…for achieving extremely high voltages? I’ve heard that his giant coils (Tesla coils) were able to achieve voltages which were beyond any engineering capability of the time. Has anyone duplicated his achievemnts? Finally, his oft-discussed turbine: has any modern turbine engineer reworked his design, and come out with a viable product? It sounds like a very simple design…capable of being produced cheaply-so why isn’t it in use?
It is in use, but it only works for certain applications. It is only particularly efficient for consistent and low-speed flows (of course you can split the flow wider so that it is slower, but then the device needs to bigger.)
I’m not sure why it wasn’t used all that much until recent years, but it does seem to be finding its niche now that Tesla’s name is becoming more known. I think that he did his own image a lot of damage in his life and particular in his older age via extreme claims and, quite honestly, going nuts. So probably there wasn’t a lot of impetus to actually follow up on any of it.
First you have to show that Tesla himself achieved any of the results his acolytes claim for him. Only then can you talk of someone else duplicating them.
And there’s no evidence that Tesla did anything that wasn’t thoroughly of his time, even though he stretched the boundaries of what was then know.
Another thing to bear in mind is that high voltage, in and of itself, is fun but not real useful.
Tesla created high voltages, compared to the guys who were building practical motors & generators to do mechanical work. Those guys ended up with useful products whose descendants we use today.
Tesla’s cool toys are still, well, cool toys for hobbyists. With little or no practical use.
And no, there is nothing Tesla actually provably did that isn’t routinely done by hobbyists & tinkerers today. He was a bleeding-edge tinkerer for his era. Compared to today, his work is anachronistic baby steps.
Tesla invented the AC induction motor, which is probably the most widely utilized type of electric motor. It’s development was the final nail in the coffin of DC distribution, and Tesla was the main promoter of AC distribution, which is of course the current standard. Only using elaborate electronics has DC distribution been able to exceed the efficiency of AC distribution. Tesla probably deserves credit for accelerating the widespread use of electricity by several decades, as compared to Thomas Edison’s DC-centric schemes.
Yes, much of his stuff was esoteric kookiness, but it is wrong to say that none of his work had any practical value.
The OP asked about the Tesla turbine…It is horribly inefficient. It does operate without large scale shear forces in the fluid, so by reversing it and using it as a pump, it can pump water containing fishes without killing them.
What a bizarre and opinionated post for GQ. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to read a factual entry on Tesla before writing so dismissively of him. You appear to have gone to the other extreme of those that make outrageous claims for him.