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      DEDICATED TO THE GREAT GENIUS NIKOLA TESLA

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      Nikola Tesla is a Serbian-American engineer and physicist, inventor in the field of electrical and radio engineering. He is a Serb by nationality, was born in the Austrian Empire, grew up in Austria-Hungary, and in subsequent years mainly worked in France and the USA. In 1891, he received US citizenship. He is widely known for his contribution to the creation of devices operating on alternating current, multiphase systems, a synchronous generator and an asynchronous electric motor, which made it possible to make the so-called second stage of the industrial revolution. He is also known as a proponent of the theory of the existence of ether – thanks to his numerous experiments and experiments aimed at showing the presence of ether as a special form of matter that can be used in technology.

      The unit of measurement of magnetic flux density (magnetic induction) is named after the inventor – Tesla. Among the many awards are the medals of Elliot Cresson, John Scott, Thomas Edison. Contemporary biographers call Tesla "the man who invented the XX century" and the "holy intercessor" of modern electricity. After demonstrating the radio and winning the "War of Currents", Tesla received widespread recognition as an outstanding electrical engineer and inventor. Tesla's early work paved the way for modern electrical engineering, and his discoveries of the early period had innovative significance. In the USA, Tesla's fame could compete with any inventor or scientist in history, as well as in popular culture.

      Tesla's family lived in the village of Smilyan, 6 km from the town of Gospich, the main city of the historical province of Lika, which was part of the Austrian Empire at that time. Father – Milutin Tesla (1819-1879), priest of the Srem Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Serb. Mother – Georgina (Juka) Tesla (1822-1892), nee Mandich, was the daughter of a priest. On July 10, 1856, a fourth child appeared in the family – Nikola. In total there were five children in the family: three daughters – Milka, Angelina and Maritza and two sons – Nikola and his older brother Dan. When Nikola was five years old, his brother died after falling from a horse.

      Nikola graduated from the first grade of primary school in Smilany. In 1862, shortly after the death of Dana, the father of the family was promoted, and the Tesla family moved to Gospić, where Nikola completed the remaining three grades of elementary school, and then the three-year lower real gymnasium, which he graduated in 1870. In the autumn of the same year, Nikola entered the Higher Real School in the city of Karlovac. He lived in the house of his aunt, his father's cousin, Stanki Baranovich. In July 1873, Nikola received his matriculation certificate. Despite his father's order, he returned to his family in Gospic, where there was a cholera epidemic, and immediately became infected. Here 's what Tesla himself told about it:

      "The path of a priest was destined for me from childhood. This prospect hung over me like a black cloud. Having received my matriculation certificate, I found myself at a crossroads. Should I disobey my father, ignore my mother's loving wishes, or submit to fate? This thought oppressed me, and I looked into the future with fear. I deeply respected my parents, so I decided to study spiritual sciences. It was then that a terrible cholera epidemic broke out, which mowed down a tenth of the population. Contrary to my father's orders, which did not allow for objections, I rushed home, and the disease knocked me down. Later, cholera led to dropsy, lung problems and other diseases. Nine months in bed, almost without movement, seemed to have exhausted all my vitality, and the doctors abandoned me. It was a painful experience not so much because of physical suffering, but because of my great desire to live. During one of the attacks, when everyone thought I was dying, my father rushed into the room to support me with these words: "You will recover." I can still see his deathly pale face when he tried to encourage me in a tone that contradicted his assurances. "Maybe," I replied, "I will be able to get better if you let me study engineering." "You will enter the best educational institution in Europe," he replied solemnly, and I realized that he would do it. A heavy load was lifted from my soul. But the consolation might have come too late if I hadn't been miraculously cured by an old woman with a decoction of beans. There was no power of suggestion or mysterious influence in this. The remedy for the disease was in the full sense curative, heroic, if not desperate, but it had an effect."

      The recovered Nikola Tesla was soon to be called up for three years of service in the Austro-Hungarian Army. His relatives considered him not healthy enough and hid him in the mountains. He returned back only in the early summer of 1875.

      In the same year, Nikola entered the Higher Technical School in Graz (now the Graz Technical University), where he began to study electrical engineering. Observing the work of the Gram machine at lectures on electrical engineering, Tesla came to the idea of the imperfection of DC machines, however, Professor Yakov Peshl sharply criticized his ideas, giving a lecture before the entire course on the impracticability of using alternating current in electric motors. In his third year, Tesla became interested in gambling, losing large amounts of money at cards. In his memoirs, Tesla wrote that he was driven "not only by the desire to have fun, but also by failures in achieving the intended goal." He always distributed winnings to losers, for which

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