1 00:00:02,035 --> 00:00:03,303 - [Narrator] Some say he was the greatest inventor 2 00:00:03,437 --> 00:00:05,939 of all time, even beating out Edison 3 00:00:06,073 --> 00:00:08,075 to electrify the planet. 4 00:00:08,208 --> 00:00:11,178 - His name was known around the world after this event. 5 00:00:11,311 --> 00:00:12,679 - [Narrator] But was he the mad genius 6 00:00:12,813 --> 00:00:16,516 who revolutionized the modern world, or was he just mad? 7 00:00:16,683 --> 00:00:18,385 - [Narrator] At one point, he actually referred 8 00:00:18,518 --> 00:00:20,621 to one bird as his wife. 9 00:00:20,754 --> 00:00:24,024 - [Narrator] Now, the shocking truth behind Nicola Tesla. 10 00:00:24,157 --> 00:00:27,060 You'll never flip on a light switch the same way again. 11 00:00:27,194 --> 00:00:28,395 On Modern Marvels. 12 00:00:28,528 --> 00:00:30,197 (intense music) 13 00:00:30,330 --> 00:00:34,201 (suspenseful electronic music) 14 00:00:44,011 --> 00:00:47,214 - [Sam] He was a true American hero, but after a while, 15 00:00:47,347 --> 00:00:49,182 people forgot about what he did. 16 00:00:49,316 --> 00:00:51,451 - [Jeff] I believe that he was the most important inventor 17 00:00:51,585 --> 00:00:52,986 in human history. 18 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:54,288 - [Joseph] Some of his neighbors did think 19 00:00:54,421 --> 00:00:55,556 he was absolutely crazy and thought 20 00:00:55,689 --> 00:00:57,457 he was a danger to their community. 21 00:00:57,591 --> 00:00:59,192 - [Samantha] I think that he had a different version 22 00:00:59,326 --> 00:01:00,894 of what the future would look like. 23 00:01:01,028 --> 00:01:02,930 He's responsible for the 20th century. 24 00:01:04,865 --> 00:01:07,734 (triumphant music) 25 00:01:11,238 --> 00:01:14,441 - [Narrator] For the power to change night into day, 26 00:01:14,574 --> 00:01:16,009 thank Nikola Tesla. 27 00:01:18,278 --> 00:01:21,248 - It's clear, there are so many aspects of modern life, 28 00:01:21,381 --> 00:01:23,984 everyday life that is directly influenced 29 00:01:24,117 --> 00:01:25,652 or created by Nikola Tesla. 30 00:01:27,654 --> 00:01:28,989 - [Narrator] His alternating current 31 00:01:29,122 --> 00:01:32,392 or AC power system paved the way for all 32 00:01:32,526 --> 00:01:35,028 of our modern electric conveniences. 33 00:01:35,162 --> 00:01:38,665 - He's basically responsible for our entire system 34 00:01:38,799 --> 00:01:41,268 of electricity, our entire modern world. 35 00:01:42,703 --> 00:01:44,604 - [Narrator] But tragically in later years, 36 00:01:44,738 --> 00:01:48,542 his brilliance responsible, for more than 200 patents 37 00:01:48,675 --> 00:01:52,479 was overshadowed by what some considered madness. 38 00:01:52,612 --> 00:01:55,282 - He was often seen as sort of the mad scientist 39 00:01:55,415 --> 00:01:58,719 who was out of control and would destroy the world, 40 00:01:58,852 --> 00:02:03,590 when he really wanted to improve the lot of humanity. 41 00:02:05,292 --> 00:02:06,626 - [Narrator] Because of Tesla, 42 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,797 a turn of the switch brings power to our fingertips. 43 00:02:10,931 --> 00:02:11,898 Yet the same intellect 44 00:02:12,032 --> 00:02:15,302 fanatically rescued injured pigeons, 45 00:02:15,435 --> 00:02:17,871 was repulsed by women's jewelry 46 00:02:18,005 --> 00:02:20,540 and claimed to receive communications from outer space. 47 00:02:22,509 --> 00:02:24,444 - [Nikola Tesla] "Our virtues 48 00:02:24,578 --> 00:02:29,216 and our failings are inseparable like force and matter. 49 00:02:30,417 --> 00:02:33,153 When they separate, man is no more." 50 00:02:34,221 --> 00:02:35,589 Nikola Tesla. 51 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:41,161 - [Narrator] At the beginning of the 20th century, 52 00:02:41,294 --> 00:02:43,864 Tesla's amazing accomplishments were celebrated. 53 00:02:45,699 --> 00:02:50,103 But he died in 1943 at The New Yorker Hotel, 54 00:02:50,237 --> 00:02:52,539 in this small room, 55 00:02:52,672 --> 00:02:56,243 virtually destitute and discredited, 56 00:02:56,376 --> 00:02:59,680 as he watched the world he helped create simply forget him. 57 00:03:02,916 --> 00:03:07,187 Nevertheless, the FBI amassed a secret file on Tesla 58 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,556 and when he died the United States government 59 00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:11,658 took charge of his papers. 60 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:15,529 - If you listen to everything he talked about, 61 00:03:15,662 --> 00:03:16,830 it was so powerful, 62 00:03:16,963 --> 00:03:17,998 (electricity buzzes) 63 00:03:18,131 --> 00:03:19,499 it was so frightening, 64 00:03:19,633 --> 00:03:20,333 (electricity buzzes) 65 00:03:20,467 --> 00:03:21,668 and so terrifying, 66 00:03:21,802 --> 00:03:23,036 (electricity buzzes) 67 00:03:23,170 --> 00:03:25,238 that they just pounced upon all his possessions 68 00:03:25,372 --> 00:03:26,440 and whisked them away. 69 00:03:27,674 --> 00:03:28,708 - [Narrator] What were the powerful 70 00:03:28,842 --> 00:03:30,577 and terrifying ideas that may have 71 00:03:30,710 --> 00:03:32,145 threatened national security? 72 00:03:33,513 --> 00:03:36,583 Were they a madman's rantings or works of genius? 73 00:03:36,716 --> 00:03:40,187 - There is still a place for Nikola Tesla's contributions. 74 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,589 Many people believe that he was actually onto something. 75 00:03:42,722 --> 00:03:45,625 Maybe it's time to look back and reinvestigate 76 00:03:45,759 --> 00:03:47,627 what Tesla was really up to. 77 00:03:48,829 --> 00:03:51,231 - [Narrator] We know one thing Tesla was up to, 78 00:03:51,364 --> 00:03:54,568 wireless energy that could be transmitted around the world. 79 00:03:54,701 --> 00:03:57,871 The wireless transmission of power would appear 80 00:03:58,004 --> 00:04:01,775 over and over again, even in Tesla's most exotic visions. 81 00:04:03,543 --> 00:04:06,446 The key to understanding this remarkable idea was this 82 00:04:06,580 --> 00:04:09,149 peculiar yet powerful invention. 83 00:04:09,282 --> 00:04:13,954 First patented an 1891 by Tesla at the age of 35 84 00:04:14,087 --> 00:04:16,189 called the Tesla coil. 85 00:04:16,323 --> 00:04:18,692 - Nothing like it had ever been done before. 86 00:04:18,825 --> 00:04:21,995 Think of the Tesla coil as a giant electrical pump. 87 00:04:22,129 --> 00:04:24,798 This is an example of a modern day Tesla coil. 88 00:04:24,931 --> 00:04:27,033 We're gonna take power from a wall outlet, 89 00:04:27,167 --> 00:04:29,202 feed it to the base of the unit where we're gonna step up 90 00:04:29,336 --> 00:04:32,539 the voltage tremendously until it comes out the top. 91 00:04:34,007 --> 00:04:36,643 So I'm gonna step back and we're gonna take a look. 92 00:04:36,776 --> 00:04:38,478 (coil buzzes) 93 00:04:38,612 --> 00:04:40,914 - [Narrator] This Tesla coil steps up standard power 94 00:04:41,047 --> 00:04:46,052 from a wall outlet of 120 volts to more than 500,000 volts. 95 00:04:49,156 --> 00:04:51,625 Imagine electricity flowing in a wire 96 00:04:51,758 --> 00:04:54,027 the same way as water pumped through a hose. 97 00:04:55,462 --> 00:04:58,064 The current can be likened to the flow of water, 98 00:04:58,198 --> 00:05:00,967 the voltage can be likened to water pressure. 99 00:05:01,101 --> 00:05:03,203 If a nozzle was attached to the hose, 100 00:05:03,336 --> 00:05:06,640 the force of the water pressure is dramatically increased. 101 00:05:06,773 --> 00:05:08,608 While the flow of water is decreased. 102 00:05:09,976 --> 00:05:12,345 A Tesla coil acts in the same way. 103 00:05:12,479 --> 00:05:15,182 By passing the current from a small primary coil 104 00:05:15,315 --> 00:05:17,884 to a secondary much larger coil, 105 00:05:18,018 --> 00:05:20,320 it steps up the voltage tremendously 106 00:05:20,453 --> 00:05:21,621 and reduces the current. 107 00:05:23,590 --> 00:05:26,092 This makes the Tesla coil a transformer. 108 00:05:27,527 --> 00:05:30,197 - Much like firefighters would connect a big hose 109 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:32,599 to a fire hydrant and then use the nozzle 110 00:05:32,732 --> 00:05:34,634 to spray that water very far away, 111 00:05:34,768 --> 00:05:36,803 Tesla coil does the same thing. 112 00:05:38,638 --> 00:05:40,507 - [Narrator] Using an enormous Tesla coil, 113 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,209 the inventor wanted to pump the earth 114 00:05:42,342 --> 00:05:44,477 and atmosphere full of electric energy, 115 00:05:45,645 --> 00:05:48,081 He believed he could use the earth as a natural conductor 116 00:05:48,215 --> 00:05:51,017 of electricity and send power around the world. 117 00:05:52,419 --> 00:05:55,755 In essence, the earth will become a giant electrical outlet 118 00:05:57,958 --> 00:06:00,560 To prove his wildly original theory, 119 00:06:00,694 --> 00:06:03,230 Tesla left his home in New York City 120 00:06:03,363 --> 00:06:07,300 and began experimenting with wireless power in 1899. 121 00:06:07,434 --> 00:06:11,238 At the age of 43 on the wind swept prairies of Colorado. 122 00:06:12,672 --> 00:06:14,507 - He believed that there was some specific frequency 123 00:06:14,641 --> 00:06:19,613 at which the earth could be struck as with a hammer. 124 00:06:21,047 --> 00:06:24,751 Tesla believed that the earth could be rung electrically 125 00:06:24,884 --> 00:06:27,854 just as a bell can be rung with a clapper. 126 00:06:29,556 --> 00:06:31,291 - [Narrator] He constructed a laboratory and tower 127 00:06:31,424 --> 00:06:33,393 that soared 80 feet into the air. 128 00:06:34,861 --> 00:06:39,499 Inside the barn-like structure was an enormous Tesla coil. 129 00:06:40,066 --> 00:06:43,069 - For Tesla to be creating these electrical arcs 130 00:06:43,203 --> 00:06:46,006 in his laboratory was very unsettling 131 00:06:46,139 --> 00:06:48,575 to the people in Colorado because they felt 132 00:06:48,708 --> 00:06:51,778 that he was conjuring the work of God. 133 00:06:53,413 --> 00:06:55,715 (thunder rumbles) (electricity buzzes) 134 00:06:55,849 --> 00:06:57,851 - [Narrator] By tapping into the local electrical power 135 00:06:57,984 --> 00:06:59,486 from Colorado Springs, 136 00:06:59,619 --> 00:07:03,423 Tesla's coil produced more than 12 million volts. 137 00:07:04,624 --> 00:07:06,559 He often demonstrated his wireless concept 138 00:07:06,693 --> 00:07:09,629 by illuminating a phosphorescent bulb while holding it 139 00:07:09,763 --> 00:07:10,563 in his hand. 140 00:07:12,666 --> 00:07:14,434 - When the machine is on the entire lab 141 00:07:14,567 --> 00:07:17,070 is filled with high voltage electricity. 142 00:07:17,203 --> 00:07:18,638 I'm gonna grab this fluorescent light 143 00:07:18,772 --> 00:07:19,973 and show you what I mean. 144 00:07:23,476 --> 00:07:25,946 (coil buzzes) 145 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,649 - [Narrator] The Tesla coil outputs electric energy 146 00:07:29,783 --> 00:07:32,252 without harming humans, similar to the way 147 00:07:32,385 --> 00:07:35,088 transmission towers bombarded us with radio waves. 148 00:07:37,424 --> 00:07:40,060 - What you're seeing is electricity fly through the air 149 00:07:40,193 --> 00:07:42,696 from the Tesla coil to the bulb, lighting it. 150 00:07:42,829 --> 00:07:45,165 That's the essence of Tesla's original idea. 151 00:07:45,298 --> 00:07:48,234 He wanted to transmit power globally so that people 152 00:07:48,368 --> 00:07:50,236 need only receive it to use it. 153 00:07:52,305 --> 00:07:54,341 - [Narrator] Tesla claimed his experiments in Colorado 154 00:07:54,474 --> 00:07:57,510 were a success and he achieved the transmission of power, 155 00:07:57,644 --> 00:08:01,414 illuminating light bulbs up to one mile away. 156 00:08:01,548 --> 00:08:03,950 (electricity buzzes) 157 00:08:06,086 --> 00:08:08,455 In addition to pronouncements of his Colorado electrical 158 00:08:08,588 --> 00:08:12,726 discoveries, Tesla also made an even more startling claim, 159 00:08:12,859 --> 00:08:15,362 that he received messages from outer space. 160 00:08:15,495 --> 00:08:17,430 - He got a lot of flack when he came back to New York 161 00:08:17,564 --> 00:08:20,367 for saying I've spoken to Mars, or talking to Martians 162 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:23,703 but it's interesting because the ideas that he were using 163 00:08:23,837 --> 00:08:26,306 are exactly the ideas that we're using now 164 00:08:26,439 --> 00:08:28,441 to send messages out into outer space. 165 00:08:28,575 --> 00:08:30,477 We're sending radio waves out into outer space 166 00:08:30,610 --> 00:08:32,545 to try to see if anyone's out there. 167 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:34,848 So people back then really had some idea 168 00:08:34,981 --> 00:08:36,616 that he might be crazy, but he was actually 169 00:08:36,750 --> 00:08:38,685 probably really ahead of his time. 170 00:08:39,853 --> 00:08:41,421 - [Narrator] However, Tesla believed 171 00:08:41,554 --> 00:08:44,290 he had crossed a threshold and proven 172 00:08:44,424 --> 00:08:46,092 he could send power wirelessly. 173 00:08:47,727 --> 00:08:49,763 He just had to find more money to build 174 00:08:49,896 --> 00:08:51,197 an even bigger transmitter. 175 00:08:53,099 --> 00:08:55,535 (waves crash) 176 00:08:57,003 --> 00:09:01,241 Tesla returned to the east coast on Long Island Sound. 177 00:09:01,374 --> 00:09:04,511 In the town of Shore, a street sign marks 178 00:09:04,644 --> 00:09:08,014 the entrance to a now abandoned and forgotten location. 179 00:09:10,083 --> 00:09:13,586 In 1901, based on his Colorado experiments, 180 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,757 Tesla began to build his visionary wireless power network 181 00:09:17,891 --> 00:09:18,892 here on this site. 182 00:09:20,093 --> 00:09:22,262 He called it Warden Cliff. 183 00:09:24,064 --> 00:09:25,331 (electricity buzzes) 184 00:09:25,465 --> 00:09:28,635 It was comprised of a laboratory and power station. 185 00:09:28,768 --> 00:09:32,539 Adjacent to it was a tremendous 187 foot tower. 186 00:09:34,741 --> 00:09:37,644 Power from the plant was sent to a giant Tesla coil 187 00:09:37,777 --> 00:09:38,578 in the tower. 188 00:09:40,547 --> 00:09:42,982 Underneath the tower, the inventor sank huge shafts 189 00:09:43,116 --> 00:09:46,453 120 feet into the soil to transmit 190 00:09:46,586 --> 00:09:48,455 the electrical current into the earth. 191 00:09:50,957 --> 00:09:53,193 This was to be the first of many transmitters 192 00:09:53,326 --> 00:09:55,195 in a system that would encircle the world 193 00:09:55,328 --> 00:09:56,463 with wireless energy. 194 00:09:57,664 --> 00:09:59,365 The vast amounts of electricity necessary 195 00:09:59,499 --> 00:10:02,469 would come from huge hydroelectric projects. 196 00:10:03,670 --> 00:10:04,938 - A lot of people thought it was crazy 197 00:10:05,071 --> 00:10:06,673 because they couldn't understand what he was seeing 198 00:10:06,806 --> 00:10:08,608 and what he was envisioning for the future. 199 00:10:08,741 --> 00:10:10,276 He was able to conceive of things 200 00:10:10,410 --> 00:10:12,445 that other people weren't, he was a visionary. 201 00:10:12,579 --> 00:10:16,182 - [Narrator] But even visionaries need money. 202 00:10:16,316 --> 00:10:18,818 Nikola Tesla had an ingenious vision for a worldwide 203 00:10:18,952 --> 00:10:20,753 wireless power network but to realize that dream, 204 00:10:20,887 --> 00:10:24,524 he needed to convince the most powerful banker in America, 205 00:10:24,657 --> 00:10:29,496 JP Morgan to invest $150,000 in the project. 206 00:10:29,629 --> 00:10:31,498 Tesla promised the financier that the tower 207 00:10:31,631 --> 00:10:35,735 would make millions by also broadcasting messages, 208 00:10:35,869 --> 00:10:39,472 news, music, and even pictures to any part of the world. 209 00:10:42,075 --> 00:10:46,379 - This is the original foundation for Tesla's tower. 210 00:10:46,513 --> 00:10:50,116 If you look, you can see that it's an eight sided figure. 211 00:10:50,250 --> 00:10:53,119 It had a huge hole down in the ground, 212 00:10:53,253 --> 00:10:54,921 right in front of where I'm standing, 213 00:10:55,054 --> 00:10:59,559 120 feet down and a spiral staircase went around it. 214 00:10:59,692 --> 00:11:03,897 And then opened to the sky, 187 feet was the tower. 215 00:11:04,030 --> 00:11:08,868 Tower was attached by huge timbers on bars like this 216 00:11:09,002 --> 00:11:12,672 at each of the points along the side foundation walls. 217 00:11:12,805 --> 00:11:15,542 It loomed over everything in the area. 218 00:11:15,675 --> 00:11:18,311 It was overwhelming when you think of the size 219 00:11:18,444 --> 00:11:21,281 and scope of such a huge, huge construction. 220 00:11:23,316 --> 00:11:24,551 - [Narrator] This is the actual lab 221 00:11:24,684 --> 00:11:26,319 and power plant at Warden Cliff, 222 00:11:26,452 --> 00:11:28,688 where Tesla worked for more than four years 223 00:11:28,821 --> 00:11:31,524 trying to develop his wireless concept. 224 00:11:31,658 --> 00:11:33,493 It was purchased by a photographic company 225 00:11:33,626 --> 00:11:35,128 more than 60 years ago. 226 00:11:36,663 --> 00:11:39,566 After remodeling, only part of the outside lab remains. 227 00:11:40,733 --> 00:11:41,834 - [Jane] Really getting to go inside. 228 00:11:41,968 --> 00:11:43,136 This is so exciting. - All right, 229 00:11:43,269 --> 00:11:44,704 this door hasn't been open in a while. 230 00:11:44,837 --> 00:11:47,106 - [Narrator] Although the building hasn't been used 231 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,842 in more than a decade, the owners agree to open 232 00:11:49,976 --> 00:11:53,980 the doors to "Modern Marvels" for a rare look inside. 233 00:11:54,113 --> 00:11:55,615 - Wow. 234 00:11:56,583 --> 00:11:58,218 Oh, this is incredible. 235 00:12:02,322 --> 00:12:05,692 This is a amazing to be in here where Tesla worked, 236 00:12:05,825 --> 00:12:08,595 where he spent time with his assistants. 237 00:12:10,296 --> 00:12:13,166 It's just amazing that over a 100 years ago 238 00:12:13,299 --> 00:12:15,635 Tesla was walking in these very walls, 239 00:12:15,768 --> 00:12:19,505 his equipment it was here, his dreams were alive. 240 00:12:19,639 --> 00:12:21,574 He was looking forward to what he hoped 241 00:12:21,708 --> 00:12:23,409 would be a very glorious future. 242 00:12:25,311 --> 00:12:26,779 - [Narrator] In part, it was timing 243 00:12:26,913 --> 00:12:28,915 that ultimately doomed Warden Cliff. 244 00:12:29,048 --> 00:12:31,751 On December 12th of 1901, as Tesla was working 245 00:12:31,884 --> 00:12:34,721 at his wireless network, Guglielmo Marconi 246 00:12:34,854 --> 00:12:38,658 beat him to the punch and successfully transmitted 247 00:12:38,791 --> 00:12:40,860 a radio signal across the Atlantic. 248 00:12:42,295 --> 00:12:44,564 While Marconi's achievements were indeed a first, 249 00:12:44,697 --> 00:12:47,967 in reality he used 17 of Tesla's patents 250 00:12:48,067 --> 00:12:49,202 to accomplish this feat. 251 00:12:50,803 --> 00:12:53,206 Tesla is not only forgotten as the father of radio, 252 00:12:53,339 --> 00:12:57,176 Marconi's transmission sealed the fate of Warden Cliff. 253 00:12:59,312 --> 00:13:00,947 - Morgan was no longer interested 254 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,249 in supporting Tesla's work here. 255 00:13:03,383 --> 00:13:04,550 Marconi already did it. 256 00:13:04,684 --> 00:13:06,486 Why should he keep supporting Tesla? 257 00:13:06,619 --> 00:13:09,222 And of course, Tesla's plan was greater than Morgan knew. 258 00:13:09,355 --> 00:13:12,558 Tesla could see reason to continue the funding 259 00:13:12,692 --> 00:13:16,329 and continue the work, but it wasn't Morgan's plan. 260 00:13:16,462 --> 00:13:20,466 - [Narrator] So in 1905 while still under construction 261 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,436 and after some amazing electrical displays, 262 00:13:23,569 --> 00:13:28,341 the Warden Cliff project was abandoned and later destroyed. 263 00:13:28,474 --> 00:13:31,044 (loud bang) 264 00:13:31,177 --> 00:13:33,346 - [Nikola Tesla] "The world was not prepared for it. 265 00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:35,615 It was too far ahead of its time. 266 00:13:35,748 --> 00:13:38,017 But the same laws will prevail in the end 267 00:13:38,151 --> 00:13:40,720 and make it a triumphant success." 268 00:13:40,853 --> 00:13:42,021 Nikola Tesla. 269 00:13:44,257 --> 00:13:47,060 - [Narrator] But could Tesla have succeeded? 270 00:13:47,193 --> 00:13:50,263 The mainstream scientific community has grave doubts. 271 00:13:50,396 --> 00:13:54,067 - Tesla's schemes for worldwide 272 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,670 electrification was simply out of the question. 273 00:13:57,804 --> 00:14:00,173 It makes no sense from the standpoint 274 00:14:00,306 --> 00:14:04,944 of the energy involved and the inefficiency of it. 275 00:14:05,078 --> 00:14:07,046 - [Narrator] Still some aren't sure. 276 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:08,881 - I believe that the wireless transmission 277 00:14:09,015 --> 00:14:10,883 of power is possible. 278 00:14:11,017 --> 00:14:13,286 The chance that power could be transmitted 279 00:14:13,419 --> 00:14:16,856 around the globe without wires was too great 280 00:14:16,989 --> 00:14:18,424 a discovery to pass up. 281 00:14:19,926 --> 00:14:21,828 - [Narrator] Jeff Parisse, a high voltage technician 282 00:14:21,961 --> 00:14:23,830 was part of a team that built one of the largest 283 00:14:23,963 --> 00:14:26,299 Tesla coils in modern times. 284 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:28,434 The 13M. 285 00:14:28,568 --> 00:14:30,970 (electricity buzzes) 286 00:14:31,104 --> 00:14:33,773 - The reason that 13M was built was to give scientists 287 00:14:33,906 --> 00:14:36,142 the opportunity to actually investigate 288 00:14:36,275 --> 00:14:38,411 some of Tesla's wireless transmission theories 289 00:14:38,544 --> 00:14:40,613 to see if they're practical. 290 00:14:40,747 --> 00:14:42,749 - [Narrator] The 13M generates close 291 00:14:42,882 --> 00:14:44,884 to 12 million volts of power. 292 00:14:48,087 --> 00:14:49,455 - What we learned is that the machine we built 293 00:14:49,589 --> 00:14:50,723 is not large enough. 294 00:14:50,857 --> 00:14:52,792 It's actually a quarter scale version 295 00:14:52,925 --> 00:14:55,394 of what Tesla made in Colorado Springs 296 00:14:55,528 --> 00:14:57,897 and it seems the machine that large is really necessary. 297 00:14:58,030 --> 00:15:01,000 We hope in the future that we'll have the funding 298 00:15:01,134 --> 00:15:03,569 to be able to build a full scale Tesla coil 299 00:15:03,703 --> 00:15:10,743 and prove his theories. 300 00:15:10,877 --> 00:15:13,713 Today, we take our electrified world for granted. 301 00:15:15,448 --> 00:15:18,584 Energy that powers our needs is as close 302 00:15:18,718 --> 00:15:19,786 as the nearest outlet. 303 00:15:21,053 --> 00:15:22,422 (thunder rumbles) 304 00:15:22,555 --> 00:15:25,158 According to legend, a man who made it all happen 305 00:15:25,291 --> 00:15:29,395 was born in Croatia in 1856 at the stroke of midnight 306 00:15:30,763 --> 00:15:32,665 during an electrical storm. 307 00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:36,569 - Tesla's immediately associated with thunder and lightning, 308 00:15:36,702 --> 00:15:38,004 with electricity. 309 00:15:38,137 --> 00:15:40,940 (thunder rumbles) 310 00:15:42,842 --> 00:15:45,311 - [Narrator] Tesla began his career 311 00:15:45,444 --> 00:15:47,747 as an electrical engineer with a telephone company 312 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:49,982 in Budapest in 1881. 313 00:15:51,717 --> 00:15:54,153 One day as he was walking through a park with a friend, 314 00:15:54,287 --> 00:15:57,557 Tesla suddenly envisioned a groundbreaking concept 315 00:15:57,690 --> 00:16:01,227 for a new electric motor and drew it out in the dirt. 316 00:16:03,429 --> 00:16:05,431 This simple illustration became the patent 317 00:16:05,565 --> 00:16:08,234 for induction motor, which would go on 318 00:16:08,367 --> 00:16:10,837 to be the standard electric motor for the world. 319 00:16:13,339 --> 00:16:16,275 It's used for everything from tools and appliances 320 00:16:17,610 --> 00:16:21,380 to hybrid cars, to industrial plants. 321 00:16:24,550 --> 00:16:27,687 The induction motor works by energizing coils of wire 322 00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:31,090 placed around a stationary frame called the stator. 323 00:16:32,592 --> 00:16:35,094 This induces a current in the coils onto a rotor. 324 00:16:36,796 --> 00:16:39,398 The alternating current in the coils causes the poles 325 00:16:39,532 --> 00:16:41,267 of the magnetic fields around them 326 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,102 to change between north and south. 327 00:16:44,770 --> 00:16:47,106 The resulting attraction and repulsion with the coils 328 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,809 as they alternate causes the rotor to spin. 329 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:56,415 - And the exact same ideas that Nikola Tesla 330 00:16:56,549 --> 00:16:59,986 came up with a 100 years ago are still used today 331 00:17:00,119 --> 00:17:02,255 in induction motors such as this one. 332 00:17:02,388 --> 00:17:05,925 The motor's made of two parts, the rotor 333 00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:08,694 and the coil. 334 00:17:08,828 --> 00:17:12,431 Within the coil, a north south magnetic field rotates 335 00:17:12,565 --> 00:17:15,735 and as a magnetic field rotates, the rotor follows it. 336 00:17:18,604 --> 00:17:20,072 Just like it did a 100 years ago 337 00:17:20,206 --> 00:17:22,341 when Nikola Tesla made the first prototype. 338 00:17:23,342 --> 00:17:26,445 (motor buzzes) 339 00:17:26,579 --> 00:17:28,614 - [Narrator] In 1884 at age 28, 340 00:17:28,748 --> 00:17:31,083 Tesla moved to America with little money 341 00:17:31,217 --> 00:17:33,052 and only a letter of recommendation 342 00:17:33,185 --> 00:17:35,321 from his boss to Thomas Edison. 343 00:17:36,822 --> 00:17:40,526 The letters simply read, "I know of two great men, 344 00:17:40,660 --> 00:17:42,328 you are one of them. 345 00:17:42,461 --> 00:17:44,363 This young man is the other." 346 00:17:46,098 --> 00:17:47,767 Edison hired the brilliant young engineer 347 00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:51,003 and eventually asked him to redesign his company's electric 348 00:17:51,137 --> 00:17:54,173 generators for a $50,000 bonus. 349 00:17:56,208 --> 00:17:58,444 After Tesla developed a number of enormously profitable 350 00:17:58,578 --> 00:18:02,014 new patents, he asked Edison for his bonus. 351 00:18:03,783 --> 00:18:06,586 - Edison says, you gotta be kidding me. 352 00:18:06,719 --> 00:18:08,988 You got a lot to learn about an American sense of humor 353 00:18:09,121 --> 00:18:11,757 and he doesn't give him the $50,000. 354 00:18:11,891 --> 00:18:13,926 And Tesla turns around immediately and says, 355 00:18:14,060 --> 00:18:15,695 well, Mr. Edison, I resign. 356 00:18:17,063 --> 00:18:19,198 - [Narrator] And so began a lifelong feud 357 00:18:19,332 --> 00:18:20,900 between the upstart young genius 358 00:18:21,033 --> 00:18:22,735 and the established inventor. 359 00:18:24,804 --> 00:18:27,340 - Tesla leaves Edisons and he was digging ditches 360 00:18:27,473 --> 00:18:29,875 in New York City for a year. 361 00:18:30,009 --> 00:18:31,310 Very, very dark time. 362 00:18:31,444 --> 00:18:34,480 All of his dreams are in shambles at this point. 363 00:18:34,614 --> 00:18:37,249 - [Narrator] While toiling to feed himself 364 00:18:37,383 --> 00:18:39,318 and raised capital for new inventions, 365 00:18:39,452 --> 00:18:42,355 Tesla was appalled at the web of power wires 366 00:18:42,488 --> 00:18:43,556 strung up in the city. 367 00:18:46,392 --> 00:18:47,960 - This whole system was a nightmare 368 00:18:48,094 --> 00:18:50,396 of cables and wiring overhead. 369 00:18:50,529 --> 00:18:51,697 Matter of fact, in some areas, 370 00:18:51,831 --> 00:18:53,632 it even blocked out the sun. 371 00:18:55,067 --> 00:18:56,569 - [Narrator] The electrical system he found deficient 372 00:18:56,702 --> 00:19:00,373 was called direct current or DC. 373 00:19:00,506 --> 00:19:04,410 Edison, Tesla's former employer, was a major investor 374 00:19:04,543 --> 00:19:05,544 in DC power. 375 00:19:06,545 --> 00:19:09,148 Tesla knew there was a better way 376 00:19:09,281 --> 00:19:11,817 and was determined to invent a new system 377 00:19:11,951 --> 00:19:17,590 that became the global standard, alternating current or AC. 378 00:19:19,892 --> 00:19:21,927 - He used a direct current cable 379 00:19:22,061 --> 00:19:23,929 that would carry about a million watts 380 00:19:24,063 --> 00:19:26,365 to light a typical New York City block. 381 00:19:26,499 --> 00:19:29,168 Using alternating current and Tesla's AC system, 382 00:19:29,301 --> 00:19:31,470 a small wire such as this could power 383 00:19:31,604 --> 00:19:33,839 the same amount of homes. 384 00:19:33,973 --> 00:19:36,442 Same amount of power, just look at the difference. 385 00:19:37,877 --> 00:19:39,979 - [Narrator] The difference between AC and DC power 386 00:19:40,112 --> 00:19:43,883 is all about how electricity or electrons flow. 387 00:19:47,553 --> 00:19:50,289 For DC current to work there must be a continuous 388 00:19:50,423 --> 00:19:52,892 and direct flow of electrons along a wire 389 00:19:53,025 --> 00:19:54,660 from negative to positive poles. 390 00:19:56,562 --> 00:19:59,665 - When power's applied electrons, as signified 391 00:19:59,799 --> 00:20:02,802 by the red band, move to the work, 392 00:20:02,935 --> 00:20:06,505 do the work and then come all the way back to the generator. 393 00:20:06,639 --> 00:20:09,475 The problem with this process is that the electrons 394 00:20:09,608 --> 00:20:12,678 encounter resistance along these wires. 395 00:20:12,812 --> 00:20:14,980 It's difficult for electrons to travel 396 00:20:15,114 --> 00:20:16,549 these great distances. 397 00:20:16,682 --> 00:20:20,486 So most of the energy in the system is lost in the wire. 398 00:20:20,619 --> 00:20:23,355 - Well the way Thomas Edison envisioned his system, 399 00:20:23,489 --> 00:20:25,724 he would have to put a power plant just about every mile 400 00:20:25,858 --> 00:20:30,362 to keep the voltage steady along his DC power grid. 401 00:20:31,797 --> 00:20:34,767 - [Narrator] In 1887, Tesla filed seven US patents 402 00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:38,137 for another more efficient and cheaper power system 403 00:20:38,270 --> 00:20:39,705 called alternating current. 404 00:20:43,309 --> 00:20:45,945 - What Tesla discovered in his AC system 405 00:20:46,078 --> 00:20:48,681 was it was not necessary to send the electrons 406 00:20:48,814 --> 00:20:50,983 all the way to the work and back again. 407 00:20:51,117 --> 00:20:54,920 In fact, he alternated the current, 408 00:20:55,054 --> 00:20:56,655 sending it back and forth. 409 00:20:58,124 --> 00:21:00,259 - [Narrator] Tesla developed a system of AC generators 410 00:21:00,392 --> 00:21:02,762 that alternated electric current between negative 411 00:21:02,895 --> 00:21:06,766 and positive poles at 60 cycles per second. 412 00:21:08,067 --> 00:21:10,002 By sending AC through a transformer 413 00:21:10,136 --> 00:21:13,639 with virtually no power loss, he could step up the voltage 414 00:21:13,772 --> 00:21:16,942 and lower the current so that AC could be efficiently 415 00:21:17,076 --> 00:21:20,246 transmitted hundreds of miles further than DC current. 416 00:21:22,481 --> 00:21:24,884 Millionaire entrepreneur George Westinghouse 417 00:21:25,017 --> 00:21:26,952 thought Tesla's inventions could be the key 418 00:21:27,086 --> 00:21:28,954 to long distance power transmission. 419 00:21:30,656 --> 00:21:31,757 He purchased the patents 420 00:21:31,891 --> 00:21:35,828 for $60,000 and a healthy share of stock 421 00:21:35,961 --> 00:21:37,530 in the Westinghouse corporation. 422 00:21:38,764 --> 00:21:40,399 If the new AC system was successful, 423 00:21:40,533 --> 00:21:42,701 Tesla would a rich man. 424 00:21:45,271 --> 00:21:49,542 Nikola Tesla became a citizen of the United States in 1891. 425 00:21:51,010 --> 00:21:53,078 The same year an all out war of the currents 426 00:21:53,212 --> 00:21:57,483 erupted between his AC and Edison's DC power. 427 00:21:59,351 --> 00:22:01,620 Edison launched a propaganda campaign 428 00:22:01,754 --> 00:22:03,622 that showed the dangers of AC. 429 00:22:05,024 --> 00:22:08,127 - The public, they had rather grotesque experiments 430 00:22:08,260 --> 00:22:10,462 where they would take animals and electrocute them 431 00:22:10,596 --> 00:22:12,298 with alternating current. 432 00:22:16,569 --> 00:22:18,170 - [Narrator] Edison convinced New York state 433 00:22:18,304 --> 00:22:20,840 to use Tesla's and Westinghouse AC power 434 00:22:20,973 --> 00:22:24,109 for the very first electrocution in 1890. 435 00:22:25,878 --> 00:22:28,614 A reporter called it a gruesome spectacle 436 00:22:28,747 --> 00:22:30,182 far worse than any hanging. 437 00:22:32,585 --> 00:22:35,087 Edison dubbed the technique Westinghousing. 438 00:22:36,655 --> 00:22:38,023 - Whether it was electrocuting animals 439 00:22:38,157 --> 00:22:40,993 or electrocuting prisoners, the thrust was, 440 00:22:41,126 --> 00:22:43,696 this is something you don't want in your house. 441 00:22:45,130 --> 00:22:48,000 - [Narrator] In 1893, despite the bad press, 442 00:22:48,133 --> 00:22:50,002 Tesla and the Westinghouse Corporation 443 00:22:50,135 --> 00:22:53,973 won the bid for illuminating the Chicago World's Fair, 444 00:22:54,106 --> 00:22:56,709 the first all electric fair in history, 445 00:22:58,110 --> 00:23:00,379 Edison who made an unsuccessful bid 446 00:23:00,512 --> 00:23:02,648 was frustrated over losing this opportunity 447 00:23:02,781 --> 00:23:07,319 and refuse to let Tesla use his patented light bulbs. 448 00:23:07,453 --> 00:23:10,022 (lights buzz) 449 00:23:10,155 --> 00:23:14,193 - So Tesla needed to come up with a new light bulb, 450 00:23:14,326 --> 00:23:17,096 make 250,000 of 'em in six months time to light the fair. 451 00:23:17,229 --> 00:23:20,399 Edison's bulb had a screw base at the bottom. 452 00:23:20,532 --> 00:23:22,668 He patented the whole method of powering the ball 453 00:23:22,801 --> 00:23:24,870 through this screw base and how to seal 454 00:23:25,004 --> 00:23:26,372 the vacuum off inside. 455 00:23:26,505 --> 00:23:29,174 Tesla's solution was to have a ground glass stopper 456 00:23:29,308 --> 00:23:30,542 in the bottom of the bulb. 457 00:23:30,676 --> 00:23:32,344 The wires passed through the stopper 458 00:23:32,478 --> 00:23:34,980 and he was able to manufacture a bulb 459 00:23:35,114 --> 00:23:37,249 that didn't interfere with Edison's patents. 460 00:23:37,383 --> 00:23:39,585 Tesla was able to beat Edison at his own game 461 00:23:39,718 --> 00:23:42,421 by producing a lamp that was more easy to manufacture 462 00:23:42,554 --> 00:23:45,791 and he was able to do so in a short amount of time. 463 00:23:47,226 --> 00:23:50,996 - [Narrator] On May 1st, 1893, President Grover Cleveland 464 00:23:51,130 --> 00:23:54,400 pushed a button and more than 200,000 465 00:23:54,533 --> 00:23:56,969 of Tesla's incandescent lamps illuminated 466 00:23:57,102 --> 00:23:57,970 the fair grounds. 467 00:23:59,371 --> 00:24:02,441 It was a monumental success and ushered in the era 468 00:24:02,574 --> 00:24:04,043 of modern electric lighting. 469 00:24:05,577 --> 00:24:07,146 - Tesla was hailed the mastermind 470 00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:09,648 and the genius behind making this possible 471 00:24:09,782 --> 00:24:12,885 and his name was known around the world after this event. 472 00:24:14,086 --> 00:24:15,521 - [Narrator] Tesla, filled with confidence 473 00:24:15,654 --> 00:24:17,156 after this victory over Edison 474 00:24:22,127 --> 00:24:25,030 Millions have witnessed its stunning power. 475 00:24:25,164 --> 00:24:29,468 Niagara Falls can send more than 750,000 gallons of water 476 00:24:29,601 --> 00:24:34,206 over its crest every second, producing enough power 477 00:24:34,340 --> 00:24:38,444 to generate 2.4 million kilowatts of electricity. 478 00:24:39,645 --> 00:24:41,280 At that rate, the falls could power 479 00:24:41,413 --> 00:24:43,582 half of Las Vegas on a hot summer night. 480 00:24:46,618 --> 00:24:49,121 Ever since pioneers began building sawmills 481 00:24:49,254 --> 00:24:52,057 along the Niagara River in the 1700s, 482 00:24:52,191 --> 00:24:55,327 many had envisioned brand new ways to harness 483 00:24:55,461 --> 00:24:57,696 the thundering power of the falls. 484 00:25:01,133 --> 00:25:04,903 In 1893 after witnessing Tesla's and Westinghouse's triumph 485 00:25:05,037 --> 00:25:08,574 at the Chicago World's Fair, the Niagara Falls Commission 486 00:25:08,707 --> 00:25:11,176 awarded them the contract to tap the falls 487 00:25:11,310 --> 00:25:13,145 for generating alternating current. 488 00:25:15,347 --> 00:25:18,016 - The big problem with using Niagara Falls 489 00:25:18,183 --> 00:25:21,787 for electricity was that the major consumer 490 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,090 of that electric power was Buffalo. 491 00:25:25,224 --> 00:25:27,659 Buffalo is about 20 miles or so 492 00:25:27,793 --> 00:25:32,331 and using DC transmission was totally impractical 493 00:25:32,464 --> 00:25:36,468 because a repeater station would have to have been built 494 00:25:36,602 --> 00:25:38,303 every two miles. 495 00:25:38,437 --> 00:25:40,973 AC avoided all of that. 496 00:25:42,508 --> 00:25:44,042 - [Narrator] At the falls Tesla designed 497 00:25:44,176 --> 00:25:46,044 and engineered a complex system of generators 498 00:25:46,178 --> 00:25:49,114 and transformers to produce his AC power. 499 00:25:51,917 --> 00:25:54,153 - Tesla didn't write down everything. 500 00:25:54,286 --> 00:25:56,088 Most of his stuff was in his head. 501 00:25:56,221 --> 00:25:57,623 He had to do it verbally. 502 00:25:57,756 --> 00:25:59,725 Tesla was in his own little world more or less. 503 00:25:59,858 --> 00:26:02,261 He would not explain things to other people, 504 00:26:02,394 --> 00:26:04,930 but his assistants would. 505 00:26:05,064 --> 00:26:08,700 - [Narrator] In 1896, the first AC hydroelectric station 506 00:26:08,834 --> 00:26:11,770 for long distance power transmission went online 507 00:26:13,672 --> 00:26:16,408 and Buffalo, New York became the premier city 508 00:26:16,542 --> 00:26:18,844 to be electrified by power transmission. 509 00:26:20,312 --> 00:26:21,880 - Tesla was not here when they actually flipped the switch 510 00:26:22,014 --> 00:26:24,716 but he had so much confidence in his own work 511 00:26:24,850 --> 00:26:26,185 that he knew it would work. 512 00:26:28,187 --> 00:26:29,488 - [Narrator] Today new power plants 513 00:26:29,621 --> 00:26:31,390 have replaced Tesla structures. 514 00:26:33,125 --> 00:26:35,694 The buildings of one of the most important historical sites 515 00:26:35,828 --> 00:26:37,262 in the modern world, 516 00:26:37,396 --> 00:26:39,698 now stand forgotten like dinosaurs. 517 00:26:40,899 --> 00:26:42,768 And for the man who envisioned it all 518 00:26:42,901 --> 00:26:46,171 only an isolated statue marks his extraordinary achievement. 519 00:26:48,307 --> 00:26:52,778 - I wonder how many people who come by here, 520 00:26:52,911 --> 00:26:57,616 past this statue actually have any idea 521 00:26:57,749 --> 00:27:02,754 who Nikola Tesla was and what he did to shape their world. 522 00:27:04,490 --> 00:27:07,326 - [Narrator] Today, our world is ablaze 523 00:27:07,459 --> 00:27:09,561 thanks to Tesla's AC technology. 524 00:27:10,762 --> 00:27:12,297 He had won his final battle with Edison 525 00:27:12,431 --> 00:27:16,168 but victory came at an enormous cost. 526 00:27:16,301 --> 00:27:18,103 Westinghouse was financially drained 527 00:27:18,237 --> 00:27:19,938 by the war of the currents. 528 00:27:20,072 --> 00:27:22,107 In a grand gesture to keep the company afloat, 529 00:27:22,241 --> 00:27:25,644 Tesla tore up his royalties contract 530 00:27:25,777 --> 00:27:28,347 claiming better inventions lay ahead. 531 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:30,349 - Had the contract been fulfilled, 532 00:27:30,482 --> 00:27:33,352 Tesla would have been a millionaire 533 00:27:33,485 --> 00:27:37,623 and been free of financial worries the rest of his life. 534 00:27:38,757 --> 00:27:39,892 - [Nikola Tesla] "Money does not represent 535 00:27:40,025 --> 00:27:42,327 such a value as men have placed upon it. 536 00:27:42,461 --> 00:27:45,497 All my money has been invested into experiments 537 00:27:45,631 --> 00:27:47,799 with which I have made new discoveries 538 00:27:47,933 --> 00:27:52,504 enabling mankind to have a little easier life." 539 00:27:52,638 --> 00:27:54,273 - [Narrator] After the triumph 540 00:27:54,406 --> 00:27:56,642 over Edison and the success of his alternating current, 541 00:27:56,775 --> 00:28:00,045 Nikola Tesla was a celebrity. 542 00:28:00,178 --> 00:28:03,148 - And he's friends with Mark Twain, 543 00:28:03,282 --> 00:28:05,350 he's friends with all manner of ambassadors 544 00:28:05,484 --> 00:28:08,053 and ballerinas and prima donnas, 545 00:28:08,186 --> 00:28:10,622 and he's really kind of at the height of society. 546 00:28:10,756 --> 00:28:14,026 - [Narrator] But genius often comes with a price. 547 00:28:14,159 --> 00:28:16,828 Tesla suffered from bizarre compulsions 548 00:28:16,962 --> 00:28:20,432 like his consuming need to rescue injured pigeons 549 00:28:20,566 --> 00:28:22,401 and nurse them back to health. 550 00:28:22,534 --> 00:28:24,403 - He has an infirmary for them right out outside 551 00:28:24,536 --> 00:28:26,939 his bedroom window where he's trying to heal, you know, 552 00:28:27,072 --> 00:28:28,640 some that have broken wings, broken legs. 553 00:28:28,774 --> 00:28:30,375 And in fact, at one point he actually 554 00:28:30,509 --> 00:28:33,045 referred to one bird as his wife. 555 00:28:33,178 --> 00:28:35,614 And he said, you know, when she died, 556 00:28:36,515 --> 00:28:38,383 the inventive spirit left him. 557 00:28:39,851 --> 00:28:42,154 - [Narrator] Tesla had a fear of germs that compelled him 558 00:28:42,287 --> 00:28:43,889 to wash his hands constantly. 559 00:28:45,324 --> 00:28:47,926 He did things in threes and was adamant about living 560 00:28:48,060 --> 00:28:49,161 in a room at The New Yorker Hotel 561 00:28:49,294 --> 00:28:51,563 with a number divisible by three. 562 00:28:53,065 --> 00:28:55,300 - He demanded the room 3327, 563 00:28:55,434 --> 00:28:57,135 where he'd lived for 10 years. 564 00:28:57,269 --> 00:28:59,805 He always requested nine napkins 565 00:29:00,906 --> 00:29:02,341 and if he had a bread or something, 566 00:29:02,474 --> 00:29:05,377 it could be cut into nine, three times three pieces. 567 00:29:05,510 --> 00:29:09,481 Even the number of dishes he had or the number of towels 568 00:29:09,615 --> 00:29:12,484 he received in this room was usually a three or nine. 569 00:29:13,952 --> 00:29:17,055 - Tesla never married and claimed he was celibate. 570 00:29:17,189 --> 00:29:19,791 - He had a horrible affliction against women 571 00:29:19,925 --> 00:29:21,193 with pierced ears. 572 00:29:21,326 --> 00:29:23,562 He couldn't stand the site of pierced ears and jewelry. 573 00:29:23,695 --> 00:29:26,798 And pearl earrings he said, just set his teeth on edge. 574 00:29:26,932 --> 00:29:28,367 It was almost like fingers on a chalkboard 575 00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:30,535 for him to see pearl earrings. 576 00:29:30,669 --> 00:29:33,205 - [Narrator] Even with his list of obsessions 577 00:29:33,338 --> 00:29:35,607 and compulsions, Tesla had always been able 578 00:29:35,741 --> 00:29:38,310 to tap into his remarkable inventive intellect. 579 00:29:40,746 --> 00:29:43,915 In 1898, he created the remote control 580 00:29:44,049 --> 00:29:47,052 when he demonstrated a six foot long radio wave 581 00:29:47,185 --> 00:29:49,454 controlled boat at Madison Square Garden. 582 00:29:52,624 --> 00:29:55,327 (horn blows) 583 00:29:55,460 --> 00:29:57,796 (model boat hums) 584 00:29:57,929 --> 00:30:00,699 On a quiet lake in Riverside, California, 585 00:30:00,832 --> 00:30:03,702 Tesla's work is alive and well as a fleet 586 00:30:03,835 --> 00:30:06,071 of remote controlled model boats set sale. 587 00:30:09,441 --> 00:30:13,645 - This is very much like Tesla did a 100 years ago. 588 00:30:15,113 --> 00:30:18,083 - [Narrator] Inside these boats are the basic components 589 00:30:18,216 --> 00:30:19,951 of remote control Tesla conceived 590 00:30:20,085 --> 00:30:21,653 at the turn of the 20th century. 591 00:30:25,223 --> 00:30:28,427 A battery inside the remote control device 592 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,229 sends power to an oscillator that 593 00:30:31,363 --> 00:30:34,066 converts it into a radio wave pulse. 594 00:30:34,199 --> 00:30:35,634 The radio wave is transmitted 595 00:30:35,767 --> 00:30:37,402 to a small receiver on the boat, 596 00:30:37,536 --> 00:30:39,805 which sends the electric pulse to a motor. 597 00:30:39,938 --> 00:30:41,440 Varying the pulse of the radio wave 598 00:30:41,573 --> 00:30:43,108 from the transmitter to the receiver 599 00:30:43,241 --> 00:30:46,178 causes the motor arms to move in different directions. 600 00:30:50,282 --> 00:30:52,584 Using a joystick, the operator controls 601 00:30:52,718 --> 00:30:55,220 the radio pulse signal and controls the boat. 602 00:30:57,322 --> 00:30:59,891 (model boat hums) 603 00:31:00,025 --> 00:31:02,427 Tesla's remote control principles are seen today 604 00:31:02,561 --> 00:31:04,229 in everything from televisions 605 00:31:05,864 --> 00:31:08,767 to unmanned military predator drones 606 00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:10,669 used for battlefield reconnaissance 607 00:31:12,204 --> 00:31:14,372 to satellites operating in space. 608 00:31:18,877 --> 00:31:20,378 Tesla's shocking experiments continue now 609 00:31:20,512 --> 00:31:23,949 on "Modern Marvels Mad Electricity Plus." 610 00:31:24,082 --> 00:31:26,418 One of the most powerful forces in nature 611 00:31:26,551 --> 00:31:27,953 is an earthquake. 612 00:31:29,187 --> 00:31:31,723 Suppose that power was harnessed as a weapon. 613 00:31:31,857 --> 00:31:34,860 (tense music) 614 00:31:34,993 --> 00:31:36,928 Some believe Tesla may have discovered a way. 615 00:31:37,062 --> 00:31:40,031 - The Tesla earthquake machine was a mechanical oscillator, 616 00:31:40,165 --> 00:31:41,967 which is basically a machine 617 00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:44,002 that produces vibrations. 618 00:31:44,136 --> 00:31:45,470 And by producing these vibrations 619 00:31:45,604 --> 00:31:48,240 the machine could be made to resonate 620 00:31:48,373 --> 00:31:49,775 with different structures. 621 00:31:51,109 --> 00:31:52,444 - [Narrator] The oscillator machine is based 622 00:31:52,577 --> 00:31:54,646 on the principle that every substance 623 00:31:54,780 --> 00:31:57,916 when stimulated has a resonant frequency. 624 00:31:58,049 --> 00:32:00,018 If the frequency is matched and amplified 625 00:32:00,152 --> 00:32:03,221 by an outside force such as the oscillator machine, 626 00:32:03,355 --> 00:32:06,424 any material can be literally shaken to pieces. 627 00:32:07,659 --> 00:32:10,729 The destruction of the Tacoma Narrow's Bridge 628 00:32:10,862 --> 00:32:14,432 in Washington in 1940, demonstrates this principle. 629 00:32:15,667 --> 00:32:17,169 The winds whipping around the bridge 630 00:32:17,302 --> 00:32:19,971 hit just the right frequency, causing the steel 631 00:32:20,105 --> 00:32:22,841 to sway violently in a rhythmic pattern 632 00:32:22,974 --> 00:32:24,242 that finally broke it apart. 633 00:32:24,376 --> 00:32:27,078 (water splashes) 634 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:30,248 - To demonstrate the power of resonance, 635 00:32:30,382 --> 00:32:31,983 we're going to see what happens to a wine glass 636 00:32:32,117 --> 00:32:35,020 as it vibrates to its breaking point. 637 00:32:35,153 --> 00:32:37,022 First, I'll start a glass vibrating 638 00:32:37,155 --> 00:32:41,026 and use a microphone connected to an oscilloscope 639 00:32:41,159 --> 00:32:43,795 to see what frequency the glass vibrates at. 640 00:32:45,197 --> 00:32:46,865 I'll then set that frequency on a signal generator, 641 00:32:46,998 --> 00:32:49,334 (mellow hum) 642 00:32:50,569 --> 00:32:52,637 Which is going to play a bag through an amplifier 643 00:32:52,771 --> 00:32:54,172 into a speaker. 644 00:32:54,306 --> 00:32:55,807 Because the glass is going to be moving 645 00:32:55,941 --> 00:32:58,076 more than 400 times per second, 646 00:32:58,210 --> 00:32:59,544 we will be using a strobe light 647 00:32:59,678 --> 00:33:01,947 in order to slow down the motion. 648 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:03,181 Now this is going to be loud, 649 00:33:03,315 --> 00:33:04,983 so I have to wear some protection. 650 00:33:06,384 --> 00:33:08,153 As the vibrations increase in intensity, 651 00:33:08,286 --> 00:33:10,322 the glass will start to move more and more 652 00:33:10,455 --> 00:33:13,391 and eventually it can't take it anymore. 653 00:33:13,525 --> 00:33:16,294 So as I turn up the volume the glass will break. 654 00:33:19,197 --> 00:33:22,167 (oscilloscope hums) 655 00:33:31,843 --> 00:33:34,145 (high pitched hum) 656 00:33:34,279 --> 00:33:36,982 (glass shatters) 657 00:33:40,719 --> 00:33:43,154 So what we saw was like a mini earthquake 658 00:33:43,288 --> 00:33:46,091 and Tesla's earthquake machine would be able to do this 659 00:33:46,224 --> 00:33:48,393 but on a much larger scale. 660 00:33:49,694 --> 00:33:51,630 - [Narrator] In 1898, Tesla claimed 661 00:33:51,763 --> 00:33:54,799 to have created an oscillator with an adjustable frequency 662 00:33:54,933 --> 00:33:58,069 that was no bigger than an alarm clock. 663 00:33:58,203 --> 00:33:59,671 And he wrote of an attempt to use it 664 00:33:59,804 --> 00:34:01,406 on a building under construction. 665 00:34:03,575 --> 00:34:04,676 - [Nikola Tesla] "In a few minutes, 666 00:34:04,809 --> 00:34:07,045 I felt the building beginning to tremble. 667 00:34:07,178 --> 00:34:10,048 10 minutes more and I could have laid it in the street. 668 00:34:10,181 --> 00:34:12,717 And with the same device, I could have dropped 669 00:34:12,851 --> 00:34:15,220 the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River 670 00:34:15,353 --> 00:34:16,955 in less than an hour." 671 00:34:19,324 --> 00:34:21,092 - [Narrator] Perhaps this opened a Pandora's box 672 00:34:21,226 --> 00:34:23,228 during later experiments with a device. 673 00:34:24,629 --> 00:34:30,135 - There's a legend that he started up his little oscillator 674 00:34:30,769 --> 00:34:32,504 or what some called the earthquake machine 675 00:34:32,637 --> 00:34:34,973 and he started vibrating Lower Manhattan 676 00:34:35,106 --> 00:34:38,009 and they call went out to the police department 677 00:34:38,143 --> 00:34:39,477 and the police came running. 678 00:34:39,611 --> 00:34:40,879 They were pounding on the door. 679 00:34:41,012 --> 00:34:43,181 They broke into his lab and they saw him 680 00:34:43,315 --> 00:34:44,716 with a sledge hammerer smashing the machine. 681 00:34:44,849 --> 00:34:46,584 The switch got stuck, he couldn't turn it off 682 00:34:46,718 --> 00:34:48,086 and he almost brought down some buildings 683 00:34:48,219 --> 00:34:49,187 in the neighborhood. 684 00:34:50,655 --> 00:34:54,459 - [Narrator] In 1934, Tesla conceived a death ray. 685 00:34:54,592 --> 00:34:58,830 His idea was to blast concentrated beams of particles 686 00:34:58,964 --> 00:35:01,433 charged with millions of volts of electricity 687 00:35:01,566 --> 00:35:02,634 through the air, 688 00:35:03,768 --> 00:35:04,736 which could down fleets 689 00:35:04,869 --> 00:35:09,107 of enemy aircraft at a distance of 250 miles. 690 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:11,810 (electricity buzzes) 691 00:35:11,943 --> 00:35:15,213 - Tesla terrified people with this idea of the death ray. 692 00:35:15,347 --> 00:35:16,514 I mean, even the name death ray, 693 00:35:16,648 --> 00:35:18,516 it sounds like it's science fiction, right? 694 00:35:19,718 --> 00:35:21,219 - [Narrator] Tesla spent his later years 695 00:35:21,353 --> 00:35:23,888 in two small rooms in The New Yorker Hotel. 696 00:35:25,357 --> 00:35:30,695 Today room 3327, one of his rooms, showed the cramped space 697 00:35:30,829 --> 00:35:33,064 he occupied for the last 10 years of his life. 698 00:35:34,699 --> 00:35:38,570 - Tesla died alone in his room at the hotel. 699 00:35:38,703 --> 00:35:40,805 They weren't even sure exactly when he died 700 00:35:40,939 --> 00:35:43,575 because people hadn't seen him for a couple of days. 701 00:35:43,708 --> 00:35:46,878 A chamber maid finally entered his room 702 00:35:47,012 --> 00:35:50,715 the day after he died and found his body. 703 00:35:50,849 --> 00:35:52,250 - [Narrator] But when his death at the age 704 00:35:52,384 --> 00:35:56,321 of 86 was discovered, the United States government 705 00:35:56,454 --> 00:35:58,556 took control of his scientific papers. 706 00:36:00,592 --> 00:36:02,761 - There was a great deal of concern 707 00:36:02,894 --> 00:36:05,997 at the time of his death as to what was in his papers, 708 00:36:06,131 --> 00:36:07,265 because we were in the middle of World War II 709 00:36:07,399 --> 00:36:08,500 and there's a great deal of concern 710 00:36:08,633 --> 00:36:09,734 what if the Nazis get ahold of this. 711 00:36:11,469 --> 00:36:12,470 - [Narrator] The government claims 712 00:36:12,604 --> 00:36:14,606 that after inspecting Tesla's papers 713 00:36:14,739 --> 00:36:17,942 they were released in 1952 and later sent 714 00:36:18,076 --> 00:36:21,179 to Belgrade, Serbia where they now remain 715 00:36:22,514 --> 00:36:24,082 at the Nikola Tesla Museum. 716 00:36:25,650 --> 00:36:29,487 However, many believe some of his papers are still missing. 717 00:36:31,790 --> 00:36:33,425 - Who knows what were in these papers. 718 00:36:33,558 --> 00:36:35,060 You know, maybe they are very sensitive, 719 00:36:35,193 --> 00:36:36,895 maybe they are the plans for the death ray 720 00:36:37,028 --> 00:36:38,930 and, and you know, I guess that shouldn't 721 00:36:39,064 --> 00:36:40,432 be public knowledge. 722 00:36:40,565 --> 00:36:44,102 It's a terrific mystery who took Nikola Teslas papers. 723 00:36:44,235 --> 00:36:45,170 - [Narrator] We may never know what 724 00:36:45,303 --> 00:36:46,704 all these papers contained. 725 00:36:51,309 --> 00:36:55,013 The United States consumes nearly 20 million barrels 726 00:36:55,146 --> 00:36:59,117 of oil a day and gasoline prices fluctuate wildly. 727 00:37:00,618 --> 00:37:04,456 Even a century ago Tesla saw the future of fossil fuels. 728 00:37:06,491 --> 00:37:08,560 - [Nikola Tesla] "If we use fuel to get our power 729 00:37:08,693 --> 00:37:11,529 we are living on our capital and exhausting it rapidly. 730 00:37:12,730 --> 00:37:15,433 This method is barbarous and wantonly wasteful 731 00:37:15,567 --> 00:37:17,302 and will have to be stopped in the interest 732 00:37:17,435 --> 00:37:18,970 of coming generations." 733 00:37:20,872 --> 00:37:23,675 - Tesla was disturbed by the rate 734 00:37:23,808 --> 00:37:28,146 at which society was burning up non-renewable fuels, 735 00:37:28,279 --> 00:37:30,315 coal, oil was just coming in then 736 00:37:30,448 --> 00:37:33,551 and he foresaw a time that you would need 737 00:37:33,685 --> 00:37:36,554 to go to some other source of power. 738 00:37:38,123 --> 00:37:39,791 - [Narrator] Tesla anticipated the development 739 00:37:39,924 --> 00:37:42,260 of what we now call renewable energy. 740 00:37:43,194 --> 00:37:44,095 In 1901, 741 00:37:44,229 --> 00:37:46,331 he patented an apparatus for the utilization 742 00:37:46,464 --> 00:37:48,099 of radiant energy. 743 00:37:49,434 --> 00:37:53,004 The patent refers to the sun as well 744 00:37:53,138 --> 00:37:57,308 as other sources of radiant energy, like cosmic rays. 745 00:37:57,442 --> 00:37:58,543 - Nikola Tesla was 746 00:37:58,676 --> 00:38:00,311 one of the first people to realize 747 00:38:00,445 --> 00:38:02,847 that we have an almost endless supply of energy 748 00:38:02,981 --> 00:38:05,850 coming in from space, from our own sun. 749 00:38:05,984 --> 00:38:08,219 I bet you wouldn't be surprised to find out that today, 750 00:38:08,353 --> 00:38:10,755 all kinds of applications run on solar power. 751 00:38:12,190 --> 00:38:15,827 - [Narrator] Tesla also championed geothermal power. 752 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:19,364 In 1931, he wrote an article for The New York Times 753 00:38:19,497 --> 00:38:22,200 entitled "Our Future Mode of Power", 754 00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:25,136 which explored how to utilize the earth's natural energy. 755 00:38:27,005 --> 00:38:28,306 - [Nikola Tesla] "All that is necessary 756 00:38:28,439 --> 00:38:30,875 is to find an economic and speedy way 757 00:38:31,009 --> 00:38:33,578 of sinking deep shafts to tap 758 00:38:33,711 --> 00:38:37,448 into this enormous geothermal energy." 759 00:38:41,686 --> 00:38:43,721 - One cutting edge car maker is paying homage 760 00:38:43,855 --> 00:38:45,957 to Tesla's green foresight by adopting 761 00:38:46,090 --> 00:38:47,458 his name. 762 00:38:47,592 --> 00:38:49,894 Today, Tesla motors produces the best selling 763 00:38:50,028 --> 00:38:51,830 electric vehicles on the market. 764 00:38:51,963 --> 00:38:53,832 The company's all electric fleet includes cars 765 00:38:53,965 --> 00:38:57,535 assisted by cutting edge autopilot technology. 766 00:38:57,669 --> 00:39:00,171 A step towards a potentially self-driving vehicle. 767 00:39:01,539 --> 00:39:03,741 The company began cranking out electric vehicles 768 00:39:03,875 --> 00:39:07,545 in 2008 with a battery driven Tesla Roadster, 769 00:39:07,679 --> 00:39:08,947 a vehicle that used a version 770 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:12,483 of its namesake and better's AC induction motor. 771 00:39:12,617 --> 00:39:16,621 The Roadster could go from zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds 772 00:39:16,754 --> 00:39:19,924 and travel more than 200 miles without a drop of gas. 773 00:39:23,661 --> 00:39:25,964 (electricity buzzes) 774 00:39:26,097 --> 00:39:28,533 Tesla was also a green lighting pioneer. 775 00:39:28,666 --> 00:39:31,469 At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, 776 00:39:31,603 --> 00:39:33,905 Tesla displayed a fluorescent bulb that burned 777 00:39:34,038 --> 00:39:35,807 much cooler and lasted longer 778 00:39:35,940 --> 00:39:38,409 than Edison's incandescent bulbs. 779 00:39:38,543 --> 00:39:42,413 A forerunner of today's longer lasting efficient lighting. 780 00:39:44,349 --> 00:39:46,551 - This is an actual Edison light bulb. 781 00:39:46,684 --> 00:39:51,022 This filament's made of carbon and by passing electricity 782 00:39:51,155 --> 00:39:53,758 through it, it becomes heated and this heat produces 783 00:39:53,892 --> 00:39:54,892 a white light, 784 00:39:56,995 --> 00:39:58,563 More than half of the energy that went 785 00:39:58,696 --> 00:40:00,732 into this light bulb produced heat instead of light 786 00:40:00,865 --> 00:40:03,668 and that made it very inefficient. 787 00:40:03,801 --> 00:40:07,705 Tesla as a result developed a lamp on a different principle 788 00:40:07,839 --> 00:40:09,007 that didn't produce heat. 789 00:40:09,140 --> 00:40:12,477 It produced light by a gas inside of a bulb. 790 00:40:12,610 --> 00:40:14,979 The electricity enters the bulb through the ends 791 00:40:15,113 --> 00:40:16,848 and there's electrodes inside. 792 00:40:16,981 --> 00:40:20,451 And as it enters the bulb, the gas would get excited 793 00:40:20,585 --> 00:40:23,254 and ignite inside lighting the whole space 794 00:40:23,388 --> 00:40:24,989 within the walls of the tube. 795 00:40:27,926 --> 00:40:32,297 The result was the light was brighter, 796 00:40:32,430 --> 00:40:35,833 it ran cooler and it was more efficient than Edison's bulb. 797 00:40:35,967 --> 00:40:38,236 The modern compact fluorescent light operates 798 00:40:38,369 --> 00:40:39,804 on the same principle. 799 00:40:39,938 --> 00:40:42,740 There's gas inside that's excited by a high voltage. 800 00:40:45,810 --> 00:40:48,613 And this is Tesla's principle still used today. 801 00:40:50,214 --> 00:40:51,649 - [Narrator] Which other of Tesla's ideas 802 00:40:51,783 --> 00:40:53,651 were too far ahead of his time? 803 00:40:54,786 --> 00:40:57,188 History may have neglected this genius, 804 00:40:57,322 --> 00:41:00,858 but today he is being rediscovered. 805 00:41:00,992 --> 00:41:01,993 - I believe that someday 806 00:41:02,126 --> 00:41:04,862 we will reinvestigate Tesla's work 807 00:41:04,996 --> 00:41:06,664 and we will discover the secrets 808 00:41:06,798 --> 00:41:08,166 that he was so confident in. 809 00:41:11,736 --> 00:41:13,972 - Nikola Tesla made the modern world 810 00:41:14,105 --> 00:41:16,808 what it is today and although it took many years 811 00:41:16,941 --> 00:41:19,410 for a lot of people to finally realize it, 812 00:41:19,544 --> 00:41:22,447 I think perhaps that is changing now. 813 00:41:22,580 --> 00:41:24,148 - The legacy of Tesla is really 814 00:41:24,282 --> 00:41:26,484 this creative spirit of the inventor, 815 00:41:26,617 --> 00:41:29,387 to have no bounds on thought. 816 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:32,256 He really believed anything was possible. 817 00:41:33,558 --> 00:41:35,593 - [Nikola Tesla] Let the future tell the truth 818 00:41:35,727 --> 00:41:39,297 and evaluate each one according to their work 819 00:41:39,430 --> 00:41:40,665 and accomplishments. 820 00:41:40,798 --> 00:41:43,301 The present is theirs, the future 821 00:41:43,434 --> 00:41:46,637 for which I really worked, is mine." 822 00:41:46,771 --> 00:41:47,905 Nikola Tesla.