Tesla was a Serbian American who moved to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison in New York City. He is most famous for his break through in the production, transmission and application of electric power.
Tesla performed the first experiments in wireless power transmission in 20th century. The experiment involved spark-excited radio frequency resonant transformers (which is later called Tesla coil), and it generated high AC voltages on elevated capacitive terminals, which marked the successful wireless power transmission for the first time. Later he found that he could increase the transmission distance by using a receiving LC circuit (an electric circuit consisting of an inductor, and a capacitor) tuned to resonance with the transmitter’s LC circuit. The experiment gave a good range of wireless power transmission, about 30 meters, and the resonant inductive coupling which Tesla used is now further developed and utilized in mobile devices’ wireless charging system that we see today. This near-field wireless power transmission did not satisfy Tesla, he was more obsessed with long range wireless power transmission and thought that transmitting wireless power on a global scale was feasible. He believed that he could conduct the Earth and the atmosphere to transfer the energy. Tesla stated he could use balloon to suspend transmitting and receiving terminals in air at about 9,100 meters altitude, due to its low pressure. He claimed at this altitude an ionized layer would allow electricity to be sent at high voltages over long distances.
Tesla had more than 100 patents registered, and these patents support him well financially, so he was able to fund his other science projects.
In today’s world we have wireless charging ability in many mobile devices. It uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between 2 objects. This technology is called inductive charging, and it works by powering a primary coil (usually in the charging station) to charge a secondary coil (usually in the device that’s being charged). The two induction coils combined is called an electrical transformer. When resonant inductive coupling is used the transfer distance can be increased. Wireless charging has many advantages over traditional charging, it provides protected connection so no wires would get corroded over long periods of time. It also provides better safety for medical implants. Although wireless charging has lower efficiency and takes more charging time, the technology itself will get better and better in the future.
Tesla has made important changes in the technology these days, and many wireless technology is based on his previous work and experiments. The famous motor company is named after him to celebrate his success in electric power innovation.
References:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=PW06qF-dj2IC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5167054.stm