天才的巅峰对决：爱迪生和尼古拉.特斯拉的争论，究竟几分真，几分假？ [美国媒体]

How much truth is there in the Thomas Edison versus Nikola Tesla debate?

天才的巅峰对决：爱迪生和尼古拉.特斯拉的争论，究竟几分真，几分假？



1.    Hari Acharya, Greatest Geek!!!Answered Sep 27, 2015 · Upvoted by Tom Peracchio
Tesla vs. Edison :
Tesla left Thomas Edison's company frustrated and short changed. This is apopular story, but Tesla wasn't the only one who left Edison the same way.
Edison the Stubborn:As the Tesla popular myth states: Tesla had approachedEdison with the idea of trying AC development, and Tesla was the lonevisionary, however Edison scoffed and said AC would never amount to anything.The truth is he wasn't alone.

特斯拉离开了爱迪生的公司，起初他感到很大的挫败感，不过很快他就恢复了。这是一个众所周知的故事，但是，特斯拉不是唯一一个离开爱迪生公司的人。爱迪生是一个极其顽固的人，就如同流行的特斯拉神话里面所描绘的那样。特斯拉曾经建议爱迪生去尝试一下交流电的技术。特斯拉是一个很有眼光的人，然而，爱迪生拒绝了，爱迪生说交流电永远都不会有什么用。事实上，当时有此想法的人并不是只有爱迪生一个人。

Others approached Edison and got the same results. C. S. Bradley hadworked for Edison, he was convinced about AC's future, he left and invented thethree-phase generator in 1887. Otto Blathy who invented the ZBD Transformer inHungary came on a business trip to meet Edison in 1886. He tried to sell hispatent to Edison, again, Edison scoffed at him. 

另一些人也支持爱迪生的看法，布雷德利也为爱迪生工作，但是，他认同交流电是有前景的，他离开了爱迪生的公司。1877年，他发明了三相电机。奥拓.布兰西发明了ZBD变压器，1886年，他拜访了爱迪生，想要把他的专利卖给爱迪生。爱迪生拒绝了他的要求。

This was clearly a poor business decision because by this pointWestinghouse had already built and demonstrated a working AC system at GreatBarrington, Mass. Elihu Thomson of Thomson-Houston inMassachusetts was already trying to build his own transformer.

这实在是一个糟糕的决定，因为在那个时期，西屋公司已经开始在大巴灵顿建造了一个基于交流电的系统。马萨诸塞州，汤姆森-休斯顿地区的 Elihu Thomson 已经开始要去建立这样的变电系统了。

Another element in the Tesla vs. Edison debate which Tesla fanatics use toenergize support for their "cause" is the electrocution of Topsy theelephant in 1903. Thomas Edison or his PR team, working independently ofGeneral Electric wanted to show the dangers of AC power by killing thisinnocent animal. Tesla is unlikely to have done the same to his credit, butmost people in the population at the time had little regard for the fairtreatment of animals. 

另外一个关于爱迪生和特斯拉的争论是在1903年，当时，爱迪生为了证明交流电的有害性，用交流电电死了一个大象。为了自己的私利，杀害了一个无辜的生命，这个本身不是什么光彩的事情。特斯拉是绝对不会干这种事情的，但是，在那个时期，大家的动物保护意识并不强。

It is unlikely Edison stood out from other innovators who used animals totest medical treatments or conduct painful experiments. It was clearly a darktime for animals in industry. In 1903 General Electric had already been makingrevolutionary new AC power systems for 18 years and had some of the world'sbest engineers working on AC. Tesla fanatics are more known for their passionthan their "historian" side, they fail to have the slightestunderstanding of the business atmosphere at the time or the wealth of OTHERgreat minds working on AC. 

爱迪生的这个做法并没有让他得到什么好处。那个时候的动物还真的是很不幸啊。通用电气在交流电上取得了革命性的进步，在1903年的时候，通用电气的交流电系统已经成功运行了18年了。在那段时间，通用电气有着全世界最好的工程师，他们都在从事着交流电的研究。时至今日，特斯拉仍然有很多的仰慕者。这些仰慕者虽然都充满激情，但是似乎他们的历史都不咋地。

While Edison was living in the past in 1903 promoting DC, the company hecreated which had led to the formation of General Electric (1892) was already aleader in AC power. The board of directors cast off Edison as a "non teamplayer" and nut just as Tesla was cast off by Westinghouse as"unpredictable" and a nut who would sink the company financially withnon-practical pursuits. So who cares if Edison the nut was still promoting DCin 1903? Siemens-Halske, General Electric, Oerlikon, Westinghouse had alreadymoved on into an AC world. There was no War of Currents in 1903. That war hadended in 1891.

爱迪生在1903年的时候一直在忙于直流电的推广，然而，从1892年开始，通用电气已经成为了交流电的领导者。西屋电气公司的董事会最终抛弃了爱迪生，他们认为爱迪生是一个不合格的合作伙伴。这有点像特斯拉，西屋公司认为特斯拉太喜欢幻想，不切实际。

Tesla was no "lone visionary" of AC power, he was simply smartenough to keep his eye on great developments of AC in Europe during theearly-mid 1880s. He was one of a small group (the minority) of engineersworking on AC in America in the mid 1880s. Tesla's first opportunity to workfor a real company on AC power came after he "stole" orsimultaneously invented the polyphase electric motor in 1888. 

在交流电方面，特斯拉并不是唯一有远见的人，但他确实很聪明，从1880年期，他就开始注意到西欧的交流电领域，那个时期的欧洲交流电市场正在快速的发展。特斯拉曾经有机会创建自己的公司，1888年，他发明了多相电机。

At a public presentation Elihu Thomson and Westinghouse both thought thatTesla had potential. Thomson (later became GE) offered him a lower position tostart. Tesla's ego lead him to decline the opportunity. Lucky for him later onWestinghouse offered him a position with his already established team ofengineers working on AC. Westinghouse then got control of Tesla's inductionmotor patent which helped make them hundreds of millions of dollars. 

在一次公开演讲中，ElihuThomson和西屋公司都承认特斯拉是一个很有潜力的人。汤姆逊公司为特斯拉提供了一个职位，让他从头开始。之后，通用公司也开出了类似的条件。特斯拉自我意识过剩，他错过了这个机会。幸运的是，西屋公司最后给他提供了舞台，他们为特斯拉提供了职位，特斯拉将他以前的团队聚拢了起来，开始从事交流电的研究。西屋公司随后获得了特斯拉的感应电动机的发明专利，西屋公司因此而获得了数亿美元的收入。

When the induction motor patent was contested in 1905 Westinghouse putit's best lawyers to work defending this cash maker. Let the induction motorfall into public domain and make Tesla loose credibility? The corporate mightof Westinghouse would never let this happen!

1905年，感应电动机的发明专利遭到了质疑，西屋公司花费重金，请了最好的律师来帮他们捍卫专利权。让感应电动机进入公共领域，让特斯拉失去信誉？西屋公司绝对不会这么干的。

Conclusion:
Nikola Tesla was an inventor, and did share a love of engineering and science.And for this he deserves to be honored, but don't fall for the populistrhetoric.

总结一下：
尼古拉特斯拉是一个发明家，他深爱着工程学和科学。基于这个原因，他应该得到尊重。但是，我们不要因此而陷入了民粹当中。

2.    Harry McLaughlinHarry McLaughlin, Believes Quora can make a difference
Answered Mar 8, 2015 · Upvoted by Tom Peracchio
Originally Answered: How much of Nikola Tesla's work was stolen ordestroyed by Thomas Edison?
Edison did not steal or destroy any of Tesla's work. However, Tesla's labwas burned to the ground and the cause is suspicious, whether or not Edison hadanything to with it is a matter of idle speculation.

爱迪生并没有破坏特斯拉的工作，相反，特斯拉的实验室是被大火烧成灰烬的。尽管原因很可疑，但是，不管爱迪生与此是否相关，胡乱猜测本身都没啥意义。

Westinghouse was a considerable inventor in his own right, for instanceinventing the transformer, a device so common they exist almost everywhereunnoticed. The foundation of our modern society was built upon the genius ofTesla and Westinghouse and their names practically don't exist in school booksanywhere while Edison is hailed as an American hero in essentially all ofthem.  

西屋公司本身就是一个拥有大量发明专利的公司，他们发明了变压器，这个东西现在无处不在。现代技术的核心是建立在西屋公司的专利和特斯拉的天才的基础之上的。但是，他们的成就却很少出现在教学课本上，然而，爱迪生却被誉为美国的英雄。 

3.    Andrew McCarthyAndrew McCarthy, Business Development at Allbound (2017-present)
Answered Sep 9, 2015
Originally Answered: Is Thomas Edison a bad guy?
This is absolutely true. Edison stood on the shoulders of giants tocapitalize on the potential monetary value of technological advancements. Teslawas determined to find a way to make electricity free for everyone, and hisinnovations were suppressed by many who would be impacted financially from hissuccess, including Edison. 

爱迪生和特斯拉是敌人吗？是的！爱迪生站在了巨人的肩膀上，他巧妙的利用了技术进步，这些技术进步为爱迪生创造了巨大的价值。特斯拉想要找到一种能够为所有人免费提供能量的方法。但是，他的创举遭到了很多人的压制，因为如果他成功了，那么原有的电力系统就要崩溃了，这会影响很多人的生意，爱迪生也在受影响之列。

4.    Tom NickellTom Nickell, Understands the Work-Energy theorem, unlike Tesla
Answered Sep 11, 2015 · Upvoted by Tom Peracchio, Computer Networking andSystems Administrator, Geek History Enthusiast
Tesla has become a cartoon character and is featured in a variety ofConspiracy Theories and downright ignorant claims about his suppressed, orlost, or stolen Amazing Technologies.

特斯拉已经变成了一个卡通人物了，他出现在很多的阴谋论当中，很多人声称他遭到了打压。很多阴谋论里面，特斯拉的技术被别人所盗取，而那些技术充满了玄幻的色彩。

Tesla made very important contributions to electric power (the polyphaseAC induction motor), but the real battle was between Edison's DC powerdistribution and Westinghouse's AC power. Westinghouse won--and that was thecorrect result.

在多相交流电领域，特斯拉做出了重大的贡献，但是，真正的竞赛是爱迪生的直流电和特斯阿拉的交流电之间进行的。最后，西屋电气公司赢了，而这要归功于特斯拉，这就是历史的真相。

Tesla had a substantial income from his patents and was able to attractmoney from investors. But, in his later years, he spent enormous sums on somestrange and expensive projects that went nowhere.  He became truly strange in his later years.Edison may have cheated him of some credit and money, but Tesla caused his ownbankruptcy.

特斯拉因为自己的专利而获得了大量的金钱，也因此，他能够从投资者那里募集非常多的钱。但是，在他的晚年，他投入了大量的时间和金钱在昂贵的项目上面。他变成一个实实在在的怪人。爱迪生可能确实盗取了他的信誉和金钱。不过，最后导致特斯拉破产的是他自己的失误。

5.    Vivek Nattamai SankaranVivek Nattamai Sankaran, Tesla, the mad scientist.
Updated Feb 4, 2016
Most of us who have heard about Tesla will obviously know what washappening between him and the other people from science academy.Tesla was moreof a humanitarian than iventor or scientist, all he wanted to do is to help andimprovise the lifestyle of mankind with the help of his scientific innovationand inventions indeed which were flowing along with the nature rather thanflowing against the nature as what we are doing currently ( destruction in thename of development ). 

大多数听说过特斯拉的人肯定都知道他与其他科学家之间发生的故事。特斯拉是一个发明家，是一个科学家，但他更是一位人道主义者。他所想要做的一切就是用他自己的发明来改变人类的生活方式，最终促进人类的进步。他想做的事情是顺应自然的规律来为人类牟利，而不是像一些人那样以开发的名义来对自然进行破坏。

Meanwhile Thomas Edison was another popular and influential scientist wellknown in America for his works with DC current and Edion was the biggestbusiness man of his time. Edison wasn't as bothered about the people and theirbetterment as Tesla and this was  thevery fundamental difference between both of them. 

当然，爱迪生也是一位很着名的科学家，他在直流电领域做出了很大的贡献，在那个时期，他也是一位最有影响力的商人。爱迪生也不像特斯拉那样经历坎坷，在这一点上，两者非常的不一样。

But as mentioned above, Edison was powerful, wealthier and influentialthat is why most of us did not study about Tesla or his works or his inventionsin any schools or colleges. No wonder that as the world is always bad place forgood people.Once after Tesla left Edison and joined Westinghouse company,things started to change but this change did not nuture Tesla for long time . 

但是，正如上文所提到的，爱迪生非常强大，非常富有以及非常的有影响力。这就是为何我们中的大多数人无论是在中学还是在大学，不会学习特斯拉以及了解他的工作，而只是在学习爱迪生而已。毫无疑问，这个世界对于好人总是很残酷。在特斯拉离开了爱迪生以后，他加入了西屋公司。事情开始发生改变，但是并未能维持太久。

Edison finally won the battle and ridiculed Tesla that in the end thenoble prize was given to DC current Thomas Alva Edison instead of giving it toNikolas Tesla , but tesla was given a Edison medal award by the edison himself.But once again proving his humanitarian, in his autobiography , Tesla deniedthe fact that Edison was his enemy and plotting against his growth. 

最终，爱迪生赢得了与特斯拉的竞赛。爱迪生因为直流电而获得了诺贝尔奖，有意思的是，爱迪生为特斯拉颁发了爱迪生奖。然而，特斯拉总是很人道，在他的自传中，他否认了爱迪生是他的敌人，也否认了爱迪生想要遏制他的成长。

He claimed as all these were rumours . he simply stated that the earth was not ready or prepared hisinvention. He did not blame anyone or himself, he blamed the nature for hisfailure .

他宣称所有这些说法都是流言，他只是提出了几点声明，他说整个地球，整个人类还没有为他的发明做好准备。他没有责备任何人，也没有责备他自己，他只是把他的失败归咎于大自然。

6.    Quora UserAnswered Mar 29, 2015
Originally Answered: Who was Nikola Tesla and how was Thomas Edison unfairtoward him?
To make a long story short, Tesla invented single-handedly virtually allelectrical machinery you see around you today. We owe a big chunk of 20thcentury industrial progress to Tesla.Edison and Marconi, with funding from WallStreet, stole his work and marketed it under their own name while at the sametime character-assassinating Tesla.

长话短说，你今天看到的所有电子设备，几乎都是特斯拉发明的。在20世纪，人类的工业有了极大的发展，这其中有很大一部分要归功于特斯拉。然而，在华尔街的资助下，爱迪生和马可尼窃取了特斯拉的专利，他们以自己的名字进行营销，最后，他们还从人格上对特斯拉进行了谋杀。特斯拉线圈：