My Inventions Nicola Tesla's Autobiography

My Inventions

Nikola Tesla's Autobiography


At the age of 63 Tesla tells the story of his creative life.

First published in 1919 in the Electrical Experimenter magazine.




TESLA'S QUOTATIONS

Before I put a sketch on paper, the whole idea is worked out mentally.

 In my mind I change the construction, make improvements, and even operate the device. Without       ever having drawn a sketch I can give the measurements of all parts to workmen, and when                  completed all these parts will fit, just as certainly as though I had made the actual drawings. It is          immaterial to me whether I run my machine in my mind or test it in my shop. The inventions I have    conceived in this way have always worked. In thirty years there has not been a single exception. My   first electric motor, the vacuum wireless light, my turbine engine and many other devices have all        been developed in exactly this way.                                                                                                          

-- Nikola Tesla

My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get a new idea, I start at once building it up in my imagination, and make improvements and operate the device in my mind. When I have gone so far as to embody everything in my invention, every possible improvement I can think of, and when I see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form the final product of my brain.

-- Nikola Tesla

Download PDF Now