"The practical success of an idea ...is dependent on the attitude of its contemporaries."
Nikola Tesla
One of the most important inventors in history, Nikola Tesla, was born in 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia. His inventions would revolutionize our world. Among his almost 300 patents were wireless communication, the alternating current, and the induction motor.
Tesla built the first working induction motor in 1883. Michael Faraday had demonstrated an electric motor in 1821 and Zenobe Gramme went on to invent the modern direct current motor in 1873, but it is Tesla's motor that most of our household appliances rely on.
The induction motor works using alternating current rather than direct current. It has a simple design and is significantly less expensive to manufacture than the direct current motors. It also has fewer parts to wear out and is thus more reliable.
The induction motor does more than run your vacuum cleaner. It is also used extensively in industrial settings to power machine tools, conveyer belts, and a variety of other applications. However, induction motors are not well suited to applications that require precise speed control or low-speed operations. For that reason, computer disk drives, laser printers, and photocopiers typically use direct current motors.
Because of Tesla's inventions, we have electricity in our homes and the means to convert this electricity into useful work.
