Quote:
All the show of lightning effects sort of distract one from the true contributions of Nikola Tesla, however.


Well, 30 foot man-made lightning is pretty cool....

But you're right: Alternating Current, induction motors, one of the first power plants (Niagara Falls), circuit breakers, radio(!) (debatable, but he deserves a fair bit of credit), noting the danger of X-Rays, as well as inventing various fluid pumps and turbines.

That's a pretty impressive invention list for someone who is surprisingly often thought of as a footnote or a crackpot or "that lightning dude."

Shows the lasting power of Edison's PR machine, I guess.

Anyway, someone else was thinking of him and blogged this today.