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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 need now to capitalize on his 1906 invention?

2. What is being manufactured at Wardenclyffe?

3. What is the location of the tower that Nikola Tesla builds for his experiment on Long Island?

4. In what year is Nikola Tesla summoned to court for failure to pay his takes in New York City?

5. What Supreme Court decision about Nikola Tesla's invention eight months after his death vindicates him?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 19, "The Nobel Affair," for what two inventions does Nikola Tesla think he can collaborate with John Hays Hammond, Jr., and why?

2. In Chapter 16,"Ridiculed, Condemned, Combated," what project is responsible for Nikola Tesla getting little sleep?

3. Why does Nikola care for pigeons in Chapter 23, "Pigeons"?

4. Why does Nikola try not to attend the Edison Medal ceremony to receive his award?

5. What use does Nikola describe for radar in Chapter 21, "Radar"?

6. What do Nikola and Ivan Mestrovic have in common, and how do they leverage those commonalities?

7. In Chapter 24, "Transitions," why does Nikola Tesla bemoan the "problem" of women in an interview in the Detroit Free Press?

8. As described in Chapter 28, "Death and Transfiguration," why is Nikola Tesla caught in the middle of politics with regard to the role of Yugoslavia in World War II?

9. Why is Nikola Tesla constantly passed over for fame and fortune for his inventions, especially radio?

10. Whom does Nikola approach for funding for his system to broadcast all wavelength channels from a single station, and why is this person his choice?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

At dinner in the Palm Room of the Waldorf Astoria, Nikola Tesla requires eighteen napkins, polishes the crystal and silver setting, has his meal served by the maitre d'hotel, calculates the cubic contents of his meal, and then departs precisely at 10:00 p.m., all while the other diners maintain their distance and pretend not to stare at him.

Part 1) Discuss how Nikola's compulsive behaviors and expectations affect his ability to produce and bring to closure his experiments, his success over the years raising funds, and his social life.

Part 2) Which of these compulsive behaviors might have helped him, and which would hinder him?

Part 3) If Nikola were alive today, do you think he would he be more likely to better manage some of his compulsions? Why or why not?

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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