{"id":17166,"date":"2021-01-20T09:36:17","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T17:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/?p=17166"},"modified":"2022-01-07T08:33:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T16:33:26","slug":"nikola-tesla-inventor-induction-motor-polyphase-electricity-fluorescent-lighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/nikola-tesla-inventor-induction-motor-polyphase-electricity-fluorescent-lighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Nikola Tesla: Inventor of the Induction Motor, Polyphase Electricity, Fluorescent Lighting, and the Tesla Coil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nikola Tesla, pictured at a younger and later age. Image courtesy of Vintage News Daily<\/a><\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A holder of 308 patents<\/a> across 27 countries and five continents, Nikola Tesla, helped revolutionize the electrical world. The Serbian-American inventor\u2019s time with Thomas Edison and Westinghouse gave rise to some of his greatest creations\u2014eventually leading to his own electric company: Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing. How did Tesla\u2019s scientific journey progress? Follow along as we trace Tesla\u2019s career arc from start to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n

Education and Immigration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Nikola Tesla jump-started his education at the Technical University of Graz in Styria, Austria, while living within the Austro-Hungarian Empire before spending a year at the\u00a0University of Prague. He studied math and physics while enrolled. Tesla\u2019s first foray into inventing was actually a spontaneous one. He conceived the brushless AC motor while on a walk\u2014a design reliant on rotating electromagnets. This revelation, and continued creativity, landed him a job with the Continental Edison Company in Paris.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At just 26 years old, while working at\u00a0the\u00a0Central\u00a0Telegraph\u00a0Office in Budapest, Tesla <\/strong>is reported to have developed\u00a0the\u00a0principles of the first rotating magnetic field, which is an idea that is still used today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla soon immigrated to the United States after spending time repairing DC power plants. His 1884 arrival in New York birthed a work opportunity alongside Thomas Edison. Edison promised Tesla $50,000 if he could craft improved designs for his DC (direct current) dynamos. When Tesla later delivered, Edison shrugged off those achievements, instead of chiding Tesla for his naivety and, some believe, effectively stealing his intellectual property.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikola left the company after these events unfolded. This major development and others separated Tesla from inventors like Edison\u2014the latter group becoming equally renowned for their profiteering and innovation. Edison and Tesla’s relationship sparked many debates, including one over who actually invented the light bulb<\/a> and which electric power system would be more widely adopted: Edison’s DC (direct current) or Tesla’s AC (alternating current)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Tesla lacked in business acumen he made up for with altruism. Many who have studied him assert that Tesla\u2019s efforts were centered on bettering the global quality of life<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

Partnering with Westinghouse <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Despite unsuccessfully launching the Tesla Electric Light Company, Tesla gave his investors promise in his work on AC currents. He continued to earn over 30 patents from 1887 to 1888 with this financial boost. Tesla even presented his advancement to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers<\/a>. Nikola Tesla soon found the resources he needed after catching George Westinghouse\u2019s (notable rival of Thomas Edison) eye during his lecture.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tesla subsequently worked under Westinghouse, benefitting from funding, patent licensing, and finally having his own workspace. Nikola enjoyed royalty rights for a time before Westinghouse\u2019s own backers forced him to renege. Undeterred, Tesla and Westinghouse forged ahead. They later unveiled their motor-and-lighting technology at the 1893 Chicago World\u2019s Fair<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late 1880s and 1890s as a whole saw a flurry of inventions<\/a> emerge from Tesla\u2019s laboratory:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n