IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014 - 14

illusions right...illusions got ahead of the ideal,
and Tesla suffered a nervous breakdown when
he was unable to grasp the disjuncture between
how he thought his system should work versus
how the Earth actually responds."

Tesla and his work on AC power, wireless, the Tesla
oscillator, and other technologies.
While this book is thoroughly enjoyable and informative, it is not without problems. There are some factual errors and misstatements that may go unnoticed
by the casual reader but will likely be troublesome to
Carlson says that following Tesla's breakdown in
the wireless aficionado. For example, Carlson writes
1905, ideal and illusion continued to shape his creative
that there was a "1935 ruling by the United States
approach to the very end, but added,
Court of Claims that invalidated the
"While he lived another thirty-eight
fundamental Marconi patent because
"The Hertz wave
years, his career as a bold innovator
it was anticipated by Tesla and other
theory of wireless
had come to an end."
early inventors." However, the patent
transmission may be to which this ruling refers - U.S.
Carlson uses an epilogue not only
kept up for a while,
to reflect on Tesla as a cultural figpatent no. 763  772 for tuning - is
ure but also to reflect on what can be
but I do not hesitate not the fundamental Marconi patent,
learned from him about the innovaas Carlson asserts. The patent historito say that in a
tion process and the role innovation
cally cited as the fundamental Marshort time it will be
plays in the economy. He says Tesla
coni patent is U.S. patent no. 586 193
recognized as one of issued on July 13, 1897 - the U.S.
became a figure in popular culture
for the many colorful predictions he
the most remarkable version of the first-ever British patent
made about his inventions such as
for wireless transmission of intelliand inexplicable
accessing unlimited energy from the
gence by Hertzian waves, which also
aberrations of the
earth by wireless, talking to Mars, a
constitutes the first description of a
scientific mind
race of robots, abolishing war, and
complete system of practical Hertzian
death rays. Tesla's concluding statewhich has ever been telegraphy (see for example, [2]-[4]).
ment from an article he published
recorded in history." Further, it is the patent cited by many
in 1919 also assures him eternal
historians that accords Marconi pre-Nikola Tesla, 1919
counter-cultural status among maincedence for creating the art of comstream scientists:
municating intelligence by Hertzian
waves. Perhaps Carlson was misled by the writings of
"The Hertz wave theory of wireless transmisTesla supporters who in recent years have attempted to
sion may be kept up for a while, but I do not
recharacterize the U.S. version of Marconi's 1904 tunhesitate to say that in a short time it will be
ing patent as the "fundamental Marconi patent" in order
recognized as one of the most remarkable and
to support a claim of precedence for Tesla by asserting
inexplicable aberrations of the scientific mind
that the fundamental Marconi patent was invalidated,
which has ever been recorded in history [1]."
thereby attempting to deny him precedence. In fact, the
U.S. version of the fundamental Marconi British patCarlson makes an inexplicable assertion that
ent has been challenged in court but never invalidated.
"Tesla never made it into the history books of the
Perhaps the most significant examples of missecond half of the twentieth century." He follows up
statements occur on p. 210 where Carlson attempts to
with several reasons that do not ring true: 1) "in part,
explain the differences between Marconi's approach
because he never created a major eponymous corporato communicating intelligence using Hertzian radiation to manufacture his inventions," and 2) "...that in
tion and Tesla's approach using earth currents. Carlson
cold war America he was not a useful figure. Unlike
starts out well enough by describing how most early
Edison or the Wright brothers, Tesla was not born
"Hertzian" investigators thought the approach worked:
in America and could not represent 'Yankee Ingenuity...'" This would certainly be a snub if true, and
"They assumed that the transmitter would genwould also constitute a conspiracy of epic proportion
erate electromagnetic waves that would be sent
involving several generations of historians from difthrough the air to the receiver." He then states,
ferent scientific disciplines. In fact, Carlson's asser"The circuit would be completed because both
tion about Tesla's absence from history books appears
the receiver and transmitter were grounded, and
to be untrue, which can be confirmed by Googling
a return current would travel from the receiver
"Nikola Tesla" in "Google Advanced Book Search"
back to the transmitter."
for the period from 1950-2000. There are numerous
books published during this period devoted entirely
However, there is no evidence that the early Hertzto Tesla, and a multitude of books with references to
ians thought that electromagnetic radiation caused or
14

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