Marco Tempest: The electric rise and fall of Nikola Tesla

Translator: Thu-Huong Ha Reviewer: Jenny Zurawell

Translator: Troels Larsen Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

As a magician, I'm always interested in performances that incorporate elements of illusion.

Som tryllekunstner er jeg altid interesseret i forestillinger der inkorporerer elementer af illusion.

And one of the most remarkable was the tanagra theater, which was popular in the

Og en af de mest bemærkelsesværdige var tanagra teater, hvilket var populært i de

early part of the 20th century.

tidlige dele af det 20. århundrede.

It used mirrors

Det brugte spejle

to create the illusion of tiny people

til at skabe illusionen af bittesmå folk

performing on a miniature stage. Now, I won't use mirrors,

optræde på en miniature scene. Jeg vil ikke bruge spejle,

but this is my digital tribute to the tanagra theater.

men dette er min digitale hyldest til tanagra teateret.

So let the story begin.

Lad historien begynde.

On a dark and stormy night -- really! --

Det var en mørk og stormfuld aften -- virkelig! --

it was the 10th of July, 1856.

det var den 10. juli 1856.

Lightning lit the sky,

Lyn oplyste himmelen,

and a baby was born.

og en baby blev født.

His name was Nikola,

Hans navn var Nikola,

Nikola Tesla.

Nikola Tesla.

Now the baby grew into a very smart guy.

Denne baby voksede til en meget smart fyr.

Let me show you.

Lad mig vise jer det.

Tesla, what is 236 multiplied by 501?

Tesla, hvad er 236 gange 501?

Nikola Tesla: The result is 118,236.

Nikola Tesla: Resultatet er 118.236.

Marco Tempest: Now Tesla's brain worked in the most extraordinary way.

Marco Tempest: Teslas hjerne fungerede på en yderst ekstraordinær måde.

When a word was mentioned,

Når et ord blev nævnt,

an image of it

blev et billede af det

instantly appeared in his mind.

øjeblikkeligt skabt i hans sind.

Tree. Chair. Girl.

Træ. Stol. Pige.

They were hallucinations, which vanished

De var hallucinationer, som forsvandt

the moment he touched them.

det øjeblik han rørte dem.

Probably a form of synesthesia.

Formentlig en slags synæstesi.

But it was something

Men det var noget

he later turned to his advantage.

han senere vendte til sin fordel.

Where other scientists would play in their laboratory,

Hvor andre videnskabsmænd ville lege i deres laboratorier,

Tesla created his inventions in his mind.

så skabte Tesla sine opfindelser i sit sind.

NT: To my delight, I discovered I could visualize my inventions with the greatest facility.

NT: Til min fryd opdagede jeg, at jeg kunne visualisere mine opfindelser med stor præcision.

MT: And when they worked in the vivid playground of his imagination,

MT: Og når de virkede i hans fantasis levende legeplads,

he would build them in his workshop.

byggede han dem i sit værksted.

NT: I needed no models, drawings or experiments.

NT: Jeg behøvede ingen modeller, tegninger eller eksperimenter.

I could picture them as real in my mind,

Jeg kunne forestille mig dem som virkelige i mit sind,

and there I run it, test it and improve it.

og jeg kører den, tester den og forbedrer den der.

Only then do I construct it.

Først derefter bygger jeg den.

MT: His great idea

MT: Hans store ide

was alternating current.

var vekselstrøm.

But how could he convince the public that

Men hvordan kunne han overbevise offentligheden om at

the millions of volts required to make it work were safe?

de millioner af volt der kræves for at det virker, var sikre?

To sell his idea,

For at sælge sin ide,

he became a showman.

blev han en showman.

NT: We are at the dawn of a new age,

NT: Vi står ved en ny alders daggry,

the age of electricity.

den elektriske alder.

I have been able, through careful invention, to

Jeg er blevet i stand til, igennem påpasselig opfindelse,

transmit, with the mere flick of a switch,

at sende, med blot et tryk på en kontakt,

electricity across the ether.

elektricitet på tværs af æteren.

It is the magic of science.

Det er videnskabens magi.

(Applause)

(Applaus)

Tesla has over 700 patents to his name:

Over 700 patenter er knyttet til Teslas navn:

radio, wireless telegraphy,

radio, trådløs telegrafering,

remote control, robotics.

fjernkontrol, robot-teknologi.

He even photographed the bones of the human body.

Han fotograferede endda menneskekroppens knogler.

But the high point was the realization of a childhood dream:

Men højdepunktet var virkeliggørelsen af en barndomsdrøm:

harnessing the raging powers of Niagara Falls,

udnyttelsen af Niagara Falls' frådende kræfter,

and bringing light to the city.

til at bringe lys til byen.

But Tesla's success didn't last.

Men Teslas success varede ikke ved.

NT: I had bigger ideas.

NT: Jeg havde større ideer.

Illuminating the city was only the beginning.

At oplyse byen var blot begyndelsen.

A world telegraphy center -- imagine news,

Et globalt telegraferings center -- forestil dem nyheder,

messages, sounds, images delivered to

beskeder, lyde, billeder sendt til et

any point in the world

hvilket som helst punkt i verden

instantly and wirelessly.

øjeblikkeligt og trådløst.

MT: It's a great idea; it was a huge project. Expensive, too.

MT: Det er en stor ide; det var et enormt projekt. Og dyrt.

NT: They wouldn't give me the money.

NT: De ville ikke give mig pengene.

MT: Well, maybe you shouldn't have told them it could be used to contact other planets.

MT: Tja, måske skulle du ikke have fortalt dem, at den kunne bruge til at kontakte andre planeter.

NT: Yes, that was a big mistake.

NT: Ja, det var en stor fejl.

MT: Tesla's career as an inventor never recovered.

MT: Teslas karriere som opfinder kom sig aldrig.

He became a recluse.

Han blev en eneboer.

Dodged by death,

Undveget af døden,

he spent much of his time

tilbragte han meget af sin tid

in his suite at the Waldorf-Astoria.

i sin suite i Waldorf-Astoria.

NT: Everything I did, I did for mankind,

NT: Alt hvad jeg gjorde, var for menneskeheden,

for a world where there would be no humiliation of the poor by the violence of the rich,

for en verden hvor der ikke ville være nogen ydmygelse af de fattige, af de riges vold,

where products of intellect, science and art

hvor intellektets, videnskabens og kunstens produkter

will serve society for the betterment and beautification of life.

ville tjene samfundet for forbedringen og forskønnelsen af livet.

MT: Nikola Tesla died on the 7th of January, 1943.

MT: Nikola Tesla døde den 7. januar 1943.

His final resting place

Hans endelige hvilested

is a golden globe that contains his ashes

er den gylden globe der indeholder hans aske

at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade.

i Nikola Tesla museet i Beograd.

His legacy is with us still.

Hans arv er stadig med os.

Tesla became the man who lit the world,

Tesla blev manden der tændte verden,

but this was only the beginning.

men det var blot begyndelsen.

Tesla's insight was profound.

Teslas indsigt var dyb.

NT: Tell me, what will man do when the forests disappear,

NT: Sig mig, hvad vil mennesket gøre når skovene forsvinder,

and the coal deposits are exhausted?

og kul depoterne er udtømt?

MT: Tesla thought he had the answer.

MT: Tesla mente han havde svaret.

We are still asking the question.

Mens vi stadig stiller spørgsmålene.

Thank you.

Mange tak.

(Applause)

(Applaus)