Galt's Gulch

Was Tesla John Galt?

Posted by WesleyMooch 12 years, 3 months ago to Science
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Some speculate Nikola Tesla was the living inspiration for Rand's protean protagonist, John Galt. Her passages in Atlas Shrugged on his motor and his evaporating apparatus (which he triggers when the State raids his lab) suggest just such a possibility. Your thoughts?

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  • Posted by Rags2Riches 12 years, 3 months ago
    Tesla was indeed a genius, but, yes, Edison learned how to market. Tesla wanted to benefit mankind, and seemed somewhat naive about selling, distribution,marketing. Perhaps the free energy machine idea came from his discoveries? My question is why do not engineers study Tesla's inventions and work and develop some of these machines? Seems they'd have a world-wide market about now.
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    • Posted by taoz1234 11 years, 7 months ago
      Many engineers have tried to replicate his experiments but have failed to do so. First, nearly all his schematics were in his head- he never had to write them down. Second, OAP for some reason confiscated his estate (even though he was granted US citizenship) and then through some mysterious mishap managed to lose a large portion of his important schematics in a transfer to a different organization. Therefore his secrets are lost at the moment
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    • Posted by Superintendent 12 years, 3 months ago
      If I remember clearly, broadcasting power never really worked. To my humble knowledge, it is possible to broadcast electrical energy efficiently up to 4' in laboratory conditions.

      Once again, my humble knowledge of modern physics let me believe that most of Tesla's leftover works is impractical at best and demented plans at worst. Nevertheless, his name needs to be celebrated as the technological genius he was.
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      • Posted by Steve66oh 12 years, 3 months ago
        The biggest problem I see with broadcasting power is that I can't imagine how power receivers would be metered so that the one transmitting the power could be compensated fairly for the value he broadcasts.

        Second problem is figuring out how to prevent stray reception of power by anything conductive, from the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge, to every metal handrail in every elementary school.

        The third problem is the actual wireless transmission of power. Broadcasting suffers from the geometrical problem of distance - intensity falls in proportion to the square of distance when the emitter radiates uniformly to all points of a sphere. The Sun is an effective broadcaster of power, but only because it's so incredibly large. Focused beams of electromagnetic radiation can carry power as light or as microwaves, but this poses risks to anything that passes through the beam, and it would still require wired transmission at each beam endpoint.
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        • Posted by taoz1234 11 years, 7 months ago
          #1- that's the point of free energy- it's free
          #2- to conduct or tap the energy being transmitted wirelessly would require a receiver tuned to the same resonant frequency. This means anything that accidentally achieves this frequency could inadvertently achieve several thousand volts fairly quickly- minor safety precautions could render this a small risk considering the benefits.
          #3- Tesla wished to achieve resonance with electromagnetic standing waves created by the cavity between the atmosphere and surface of the earth, greatly increasing the distance one is able to transmit power. Essentially he would have used the atmosphere to transmit worldwide.
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  • Posted by Rags2Riches 12 years, 3 months ago
    One bio of Tesla implied that Tesla was stopped because Edison/Westinghouse could not make money off of it...I do not know a lot about physics, but have seen a video of a museum of some of Tesla's generators that run on some particles that come from the sun. Guess we need a physicist & engineer. What about rumors of big businesses buying out inventors of super effcient cars, etc? Any truth to those? Anyone here been a witness to such an incident? Just curious.
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    • Posted by 2nd-Assistant 12 years, 3 months ago
      "Wizard -Life and times of Nicola Tesla" is a great Biography. In this book, JP Morgan, having just made enormous investments in copper for the infrastructure of signal cables and conductors, hear that Tesla was going to create technology to transmit electric power without wires. Morgan funded Tesla's Wardenclyffe experiment and facility - but did it in a way to force failure (not enough $$). Interestingly, it was just 100 years ago on Long Island (site is behind the Wading River Post office). Tesla stated that only FEEBLE amounts of power could be transmitted (I think it was via the Earth Ground)
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      • Posted by Rags2Riches 12 years, 3 months ago
        You may be right. I seemed to remember that Westinhouse was also involved with Edison. They were visionaries to see the opportunity in the new discoveries about electricity, and wanting to get in on the ground floor.
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        • Posted by 2nd-Assistant 12 years, 3 months ago
          Edison and Westinghouse were rivals in their day... and remain so today as GE (Edison's company - Oldest DOW Stock) and Westinghouse. Too bad Westinghouse is now a fully owned entity of Toshiba.... it still resides in Pittsburgh, Pa and gives Toshiba a better footing in the USA.
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        • Posted by Rags2Riches 12 years, 3 months ago
          but it seems that it would be a great opportunity for someone to study some of his remaining inventions...there is a museum in Europe that has many of his WORKING models, still generating 'free' electricity...look on Youtube, it's a hr. of Tesla bio. I went to public school, and aside from hearing the name "Tesla coil", which meant little to me, I never heard of Tesla till late adulthood.
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  • Posted by 2nd-Assistant 12 years, 3 months ago
    Tesla was a brilliant narcissist -Said he was Altruistic, that his inventions were to serve mankind and expected others to pay his way in the lap of luxury because he was "Tesla". The MOST famous man on earth a century ago - inventor of: 3 phase AC, the AC motors used to this day, Fluorescent lighting, to cite a few. Why do so few know of this man today? Because Edison knew how to sell. Scientifically, compared to Edison, Tesla was the greater man but flawed as are we all.
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    • Posted by gblaze47 12 years, 3 months ago
      I would not say that few people know of him, most people actually do.
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      • Posted by 2nd-Assistant 12 years, 3 months ago
        I work in a power plant, often, people see the Tesla Display ask who was Tesla.... the only thing the recall is a vague notion of a Tesla Coil.... it is a shame. Who knows that Philo Farnsworth invented the TV....
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        • Posted by gblaze47 12 years, 3 months ago
          well, I can't speak for everyone but if my wife who works in the medical field and doesn't like 'techie' stuff knows of him, not because of me but from school, I would say there's more chance that people know more than they let on.
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  • Posted by Gaticus 12 years, 3 months ago
    I know he was the inspiration for the Mad Scientist character later to become Lex Luthor in the Superman comics. There are similarities between the two as far as their ability to create technology. Speaking of Tesla, has anyone seen this thing http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-FW7BYsV... ? It's supposed to be able to convert radiant energy into enough power to charge a cell phone. I believe it's supposed to be able to convert radio waves. Has anyone tried it, and does it work?
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  • Posted by $ Susanne 12 years, 3 months ago
    IMO some of Tesla's ideaswere then, and are indeed now, marketable. Some of his experiemnts are duplicatable. Someone willing to invest the mindpower, money, and muscle could, indeed, make a run at following the traces of his early experiemtnation. A lot of it would be hard work - especially where his records were impounded by the state - but if one man could do it, then it is, by definition, not impossible. To benefit mankind... AND make a fortune doing so? What better tribute to the man...
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  • Posted by Superintendent 12 years, 3 months ago
    Tesla was a genius but also a complete neurotic. In my opinion, Rand might had used a part of Tesla's life (the mysterious motor) just as a way to flesh out John Galt. For the rest, John Galt is as remote as possible of Nikola Tesla.
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    • Posted by jbaker 12 years, 3 months ago
      Agreed. I don't think there is any comparing John Galt and Tesla.
      Genius does not equate to good, or right, or complete, ... Tesla's genius was of a particular bent and, within a larger context, arguably narrow.
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  • Posted by msml 12 years, 3 months ago
    It seems likely. Tesla looked and in some ways acted like royalty. As a person, he was trapped by his OCD. His only romantic relationship was with a dove who spoke to him telepathically.
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