Eisen-Suppressed-Inventions-and-other-Discoveries-True-Stories-of ...

416 Suppressed Inventions and Other Discoveries
His rotating magnetic field would not only mean a better motor, it would
revolutionize the electrical industry. He mapped out refinements of the idea
with several or even five overlapping currents at a time—the basis of a
polyphase transmission system. But first he had to convince someone to
finance the development of these world-changing inventions. A steppingstone
to that goal was a job in Paris later that year, where he attracted the
attention of the Continental Edison Company by his successes as a troubleshooter
who fixed their dynamos. Another step was to demonstrate the
first induction motor for the mayor of Strassburg. The mayor had invited
wealthy potential investors to the demonstration, but they failed to comprehend
Tesla's vision of a future for the brushless motor.
DITCHDIGGER TO MILLIONAIRE
Surely it would be welcomed in America, Tesla thought. At twenty-eight
years of age he was ready to make his move to the land of opportunity,
where he expected that his great discovery would be quickly developed
for humanity's use. Before Tesla left Paris, one of his bosses at
Continental Edison handed him a letter introducing him to the famous
inventor Thomas Alva Edison.
"I know two great men and you are one of them; the other is this young
man," the letter read.
When Tesla stepped off the ship in New York on June 6, 1884, he only
had four pennies in his pocket, because he had been robbed on the way to
the ship. But he did not at all resemble the stereotypical impoverished
immigrant; he wore a bowler hat and stylish coat, and his posture was aristocratic.
He still had the letter of introduction to Thomas Edison.
Edison, then age thirty-seven, had already proven his ability as a businessman
as well as inventor. He was a hero to Tesla at first. The polite
European admired Edison's accomplishments—discoveries made by trialand-error
and with only grade-school level of formal education. Tesla
ignored his rough manners. But Edison on the other hand repudiated
Tesla's theory on how to work with AC electricity; Edison used DC in his
electric lamps and had invested all his efforts in DC technologies.
Tesla was put to work repairing and improving Edison's DC dynamos
and motors on board a ship. He also won Edison's grudging respect by
working eighteen-hour days in Edison's Manhattan workshop, seven days
a week, and by conquering difficult technical problems.
One day Tesla described how he could improve the efficiency of
Edison's dynamo, and Edison reportedly replied, "There's fifty thousand
dollars in it for you if you can do it." The European immigrant worked
tirelessly—thirty-two hours in one stretch. After months of work, the new
machines were tested and found to measure up, and Edison prepared to