Nikola Tesla Informative Speech

Purpose Sentence: The purpose of this speech is to inform my audience about Nikola Tesla and his contributions to society.

Introduction

Attention Getter: According to “Tesla: Electricity’s Mastermind” by Mark Hawthorne, Tesla stated: “What has the future in store for this strange man, born of breath, of perishable tissue, yet mortal with powers fearful and divine? What is to be his greatest deed, his crowning achievement?”

Link: Nikola Tesla was always looking for his ultimate accomplishment.

Thesis: Through hard work Tesla was able to change his world into our modern society with many of his inventions.

Preview: Tesla started his life early learning about electricity, and eventually came up with some of the most important inventions of his time to influence society into how we know it.

Main Point: Life

A.)  Early Life

1.)    According to American National Biography Online, “Nikola Tesla was born on July 9th, 1856 in Smiljan, Croatia. He was the son of Milutin Tesla, a minister in the Serbian Orthodox Church.”

2.)    Plagued by illness as a boy, Tesla spent much of his youth reading and imagining inventions.

3.)    He studied physics, mathematics, and mechanics informally at a university in Prague and formally in Graz, and was also exposed to recent developments in electrical technology.

B.)   Working in America

1.)    Tesla immigrated to New York City to work for Thomas Edison for a year and set up his own company.

2.)    He reported he could see the structure of his machine in his mind, put it in motion, detect problems, make adjustments, and design a perfect invention without placing pen to paper, of performing an experiment.

3.)    His great memory brought him brilliant insights, but also contributed to the difficult he had with working with others who couldn’t follow his logic of arguments.

4.)    Tesla had few friends in New York, but he was mostly alone. He became fond of pigeons and spent much time feeding and caring for them.

5.)    Tesla worked in his laboratory for the rest of his life, except on brief occasions, with one or two laboratory assistants.

6.)    Tesla finally became a U.S. citizen in 1891.

Main Point: Patents and Inventions

A.)   Alternating Current Motor

1.)    Tesla’s first and probably most important achievement was the discovery of the rotating magnetic field.

2.)    Westinghouse, an electric company, needed a more efficient motor than a direct current motor, so Tesla invented one, the alternating current (AC) motor.

3.)    In 1887-1891, under the employment of Thomas Edison, Tesla applied and received a series of patents, based on the concept that two alternating current (AC) sources, out of phase, can create a rotating magnetic field, making an electric motor possible.

4.)      The combination of this motor and system provided the first practical means of generating large quantities of electricity and transmitting it over long distances.

B.)  Tesla Coil

1.)    Tesla invented the “Tesla Coil” to produce higher voltages.

2.)    He devised a transformer which a low-voltage input at very high frequencies could be raised to very high voltages.

3.)    Tesla conducted experiments at a special laboratory in Colorado Springs in 1899, with a tower reaching more than 200 feet above the ground. This is where he built the largest Tesla Coil ever constructed – 12 million volts – in an attempt, partially successful, to send electric power without wires.

4.)    The Tesla Coil was also used in creating spectacular demonstrations, illuminating partially evacuated glass tubes filled with certain gasses – without filaments – and creating light discharges, creating prototypes of modern neon and fluorescent lights.

C.)  Niagara Falls

1.)    Tesla’s basic patents describing generators, transformers, and motors, were purchased by George Westinghouse in 1888.

2.)    They became the basis for the generating station at Niagara Falls in 1895, and in other centralized stations for transmitting electricity long distances.

3.)    According to the book: “Electricity: a Tale of Shock & Awe” by Phill Jones, “In 1896, Westinghouse founded the world’s first hydroelectric generator at Niagara Falls, thanks to Tesla’s help.”

I.                   Main Point: Honors and Contributions

A.)   Honors

1.)    Among many honors, Tesla received degrees from Colombia and Yale University.

2.)    He received the Elliot Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute and in 1917 the Edison Medal of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

3.)    In 1956 Tesla was give a rare honor by having an international electrical measuring unit – for magnetic flux density – named the Tesla.

B.)   Contributions

1.)    Nikola Tesla is not as famous as his contemporary, Thomas Edison, but his inventions brought our world into our modern age.

2.)    If you take all the technology and innovation that’s packing into much of the AV gear these days, how it all comes down to theories, developments, and contributions from two people, one of those being Nikola Tesla.

3.)    Today practically all electricity used in the world is generated and transmitted by means of the 3-Phase system (Polyphase) which Tesla invented.

4.)    Tesla would give the world some of its most important developments of science and technology: wireless communication, alternating current motor, fluorescent lights and the AC electrical distribution system.

Conclusion:

            Labeled “The Man Out of Time,” Tesla developed the polyphase AC system of power transmission, which drives every home and industry in the world. He invented the Tesla coil to create high-frequency electricity, used in TV tubes, neon and fluorescent lighting, radio transmission, remote control and hundreds of other devices which are an essential part of our everyday lives. He harnessed the power of Niagara Falls and took the first X-ray photos. He anticipated the development of radio and television broadcasting, robotics, computers, faxes and even the Strategic Defense Initiative. Tesla remains a challenge to biographers and to scientist alike, many of whom feel that within his speculation and patents lie valuable clues to inventions still to be devised.