Tesla - Master of Lightning

Today on Far Future Horizons we commemorate Nikola Tesla's 159^th birthday by presenting the PBS documentary Tesla: Master of Lightning.

Nikola Tesla invented many of the electrical technologies which form the basis of our technological civilization, including: alternating-current (AC) power transmission and electric motors; high-frequency (HF) communications, the basis for radio and television; neon lighting; remote radio-control; radio astronomy and X-rays. He was the man that developed the technology that electrified America and the world.

Yet despite his great body of work he is largely forgotten today by the general public.

His visionary genius and technical skill was countered by his lack of business acumen and eccentric personality. After dying penniless in 1943, his "missing papers" regarding the construction of a 'death ray' became the focus of international intrigue.

Tesla’s influence could still be felt in  the twentieth-first century. His research on particle beam weapons led to several American and Soviet military research programs, including the Strategic Defense Initiative, known as SDI or "Star Wars". And maybe one day, late in the twenty-first century, his work may lead to advances in interstellar flight and take humanity to the stars.

Tesla: Master of Lightning is one documentary you will want to add to your collection and is available on DVD from PBS's online store. Shop PBS for this and other documentaries.

Tesla : Master of Lightning

NIKOLA TESLA - MASTER OF LIGHTNING - Discovery... by valeriivankov Copyright Disclaimer Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.