Nikola Tesla

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Virtues and failings

  “Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.”

  Our noteTesla reflects on the inseparable nature of human qualities in an essay about increasing human energy.

• Working for future

  “Let the future tell the truth and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.”

  Our noteTesla expresses his confidence that his long-term contributions will be recognized by future generations.

• Instant communication

  “We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance.”

  Our noteTesla predicting the future of wireless technology and global connectivity.

• The cost of ignorance

  “There can be no doubt that, of all the frictional resistances, the one that most retards human movement is ignorance.”

  Our noteTesla identified ignorance as the primary obstacle to human progress.

• Material competition

  “Aluminium, however, will not stop at downing copper. Before many years have passed it will be engaged in a fierce struggle with iron, and in the latter it will find an adversary not easy to conquer.”

  Our noteTesla forecasts the market competition between aluminum and established metals like iron.

• Limits of theory

  “My experience is that calculation of the length of the wires leads, in such case, to no result whatever.”

  Our noteTesla notes that practical experimentation often succeeds where pure calculation fails.

• Observation Leads to Insight

  “I have dwelt at some length upon the various forms of brush discharge because, in studying them, we not only observe phenomena which please our eye, but also afford us food for thought, and lead us to conclusions of practical importance.”

  Our noteTesla emphasizes that observing physical phenomena leads to practical engineering breakthroughs.

• Practicality of innovation

  “However impracticable this plan of working may appear in many cases, it certainly seems practicable, and even recommendable, in the production of light.”

  Our noteTesla evaluates the feasibility of wireless or single-wire systems for lighting.

• Approximating theoretical ideals

  “It is, of course, out of the question to reach this theoretical result, but it is possible by a proper construction of the illuminating device to approximate it more or less.”

  Our noteHe acknowledges that while perfection is impossible, smart design gets you closer.

• Overcoming initial difficulties

  “The preceding remarks are only made to aid the experimenter in the first trials, for the difficulties which he encounters he may soon find means to overcome in his own way.”

  Our noteTesla encourages experimenters to find their own solutions to technical hurdles.

• Limits of chemistry

  “In a chemical process we are limited. When oxygen and hydrogen combine, they fall, metaphorically speaking, from a definite height.”

  Our noteTesla explains why chemical reactions cannot reach the extreme temperatures possible through molecular bombardment in a vacuum.

• Material compatibility

  “A carborundum coating seems to be more durable than other coatings, not only because the carborundum can withstand high degrees of heat, but also because it seems to unite with the carbon better than any other material I have tried.”

  Our noteTesla notes why carborundum is superior to other oxides for coating lamp filaments.

• Advantages of frequency

  “The high frequency secures, among others, two chief advantages, which have a most important bearing upon the economy of the light production.”

  Our noteTesla highlights why high frequency is essential for efficient light bulbs.

• Need for careful scrutiny

  “As many important results are dependent upon the correctness of the estimation of the vibration period, this subject demands the most careful scrutiny of other investigators.”

  Our noteTesla emphasizes the importance of precision in measurement for scientific progress.

• Superiority of liquid insulation

  “In oil or other liquid dielectrics there are seemingly no such losses as in gaseous media.”

  Our noteHe compares the energy loss in different types of insulating materials.

• Diverting energy

  “From the behavior of gases to sudden impulses of high potential I am led to conclude that there can be no surer way of diverting a lightning discharge than by affording it a passage through a volume of gas”

  Our noteTesla explains his theory on the most effective way to manage lightning discharges.

• Experience eases tasks

  “At the beginning the task appeared difficult, but the experiences gathered permitted me to reach the result easily.”

  Our noteTesla reflects on the process of achieving incandescence in a vacuum tube.

• Transmission limitations

  “Ordinary conductors rapidly lose the facility of transmitting electric impulses when the frequency is greatly increased.”

  Our noteTesla discusses the technical challenges of using high-frequency currents in standard wires.

• Wireless future vision

  “But such cables will not be constructed, for ere long intelligence--transmitted without wires--will throb through the earth like a pulse through a living organism.”

  Our noteTesla predicts the shift from physical cables to wireless global communication.