The Genius of Tesla

The Genius of Tesla. Written by John Peretano.

《天才特斯拉》 约翰·佩雷塔诺 著

The Magician One day a man invited a group of people into his laboratory to watch one of his experiments. As the crowd took their seats, the man, Nikola Tesla, walked calmly to a wooden stage and sat on a chair. Under the stage was a powerful electrical generator. Tesla flipped a switch. Wild streaks of light sparked across the room. Some struck Tesla. When the light show was over, Tesla stepped off the stage unharmed. The crowd burst into applause.

魔术师 有一天，一名男子邀请一群人来到他的实验室，观看他的一项实验。 观众们落座后，这名男子——尼古拉·特斯拉，从容地走到木台边，坐在了椅子上。 木台下方放着一台功率强劲的发电机。 特斯拉扳下了开关。 狂舞的光束在房间里四处迸溅。 有些光束击中了特斯拉。 这场灯光秀结束后，特斯拉走下木台，毫发无伤。 人群瞬间爆发出热烈的掌声。

Tesla was no magician. He was a scientist who had just showed how safe a newly discovered form of electric current was. His discovery, alternating current, AC, changed the world. It would go on to power modern industry and light up nations.

特斯拉根本不是魔术师。 他是一名科学家，刚刚向大家展示了这种新发现的电流有多安全。 他的发现——交流电，简称AC，改变了整个世界。 它后来推动了现代工业发展，点亮了无数国家。

Meeting Mr. Edison. Tesla was born during a lightning storm in 1856 in Eastern Europe. Tesla's love of inventing came from his mother, who built small household appliances in her spare time. Tesla wanted to study electricity when he grew up. After years of schooling and work, he figured out a way to generate electricity safely by using alternating current. Tesla moved to the United States in 1884, at age 28. On his Second day in America, he walked into Thomas Edison's New York office. Tesla handed the great inventor a letter from one of Edison's European friends. It read, My dear Edison, I know two great men, and you are one of them. The other is this young man.

遇见爱迪生先生 特斯拉1856年出生在东欧，降生时正赶上一场雷雨。 特斯拉对发明的热爱来自母亲，母亲闲暇时就会制作小型家用电器。 特斯拉长大后想要学习电学。 经过多年的求学和工作，他找到了使用交流电安全发电的方法。 1884年，28岁的特斯拉移居美国。 到美国的第二天，他就走进了托马斯·爱迪生在纽约的办公室。 特斯拉把爱迪生一位欧洲朋友写的介绍信递给了这位大发明家。 信上写着：亲爱的爱迪生，我知道两位伟大的人，你是其中之一。 另一位就是这个年轻人。

At the time, Edison was famous as the father of the electrical age. He had invented a lighting system that used light bulbs and direct current, DC, power stations. Edison gave Tesla a job. Edison promised the young engineer $50 ,000 if he could increase the power of his DC electric system in New York City. Tesla accepted the challenge.

当时，爱迪生已经赫赫有名，被称为电气时代之父。 他发明了一套照明系统，搭配灯泡和直流电也就是DC电站使用。 爱迪生给了特斯拉一份工作。 爱迪生向这位年轻工程师承诺，如果他能提升纽约市直流供电系统的发电量，就给他五万美元。 特斯拉接受了这个挑战。

Digging Ditches. Tesla worked long hours. He slept and ate very little. A few months later, Tesla announced success. Edison, however, refused to pay the $50 ,000. He said his offer had only been a joke. Tesla was angry. He quit his job and stormed out of Edison's office. However, word spread about Tesla's achievements. A short time later, a group of businessmen asked Tesla to invent a better light bulb. His new light bulb made the businessman rich. Almost none of the money went to Tesla, however. Tesla ran out of money. He took a job digging ditches for Edison's light company. It paid $2 per day. Tesla's luck changed when he met A .K. Brown of the Western Union Company. Tesla told Brown about his ideas of how to use alternating current. Brown was impressed. He gave Tesla money to work on his ideas. Working just a few short blocks from Edison's office, Tesla designed and built all the parts needed for an AC power station.

挖水沟 特斯拉长时间埋头工作。 他吃得极少，睡得也极少。 几个月后，特斯拉宣布改造成功。 可爱迪生却拒绝支付那五万美元。 他说自己的提议只是个玩笑。 特斯拉十分愤怒。 他辞掉了工作，怒气冲冲地走出了爱迪生的办公室。 不过，特斯拉的能力还是传开了。 没过多久，一群商人邀请特斯拉研发一种更好的灯泡。 他发明的新型灯泡让商人们赚了大钱。 可特斯拉几乎没分到一分钱。 特斯拉花光了所有积蓄。 他找了份给爱迪生电灯公司挖水沟的工作。 这份工作一天只有两美元工资。 直到遇见西联电报公司的A·K·布朗，特斯拉的运气才迎来转变。 特斯拉把自己利用交流电的想法告诉了布朗。 布朗十分认可这些想法。 他给特斯拉提供资金，支持他研究自己的想法。 在距离爱迪生办公室仅几个街区的地方，特斯拉设计制造出了交流电站需要的全部零件。