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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of engine does Nikola Tesla invent in Chapter 12, "Robots"?

2. How does George Scherff feel about Nikola Tesla?

3. How tall is Nikola Tesla in the year 1893?

4. What does Nikola Tesla believe can be produced on Earth with an oscillator?

5. When does Nikola Tesla perform a major experiment in his Colorado Springs laboratory?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the six fundamental principles of modern radio, and where does Nikola Tesla demonstrate them in 1893?

2. In Chapter 10, "An Error in Judgment," describe three reasons why Nikola is almost destitute financially.

3. In Chapter 4, "At the Court of Mr. Edison," describe the personality differences between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

4. What contributions does Nikola believe he has made to science as a result of his magnifying oscillator experiments in Colorado Springs?

5. In Chapter 3, "Immigrants of Distinction," why is Nikola Tesla's invention of alternating current so important to the world?

6. Describe three elements of the friendship between Nikola Tesla and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wood Johnson.

7. In Chapter 5, "The War of the Currents Begins," why is Nikola Tesla depressed at age thirty?

8. What invention does Nikola claim to be useful to send signals to Mars, and why is this possible?

9. In Chapter 13, "Hurler of Lightning," what are some of the effects of Nikola Tesla's experiments with the magnifying oscillator in Colorado Springs?

10. In Chapter 3, "Immigrants of Distinction," describe the influence that Charles Bachelor has on Nikola Tesla.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

It seems that Nikola Tesla's decision not to enter into a marriage was part of a deliberate effort to maintain the focus on his career. Yet other successful "money men" and inventors of the times had wives and children. With your knowledge of Nikola, and given the times in which he lived, explain whether you think he would have been able to envision and create the devices and ideas that he did had he been married. Select one or two married "money men" described in the book, and discuss why they were able to be successful. Are the type of women they selected for mates similar to the type of women with whom Nikola affiliated as friends?

Essay Topic 2

Nikola Tesla's cool fireball and one thousand volt electrocution demonstrations fascinates Mark Twain, Joseph Jefferson, and Chauncey McGovern. At the end of the demonstrations, Nikola Tesla explains why he can stand briefly on the platform with high voltage yet not get electrocuted. Choose one of the following options to write about.

1) Describe the professions of Nikola Tesla's three guests and why you think Nikola Tesla gives these particular demonstrations.

2) Why does Nikola Tesla explain the rationale for the high voltage platform demonstration?

3) What impression does Nikola Tesla leave with his guests when he does not make a distinction between a human and animal reaction?

Essay Topic 3

While Nikola is assembling his ambitious Wardenclyffe facility to broadcast radio across the Atlantic ocean, Marconi signals the letter "S" across the Atlantic from Cornwall to Newfoundland without the benefit of a great physical plant such as Nikola is building. J.P. Morgan, his financier, takes note. Compare and contrast the overall method of Marconi and Nikola in achieving this goal. Provide your opinion about the ethics involved in Marconi's use of Nikola's original radio patent of 1900 in order to achieve this feat. Why does Nikola allow people to keep beating him at his own game?

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