good thing. Nikola Tesla was one of the most important inventors to the modern world, and yet also one of the least known. That’s been changing over the last few years, which has been reflected in the wonderful reception of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and other books. And now there is TeslaMania!
The brainchild of Tesla Magazine founder Nenad Stankovic, TeslaMania is planned as a four day weekend festival running from July 10th (Tesla’s birthday) to July 13th. Most of the events will take place in picturesque Toronto, with the final day featuring a guided tour to nearby Niagara Falls. The Falls play an important role in Tesla’s contributions to society, so events include visits to the two Telsa memorial statues and the Sir Adam Beck power plant, plus a Tesla Motors Car Rally, an Outdoor Picnic and a lot more Tesla Festivities.
Events in Toronto include a beach festival, parties at selected nightclubs, music by Tesla (the rock band), and the premier of The Healing Field, a new film highlighting Tesla’s inventions in electrotherapy. Also not to be missed are book presentations and signings planned for the Conspiracy Culture book store.
Plans are still being made so there is time to sponsor events. Registration is scheduled to open on May 1st, so check out the TeslaMania website and the corresponding Facebook page for more details.
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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Nikola Tesla once stated that he had “always been ahead of my time.” He was certainly that. His invention of the rotating magnetic field and a complete alternating current system of dynamos, transformers, and motors became the basis for today’s electrical grid. His wireless telegraphy became the radio. His remote controlled boat – first demonstrated in 1898 – presaged the modern age from wireless communication to drones.
And now an article ahead of its time. Science Panorama has published my article “Nikola Tesla: The Man Ahead of His Time.” In just one day, the article was shared hundreds of times on Facebook and reached thousands of readers. All of whom now should be inspired to read more about one of the most important men of invention, and yet one of the least known or understood. Click on the photo below and scroll down to read the article:
Source: sciencepanorama.com
While the man was ahead of his time, the article is perhaps behind its time given that I actually wrote it last summer. The original intent was for it to appear as the cover article for a magazine put out by Science Panorama called WIRE, an acronym for Where Ideas Reach Everyone. Publication was delayed and eventually Science Panorama decided to cease publishing a hard copy magazine in order to focus on a better way to help them achieve their core mission. That mission is “making science simpler and helping everyone learn it in an easier way.” Given my own interests in science communication, I’m all for making science easier for the public to understand.
Science Panorama is doing just that with its website and Facebook page. I look forward to providing future contributions that make science fun again.
On a related note, I’ll be presenting at the upcoming CPRC-SETAC conference on April 28th. My topic is “Remembering the Big Picture: Communicating Local Science to a Global Audience.” I’ll have more following the meeting.
David J. Kent is an avid traveler and 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 exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.
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Niagara Falls. For decades it has been a favored place honeymooners, sightseers, and anyone interested in the immense beauty of nature. It was even the inspiration for a Three Stooges skit. And it’s where Nikola Tesla became famous.
In his autobiography, Tesla reminisces about the first time he heard of Niagara Falls. It was in the Normal School during his youth. Here “there were a few mechanical models which interested me and turned my attention to water turbines.” After hearing a description of the great Niagara Falls, Tesla “pictured in my imagination a big wheel run by the Falls.” He proclaimed to his uncle that one day he would “go to America and carry out this scheme.”
Tesla now had that opportunity. After their successful collaboration at the Chicago World’s Fair, George Westinghouse set his sights on using the Tesla system to harness Niagara Falls for electricity generation. Up to this point the only use of the falls had been to build small canals to provide hydropower for mills and a tannery. But many saw the opportunity of channeling the awesome power of the falls to generate electricity. A former Edison board member, Edward Dean Adams, was picked to lead the newly formed Cataract Construction Company and determine the best way to obtain and then distribute electricity from the falls. Despite Thomas Edison’s assertions that he could transmit electricity as far as Buffalo, direct current systems were limited to running the machinery of local mills and lighting up some of the local village streets. The limitations of direct current were far too restrictive for any significant distribution.
Tesla’s alternating current system was just the answer the Cataract Construction Company was looking for, although they did not know that in the beginning. Adams first headed off to Europe where others were working to exploit alternating current for lighting and power generation. Eventually the Cataract Construction Company offered a contest of sorts, with cash prizes totaling $20,000 for the best plan for harnessing the falls. With more than a few parties claiming the rights to various parts of the alternating current system, there was backstabbing and counter claims and more than a little industrial theft of ideas. But in the end it was Tesla’s patents that won the day. The Westinghouse Company was chosen to provide the powerhouse and alternating current system, while the General Electric Company was awarded construction of the transmission lines.
Westinghouse, relying on a dozen Tesla patents, completed the powerhouse in 1895. Its enormous polyphase generator could produce an unprecedented 15,000 horsepower. Within the next year General Electric completed the transmission and distribution system and sufficient electricity to power industries “through the Falls and Buffalo areas.” Westinghouse went on to add another seven generating units, raising the power output to 50,000 horsepower. Tesla’s patented alternating current system was to change the lives of all Americans as the Niagara project showed investors that alternating current could transmit power over long distances.
Nikola Tesla went on to win the “war of the currents” against Thomas Edison, in large part because of his success with Westinghouse in Chicago and Niagara Falls. He dreamed of harnessing the power of nature to provide inexpensive, sustainable, electricity to everyone. How much power? Check out these two very brief videos, first from above, then down in the mist.
Tesla was on his way. He even got two statues, not just one, for his accomplishments at Niagara. And then disaster struck. More on that later.
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More than a hundred years ago, Nikola Tesla invented wireless communication and power generation. He was a man far ahead of his time. Now it looks like the modern world maybe be catching up to his vision. Wireless electricity may be here.
A Boston-based company by the name of WiTricity has come up with a way of transmitting electricity without wires. As the company’s Chief Technology Officer reports to CNN, “we’re not actually putting electricity in the air. What we’re doing is putting a magnetic field in the air.” They do this by building a “source resonator,” which essentially is a coil of wire that generates a magnetic field when power is attached. Bringing a second coil in close proximity will generate an electrical charge.
Sound familiar? According to Arron Hirst:
The technology appears to based upon the original findings of Nikola Tesla. In a patent filed at the U.S Patent and Trademark Office on February 19, 1900, entitled “Apparatus for Transmission of Electrical Energy,” Tesla describes a similar system for delivering electricity from one static point, to another.
Tesla, after advancing wireless communication technology in Colorado Springs, began work on Long Island at Wardenclyffe. His ultimate goal was not only to provide international wireless communication (radio) but develop his system of wireless electrical power transmission. The technology itself seems simple by today’s standards, but it was groundbreaking when Tesla first envisioned the idea. WiTricity has already used the technology “to power laptops, cell-phones, and TVs by attaching resonator coils to batteries.” They are also working on a way to recharge electric cars. On their website they note the potential of wireless power:
Cell phones, game controllers, laptop computers, mobile robots, even electric vehicles capable of re-charging themselves without ever being plugged in. Flat screen TV’s and digital picture frames that hang on the wall—without requiring a wire and plug for power. Industrial systems and medical devices made more reliable by eliminating trouble prone wiring and replaceable batteries.
So perhaps after all these years Nikola Tesla’s technology will finally be coming to fruition. Hopefully WiTricity’s advances will recognize Tesla’s amazing contributions to the field. For more on how wireless power works (including your electric toothbrush), check out this very readable article. And for a fun read, check out author Thomas Waite’s use of Tesla’s wireless idea in his novel, Terminal Velocity.
On January 11, 2014 I attended the Second Annual Tesla Memorial Conference at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. Sponsored by the Tesla Science Foundation, the conference celebrates the life of Nikola Tesla. While there I was interviewed on video by three different groups. Two of those interviews have been posted.
The success of the book has been incredibly gratifying. More and more people are learning about Tesla. In fact, the theme of the conference was to develop a curriculum for teaching about Nikola Tesla in schools, and my book could play an important role in that curriculum.
The second video is called The Spirit of Tesla. Filmed and produced by James Jaeger, it provides a broader look at the conference. My interview with Marijana Vujkovic is featured throughout, with my first appearance at about the 3:00 minute mark.
I was happy and proud to have the chance to participate in the Tesla Memorial Conference for the second year in a row. I’m looking forward to the next conference in Philadelphia this summer, just in time for the release of the second printing of Telsa: The Wizard of Electricity in July. My ebook about Tesla’s advocacy of renewable energy is also due out in late May, so be sure to come back to check on progress.
David J. Kent is an avid traveler and 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 exclusively at Barnes and Noble bookstores.
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Nikola Tesla was for renewable energy before it was cool to be for renewable energy.
“It seems that I have always been ahead of my time.”
From a young age he sought to harness the power of nature. He used the natural energy of June bugs to power his stick windmill. As a child he designed his first water wheel, then as an adult he fulfilled his dream by harnessing the hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls with his alternating current motors and transformers. Today he stands overlooking one of his greatest achievements.
Nikola Tesla overlooking Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side. Photo by David J. Kent
Tesla often spoke of harnessing the energy of the sun, stating that fossil fuels were wasteful. As far back as 1891 he argued that “nature has stored up in the universe infinite energy.” To Tesla, “the eternal recipient and transmitter of this infinite energy is the ether.” That particular idea did not hold up to scrutiny, but he continued to look to nature.
One of the most thought-provoking documents of Tesla’s numerous writings was an article he wrote for TheCentury Illustrated Magazine, June 1900, which was edited by Robert Underwood Johnson. In a long and sometimes mystical treatise called “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy (with special references to the harnessing of the sun’s energy),” Tesla leaped ahead a hundred years by anticipating the need for renewable sources of energy to power our planet. He noted that “besides fuel, there is abundant material from which we might eventually derive power” and suggested that “an immense amount of energy is locked up in limestone, for instance, and machines can be driven by liberating the carbonic acid through sulfuric acid or otherwise.” He even claimed to have constructed such an engine and that “it operated satisfactorily.”
Tesla was so far ahead of his time that, while others at the turn of the twentieth century were busy exploiting coal, iron, aluminum, and drilling for oil, he was already recognizing the limits of those endeavors. He was into conservation. “Whatever our resources of primary energy may be in the future,” Tesla wrote, “we must, to be rational, obtain it without consumption of any material.” He believed that natural sources of energy could “eliminate the need of coal, oil, gas or any other of the common fuels.” One way was to harness the power of the wind.
“It is difficult to believe, but it is, nevertheless, a fact, that since time immemorial man has had at his disposal a fairly good machine which has enabled him to utilize the energy of the ambient medium. This machine is the windmill.“
[The above is adapted from Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. I explored more of Tesla’s adventures in renewable energy in my 2014 e-book noted below.]
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Bono* was there. I was there. Were you there? “There” is the New Yorker Hotel on January 11, 2014. And the occasion was the 2nd Annual Nikola Tesla Memorial Conference, sponsored by the Tesla Science Foundation. It was a day to remember.
Tesla lived in the New Yorker for the last decade of his long life, dying there in room 3327 on January 7, 1943. You can even stay in his room if you wish (last year I had 3326, the room next door, from which I could see a constant stream of people checking out the plaque on Tesla’s door).
The theme this year was to assess and begin development of a curriculum to get Tesla better represented in schools. While students in his home country of Serbia hear about Tesla at an early age, he barely gets mentioned in American schools, if at all. Edison, Marconi, and others who get credit for inventions originally developed by Tesla get prominent mention, but Tesla…well, not so much. The conference aimed to correct that slight and featured many speakers relating their experiences with Tesla-inspired education, interpretations of what would appropriate material to teach, and how to promote the idea.
I’ve been fortunate enough to contribute to that goal myself, both through publication of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and by being part of a team organized by author Howard Lipman (pen name Pan Orpheus) in a sort of traveling Tesla show. We’ve presented film, art, insights, and my book outreach to various public libraries over this past year and hope to do more in 2014. I’ll do a solo presentation to the public at the Ipswich Museum on July 7th. It will be one of a series of talks I’ll be giving when the second edition of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity comes out in July 2014. More on that later.
During a very long day (the conference was sandwiched between two 4 hour drives to New York City and back), I enjoyed both the talks and signing books for attendees. One of the best rewards for writing Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity has been the chance to meet readers who get excited about the book and about Nikola Tesla. Ed’s enthusiasm as he buys a book for his daughter Bianca (and another for his local library), the anticipation that Christopher will be reading Tesla on the campus of the University of Michigan thanks to his Aunt’s gift, and Jeff’s passion for Tesla as he purchases four books for friends and family. And while the praise from Tesla experts like Jane Alcorn, Nikola Lonchar, Ljubo Vujovic and others is extremely gratifying, it’s the heartwarming exuberance of the general public that makes this all worthwhile.
While there I was interviewed on camera by three different organizations, including Tesla Magazine (photo above). The video below is of one of the video-taping sessions. Not surprisingly (since it’s a video of a video interview), it’s hard to hear with all the background noise. The actual interviews will be posted on the organizations’ websites, so I’ll be sure to link to them when they are up. What is interesting about this video is that while I’m being interviewed there is some guy who goes by the name of Bono* wandering around in the background. In any case, Bono* was here supporting the Tesla conference and one of the guys who interviewed me.
Despite the fact that he was a wonderfully down-to-earth guy, apparently I was still too star-struck to get my photo taken with him (duh!). But here’s a photo of Bono* with Danijela Milic and jazz pianist Dimitrije Vasiljevic. The latter presented his new composition for solo piano inspired by, and to honor, Nikola Tesla.
So even though I neglected to get my own photo with Bono*, I did enjoy very much chatting with other luminaries, including authors Bernard Carlson and Howard Lipman, Jane Alcorn of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, Joe Sikorski and Vic Elefante from the movie Fragments from Olympus, Nenad Stankovic of Tesla Magazine, and many others who are bringing Tesla to the people. A day very well spent.
Hard copies of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity are still available in Barnes and Noble stores, but the print run is almost sold out so get one fast. You can also get used copies from resellers on Amazon and BN. E-books are also available on barnesandnoble.com. A second printing will be released in July 2014 in time for Tesla’s birthday. Of course, you can also order a personally signed and inscribed copy directly from me.
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