Nikola Tesla and his light of the future

When we talk about the development of modern lighting, it is hard not to start by asking what would have happened if Edison’s direct current (DC) system had won the “war of electricity” instead of Tesla’s alternating current (AC). Direct current would have required a power plant to be located in close proximity to every street, factory, or home. It cannot withstand long-distance transmission. This would have made mass electrification – and therefore lighting – extremely expensive. It would also be logistically demanding and only available in densely populated urban centers.

Thanks to Tesla’s alternating current, energy can be transmitted over miles. This is why electric lighting has reached villages, homes, factories, hospitals and schools.

Wireless transmission and a vision of light without borders

Nikola Tesla didn’t stop at distributing energy through wires. In the late 19th century, he experimented with the wireless transmission of electrical energy via electromagnetic waves. During demonstrations in his laboratory, he managed to light fluorescent tubes without any physical connection. For his time (and for many today, note) it was pure science fiction. Although his idea of ​​a global wireless network for energy transmission did not come to fruition due to technological and economic constraints, today’s experiments with wireless LED lighting systems, wireless chargers, and even quantum energy follow in Tesla’s footsteps.

A pioneer in energy efficiency ahead of its time

In an era when lamps consumed too much energy and heat was an almost inevitable side effect, Tesla sought ways to make electricity produce more light with less loss. His experiments with high-frequency currents, gas-filled tubes, and high-energy radiation suggested a path toward lighting that was more efficient and less dependent on directly burning energy into heat. Today, with LED and OLED technologies dominating the market as highly efficient light sources, it is hard not to see Tesla’s anticipation of these principles.

The technical father of the LED?

Although he did not invent LEDs, Tesla opened the door to understanding light as a consequence of the interaction of energy and matter. His experiments with plasma and fluorescent tubes created light without the classic incandescent filament. These ideas, although not yet realized at the time, were later built upon in the development of LED and OLED lighting – a technology that today dominates design, architecture, and everyday life due to its compactness, durability, and minimal consumption.

Why doesn’t Tesla’s fame still shine in its full glory?

Despite everything, Nikola Tesla is often overshadowed by more popular names like Edison. One reason lies in his lack of interest in commercializing his inventions, but also in his character – a penchant for solitude, esoteric themes, and pre-war idealism. Tesla was a man who approached inventions as visions, not commodities. However, in an era when a balance is once again sought between technology and ethics, nature and progress, his legacy is gaining weight. In the lighting that we take for granted today, his idea of ​​accessible, clean, and affordable energy shines.

Recall that Tesla was born on July 10, 1856, in the village of Smiljan, which was then in the Habsburg Monarchy, and today is in the Republic of Croatia, near Gospić. As a young scientist, he ended up in the United States, where he worked for Thomas Edison at one point.