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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 does Nikola Tesla believe is the greatest benefit of robots?

2. To what group does Nikola Tesla give a lecture about mechanical electrical oscillators on August 25, 1893?

3. What happens to the electric company generator when Nikola Tesla runs his experiment?

4. What does Nikola Tesla ask Westinghouse to do with their royalties agreement?

5. With what planet does Nikola Tesla say communication can be made?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In Chapter 7, "Radio," why does Nikola Tesla feel the need to go home?

4. How does Nikola out in Colorado keep Scherff motivated while working at the laboratory back in New York?

5. In the "Acknowledgements" section, describe the reasons Leland Anderson is interested in Nikola Tesla.

6. Why does Nikola Tesla become a regular patron at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City in Chapter 8, "High Society"?

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

8. In Chapter 1, "Modern Prometheus," what is the result of Nikola Tesla's fireball demonstration for Mark Twain and several other contemporaries?

9. In Chapter 12, "Robots," why does Nikola Tesla have challenges moving his inventions from his laboratory into working prototypes?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison are two men with a shared interest in science, yet cannot be more different in their outlook on life and approaches to their work.

Part 1) How does Nikola Tesla's and Thomas Edison's first meeting in 1884 set the stage for the personality conflicts that follow?

Part 2) Why does Thomas Edison proceed to put Nikola Tesla to work despite his disdain for alternating current?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 7, "Radio," Nikola Tesla encounters many obstacles that prevent him from focusing on his research with radio.

Part 1) Briefly describe his main distractions and identify which distractions present the greatest obstacles to his success.

Part 2) Why does the author state that it is impossible for Nikola to accept Sir William Crook's advice to focus on one single area of research?

Essay Topic 3

Nikola never profited much financially from any of his inventions, and many were never patented. In addition, many of his ideas were developed decades, or even centuries before science and technology were sufficiently developed to carry the work forward. Choose two of Nikola's inventions, and trace the youth and adult experiences in Nikola's life that contribute to this futuristic outlook. Provide examples in the book that seem to substantiate reasons for his unique ability to see far into the science and technology future.

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