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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. In the year 1888, who buys Nikola Tesla's patents to use in his electric company?

2. In what city does Nikola Tesla study after running out of funds for college?

3. What is the Tesla coil?

4. After World War II, much of Nikola Tesla's library materials are shipped where?

5. In what 1896 publication is there speculation about Nikola Tesla's status with women?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. 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?

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

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

Over a period of several decades, Nikola Tesla has a platonic relationship with Katherine Johnson. Describe the reasons you think Nikola and Katherine have for valuing this relationship. What does Katherine provide Nikola? And in turn, what does Nikola bring Katherine? What reasons is this friendship able to survive for so many years, especially since Katherine is married to Nikola Tesla's friend Robert Underwood Johnson?

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