Reasons Telsa is Cool:
Thomas Edison verbally offered Tesla $50,000 (a huge amount at the time) to improve his Direct Current efficiency. When Tesla actually did it, Edison refused to pay up, claiming he had been joking around. Tesla responded by quitting and inventing Alternating Current, which was much more efficient for long distances. Edison’s technology was inferior, so he responded by launching a slander campaign against Tesla’s Alternating Current by publicly electrocuting stray dogs, horses, and eventually people by inventing the electric chair to give AC a bad reputation.
Tesla worked with George Westinghouse to build an AC infrastructure, making so much money in royalties that it threatened to bankrupt Westinghouse’s company. Tesla responded by tearing up his contract, accepting a tiny fraction of the wealth he would be entitled to otherwise.
Other Tesla Awesomeness:
- Developed and used fluorescent and neon lights 40 years before industry “invented” them.
- Designed the first hydroelectric power plant, at Niagara Falls.
- Invented the speedometer.
- Invented the Tesla coil and with it a potential means for distributing free, wireless power. J. P. Morgan initially funded this research, but backed out when they found out it was meant to be distributed for free.
- Experimented extensively with resonance frequency, some say to the effect that he could generate earthquakes.
- Demonstrated the principles behind radio a decade before Marconi “invented” it. Marconi’s patents were later invalidated as a result, but he still receives credit a lot of the time.
- Proposed the concept of radar to Thomas Edison and the military and was laughed at. 25 years later, radar was finally invented.
Source and more: http://www.electroherbalism.com/Bioelectronics/Tesla/TeslaversusEdison.htm