Remarkable contribution of Tesla and Pupin to humanity related to technological progress and development
Some of the greatest minds, whose work has greatly changed the world we live in today, were of Serbian origin. These great minds, scientists and inventors have, through their actions, indebted not only Serbia, but the whole world as well.
The famous scientists, such as Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin, contributed remarkably to humanity, technological progress and development. Nikola Tesla, born into Serbian family in small village of Smiljan in Croatia and Mihajlo Pupin born in Idvor, Serbia, spent most of their lives in America, but their work was recognized worldwide. Pupin had 75 of his patents granted in 21 countries, whereas Tesla had 311 patents granted in 28 different countries, out of which 112 were in the USA.
Visiting Serbia is a great opportunity to learn more about these great minds at the Museum of Nikola Tesla in Belgrade and the Museum Complex of Mihajlo Pupin in Idvor, Pupin’s birthplace.
Located in a 20th century villa, the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade keeps Tesla’s inventions, medals, tools and documents, as well as his personal possessions. Some of Tesla’s inventions include the rotating magnetic field, the induction motor and the alternating current polyphase system which helped “light up the world” and bring electricity into people’s homes on a large scale. Tesla’s personal possessions attract a great deal of attention, such as his bed from the room 3327 of the famous New Yorker Hotel, where Nikola Tesla spent the final ten years of his life.
The greatest treasure of this museum is Tesla’s archive, comprising more than 160,000 documents, manuscripts, notes, photographs, calculations, schemes, drawings, books etc. Due to its immense importance for humanity, the Nikola Tesla Archive has been inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World list.
In Northern Serbia one can discover more about the life of Mihajlo Pupin, also known as Michael Idvorsky Pupin. “Pupinization“ is the patent he is most famous for and it includes the great extension of the range of long distance telephone communication by placing loading coils (made of wire) at predetermined intervals along the transmitting wire. In the house where he was born one can see the place where his love of science first came to life and the starting point for many of his discoveries.
Visiting Tesla’s and Pupin’s museums is like taking an interesting walk through time and history – a walk through the great scientific discoveries which marked the 20th century.