Photograph by Violet Kashi, “Touch the Light” (via 21081379)

You may recognize the plasma lamp, a popular item designed by Bill Parker in the 1970s, without knowing it was originally developed by Nikola Tesla in the late nineteeth century. What Tesla called the “inert gas discharge tube” was just one novel product of his on-going electrical experimentations, a life-long work that inspired and laid the foundations for our modern technological world. While some may applaud his development of alternating current and radio, or marvel at the effects of Tesla coils and plasma lamps, these must be seen as the beginnings, and not the ending, of what are Tesla’s great contributions to science and society, and there is much left to be learned from his research.

As far as we appear to have come, there is further to go if we are to understand, recreate, and expand on the theories and technologies he envisioned. There is more to Tesla than meets the eye.

(Source: b-t-2-1-0-8)

On July 10th, the anniversary of his birth, many people and organizations around the world will be participating in a celebration and salute to the achievements of Nikola Tesla. We would like to do our part in spreading awareness of the works of Tesla, to promote education about him, and so offer the following links as a brief initiatory framework:

“My Inventions”: the Autobiography of Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla’s autobiography, “My Inventions”, was originally printed by ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTER magazine in six parts, commencing in the February 1919 issue through until the June 1919 issue, and concluding in the October 1919 issue. It presents a brief look at Tesla’s life, his discoveries and inventive processes, and how he envisioned his discoveries being used in the future.

• “The Broadcast Power of Nikola Tesla”: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
  [Gerry Vassilatos’s three-part exploration of Tesla’s history and thinking.]
• “The Tesla Mystique”
  [George Trinkaus discusses the storied mythology of Nikola Tesla, debunking the legends to reveal the true man behind the curtain.]
• “Communicating with Mars: The Experiments of Tesla & Hodowanec”
  [Robert Nelson looks at Tesla’s unorthodox experiments in interplanetary communications]
• The Ray of Discovery - Nikola Tesla
  [A Tesla telecast by Gerry Vassilatos, 90 mins]

Whatever you end up doing this Sunday, we encourage you all to take a moment to remember and recognize this great man, and to consider how you might participate in the important work of not only preserving his legacy, but continuing to expand upon it into the future.

With Nikola Tesla Day (July 10) fast approaching, kookscience is here to remind us what one might want to drink in celebration:

“[Nikola Tesla] drank whiskey, for this he considered a very beneficial source of energy and an invaluable means for prolonging life. It was responsible, he believed, for the longevity enjoyed by many of his ancestors. It would enable him, he declared early in the century, to live to one hundred and fifty.” — James J. O’Neill, Prodigal Genius: The Life of Nikola Tesla

Screen capture from “Tajna Nikole Tesle” (Secret of Nikola Tesla)

(Source: )

We are whirling through endless space, with an inconceivable speed, all around us everything is spinning, everything is moving, everywhere there is energy.

(Source: enigmaland)