Nikola Tesla (and Autism) Brought Us Alternating Current

If you had to make a list of some of the most important inventions of the last several hundred years, alternating current would undoubtedly be right at the top.

Also commonly referred to as AC, alternating current is the type of current generated by the lion\’s share of power plants worldwide right now. It\’s also in use in the vast majority of power distribution systems, too.

When compared with direct current, alternating current isn\’t just more cost-effective – it also results in a far smaller number of energy losses, particularly when energy is transferred over very long distances. Unlike DC, both the direction and the amperage of AC changes many times per second – thus creating a much deeper level of flexibility, too.

All told, the benefits of alternating current are as significant as they are plentiful. It\’s a cheap (not to mention efficient) method of voltage stepping that is used by transformers, power lines, and more. This alone can help save utility companies (and by extension, consumers) significant amounts of money, all while helping to reduce pollution as well. It\’s an advancement that brings with it very low maintenance costs in terms of high-speed alternating current motors, and it\’s also very easy to interrupt the current, too. This last point is particularly important, as it\’s essentially what allows the circuit breaker in your average home to function. Circuit breakers have the ability to interrupt far less direct current than alternating current – or about 1/20th as much, to be precise.

All of this was the result of a man named Nikola Tesla – the person who invented the first alternating current motor, and who would go on to develop alternating current generation and transmission technologies. He was very famous (not to mention respected) during his time, and is indeed responsible for a lot of the inventions that we now take for granted. In addition to alternating current, he\’s also directly responsible for the technology that would be used in the Tesla Coil (hence the name), magnifying transmitters, turbines, radios, neon lamps, and even hydroelectric power.

And, although it is essentially unconfirmed because it did not become a widespread diagnosis until well into the 20th century, Nikola Tesla was likely autistic as well.

Nikola Tesla: His Story

According to records that have been compiled over the years. Nikola Tesla displayed numerous characteristics that very likely placed him on the autism spectrum. These included having a large number of phobias, being prone to self-isolation, having an almost extreme sensitivity to light and sound, and more. He was also reportedly obsessed with the number three – and people with autism tend to fixate on things exactly in this manner. 

Nikola Tesla was actually born and raised not in the United States, but in the Austrian Empire. It was here that he studied both engineering and physics all throughout the 1870s – this despite that he never actually earned a degree. All throughout this time, he gained practical experience working for various businesses in the power industry. He moved to the United States in 1884, quickly becoming a naturalized citizen thereafter.

He spent some time working for a company called Edison Machine Works, before moving out on his own. He found partners to help finance the myriad of different ideas he wanted to bring to the world and set up both labs and companies all across New York.

Tesla also spent much of the 1890s conducting high-frequency power experiments in both New York and Colorado Springs. These experiments, tackling everything from wireless lighting the potential for global wireless power distribution, ultimately made people realize that wireless communication was possible. He soon tried to bring these theories into reality by spearheading the Wardenclyffe Tower project – one that would act as a wireless transmitter that could send power from one continent to another. Unfortunately for all of us, he ran out of money before this could be completed.

Unfortunately, Nikola Tesla\’s life came to a less-than-satisfactory end. He spent years engaged in lawsuits over his wireless technology and battled the likes of Thomas Edison for stealing his ideas. He was unable to turn his genius into financial stability and moved from one New York City hotel to another all throughout the early 1900s, leaving a dearth of unpaid bills in his wake. At the age of 86, Tesla would pass away due to coronary thrombosis – alone in a hotel room, only to later be discovered by a maid.

But Nikola Tesla\’s contribution to our daily lives is nothing if not undeniable – and alternating current is maybe the biggest example of that. Without it, all of our lives would look quite a bit different. So the next time you turn on the lights, or a circuit breaker trips in your home, think of Nikola Tesla and thank him – and his likely autism – for making it all possible.