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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 reward does Thomas Edison offer Nikola Tesla for completing the work with the dynamo?

2. In what city does Nikola Tesla give a lecture to the Institution of Electrical Engineers?

3. What is the name of the lamp that Nikola Tesla invents?

4. What does Nikola Tesla invent that is used in Rahway, New Jersey?

5. What is Nikola Tesla's first two-way radio controlled object?

Short Essay Questions

1. Nikola produces the first x-ray picture in America. Why does he not commercialize this discovery?

2. Nikola's demonstration of the world's first radio-controlled boat doesn't make a big splash. Why is this?

3. What potential modern applications does author Margaret Cheney describe for Nikola Tesla's invention of a peculiar and sensitive vacuum tube?

4. In Chapter 4, "At the Court of Mr. Edison," why is the early relationship between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison strained?

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

6. In Chapter 11, "To Mars," what patents does Nikola file in November, 1897, and what application do they potentially support?

7. In Chapter 6, "Order of the Flaming Sword," Nikola Tesla develops what he calls a carbon button lamp. For what later device does the lamp serve as a prototype?

8. In Chapter 9, "High Road, Low Road," Nikola Tesla focuses on the use of alternating current for electricity generation, while his competitor Thomas Edison refuses to endorse anything but direct current. How is the electricity generation business divided in the mid-1890s in Buffalo?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Both Nikola Tesla and Robert Golka carry out their work as "loners", not affiliating with other companies or research colleagues. What challenges do they share because of this way to work? Why do they both eschew control from an outside organization? Was it possible to be successful in the research world without these connections in the times in which Nikola lived? How about today?

Essay Topic 2

After the fire in Nikola's laboratory, he is almost financially destitute. Nonetheless, he makes several judgment errors. List at least five errors and select the two that most inhibit Nikola's work during that time period. Describe your reasons for your selections.

Essay Topic 3

Nikola's expresses two goals for his move to Colorado Springs -- to beat Marconi with a wireless system, and to transmit energy plentifully and cheaply around the Earth. There is no documented information to support research for either of these goals. Although Nikola is satisfied himself that he can make lightning dance and has received messages from outside the earth's atmosphere, he has failed in his attempt to reach both of his stated goals. Explain the reasons for the failure and his eventual departure from Colorado Springs. What, if anything has he learned that may help him do things differently back in New York?

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