Inventor of Dreams

Nikola Tesla, the father of today's AC electrical system and other key inventions, often failed to bring his visionary ideas to real-world fruition

By W. Bernard Carlson

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

When members of the Chicago Commercial Club arrived to hear a lecture by the famed electrical inventor Nikola Tesla on May 13, 1899, they were startled by the sight of an artificial lake sitting in the middle of the auditorium. Everyone knew that Tesla--the man who had devised the alternating-current (AC) system that brought electricity into people's homes and businesses--was a master showman. Six years earlier at Chicago's Columbian Exposition, for example, the dapper engineer had dazzled spectators by sending 250,000-volt shocks coursing through his body. Now the audience was abuzz, wondering what Tesla was going to do with his miniature lake and the six-foot boat that floated on its surface.

Abruptly, the craft began to motor around the pool on its own, with lights blinking. From the side, Tesla operated a remote-control unit that conveyed commands to the boat via invisible radio waves. The crowd was astonished. He then invited individuals to shout out commands: "Turn left! Flash the lights!" Using his wireless transmitter, Tesla signaled the boat, and it executed the requested maneuvers. With the Spanish-American War having just come to an end, the audience was impressed by Tesla's proposal to arm a larger vessel with dynamite and then steer it by remote control toward an enemy naval ship. Here, more than a century ago, was a prototype for the guided missile.

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American