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Among many-many of Tesla’s other achievements:

Nikola Tesla developed the polyphase alternating current system of generators, motors and transformers. He held 40 basic U.S. patents on the system, which George Westinghouse bought, determined to supply America with the Tesla system. Edison did not want to lose his DC empire, and a bitter contest ensued over the use of AC and DC. Tesla -Westinghouse ultimately emerged the victor because AC proved to be superior technology. The outcome was a victory for the progress of both America and the world.

http://www.ejournal.at/buecher/babyl/tesla.html

The Tesla coil is one of Nikola Tesla's most famous inventions. It is essentially a high-frequency air-core transformer which takes the output from a 120vAC to several kilovolt transformer & driver circuit and steps it up to an extremely high voltage. Voltages can get to be well above 1,000,000 volts and are discharged in the form of electrical arcs. Tesla himself produced arcs up to 100,000,000 volts, but I don't think that has been duplicated by anybody else. Tesla coils create extremely powerful electrical fields. Large coils have been known to wirelessly light up florescent lights up to 50 feet away, and the electric field that goes directly into the light without electrodes, even burned-out florescent lights will glow.

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