Nikola tesla died with a huge secret

Thanks to the marvel that is the internet, we can save some time by not having to say much about who Nikola Tesla was, or what he achieved throughout his life. But for those of us who don’t know that much about him, Tesla was the man who discovered alternating current, which was far more practical and safe than Edison’s direct current. He’s also credited for inventing the Tesla coil, the radio transmitter, and fluorescent lamps, and by the early 1900s was regarded as America’s greatest electrical engineer.

But for all his worth, Tesla wasn’t able to complete what would have been his crowning achievement: bringing free wireless electricity to the whole world. In 1905, with the financial aid of entrepreneur J.P. Morgan, Tesla began working on the Wardenclyffe Tower, a prototype that was aimed to use both the ionosphere above and the entire planet below as electrical conductors. It would be capable of transporting electrical energy anywhere in the world. However, the economic instability that hit the United States shortly after construction began ensured that this ambitious project would never come to fruition.

When Tesla died in 1943, he more or less took wireless electricity with him. Even though many have tried to replicate his works, all hit a brick wall when studying his notes. Since Tesla relied heavily on his photographic memory, his notes were comprised mostly of sketches and scattered details, offering those who tried to follow in his footsteps little to no aid.