Chapter 468: Chapter 468 - 239: Nikola Tesla (Part 3)
He felt greatly honored to sponsor Carlo, but also feared that he might not be able to fulfill Carlo’s tasks and would betray Carlo’s trust.
Hearing Tesla say this, Carlo smiled and said, "No worries, I believe in your capabilities, Mr. Tesla. Being able to complete studies in three disciplines within the same period already shows your talent.
If it weren’t for the fact that you hadn’t completed your university education, I would have wanted to meet you long ago. Now that you are in Spain, do you have any plans for the future?
Will you enter Spain’s technical universities to further study related fields, or will you directly work at the Royal Academy of Sciences?"
In recent years, Spain has also paid considerable attention to the development of universities, leading to the emergence of a large number of technical universities.
The most representative of these is the Royal Science Academy, established by Carlo with the support of the Royal Academy of Sciences. The Royal Science Academy focuses on physics, chemistry, and mathematics, and the professors there are mostly academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences, possessing the level of Europe’s excellent scientists.
Under the efforts of these academicians, the Royal Science Academy has grown to be a renowned science university in Spain and even throughout Europe, attracting hundreds of foreign students from other parts of Europe each year.
Although Tesla is a rare genius, Carlo believes that Spain’s Royal Science Academy also has enough capacity to cultivate Tesla.
If the academicians of the Royal Science Academy were not sufficient, Carlo could also afford the high costs of inviting professors and experts from other European countries to ensure Tesla’s education.
With such strong support and cultivation, Carlo dares not imagine how outstanding Tesla’s future capabilities will be.
It is worth noting that historically, Tesla completed only one year of university education and could only learn through auditing in the subsequent period.
He led a simple life between the library and university, and this simple learning process made him one of the most outstanding scientists of his time.
Carlo’s effort to nurture Tesla is far beyond the self-education level of historical Tesla, and as long as Tesla doesn’t lose his motivation to learn, becoming one of the era’s best scientists is almost a given.
If Tesla were to have more luck in scientific research, it might not be impossible for him to become the greatest scientist of this era.
Upon hearing Carlo’s inquiry, Tesla did not rush to respond but considered deeply before he spoke: "Your Majesty, can I choose to work at the Royal Academy of Sciences while continuing my studies at a science university in Spain?
Both can help enhance my professional capabilities faster, and I believe I can manage both work and study simultaneously."
When proposing this idea, Tesla also observed Carlo’s expression, worrying that such a bold proposal might displease Carlo.
Balancing work and study is already a very difficult process. Moreover, Tesla’s workplace was in the Royal Academy of Sciences, a top scientific research institution in Spain and even all of Europe.
The research projects at the Royal Academy of Sciences are certainly challenging, and Tesla hopes to participate in these projects and further pursue studies at a science university in Spain, which may seem a bit like having the best of both worlds.
To Tesla’s surprise, upon hearing his proposal, Carlo not only showed no dissatisfaction but even smiled.
"I was thinking the same, I have great faith in your capacity and believe you can handle both study and work. Of course, this also depends on your own efforts; you have to give 100% of your energy and effort.
If someone reports to me that you are struggling in either work or study, then I will consider asking you to choose between the Royal Academy of Sciences and your studies at the university.
I trust you understand what I mean, right, Mr. Tesla?" Carlo smiled and nodded, addressing Tesla who was gradually showing his self-confidence.
Tesla quickly nodded, assuring as if giving a promise: "I will devote all my energy and time to work and study, and will definitely not disappoint you, Your Majesty."
Tesla is greatly passionate about learning and is equally passionate about conducting scientific experiments and research.
When he was forced to drop out because he couldn’t afford the tuition, he not only didn’t give up on learning but got into even more intense auditing and self-study.
Auditing does not give the right to have university professors clarify questions for oneself, so when Tesla encountered difficult problems, he could only go to the library to look up relevant materials or ponder solutions independently.
After receiving a scholarship from Carlo, Tesla became even more diligent instead of showing any slackness.
He recorded all the difficult problems encountered during auditing and pestered university professors for solutions upon re-entering university.
During the four years at university, Tesla became the most studious student at Graz University of Technology, and his talent and level of diligence greatly impressed numerous professors at the university.
In fact, before Tesla graduated from Graz University of Technology, the university had already contacted him to see if he would be willing to continue his studies, with the prospect of becoming a professor there after completion.
At that time, because Tesla had already made an agreement with Spain, he quickly rejected the proposal from Graz University of Technology, which left many professors at the university feeling regretful.
Carlo was naturally aware of Tesla’s diligence at Graz University of Science, which is why he believes Tesla can balance work and study and be trained simultaneously at the Royal Academy of Sciences and university.
Historically, although Tesla did not win a Nobel Prize, it was actually a regret of the Nobel Prize. As early as the 30 years before the establishment of the Nobel Physics Prize, Tesla had been nominated nine times for his scientific contributions and even co-nominated twice with Edison.
However, during those times, Tesla always chose to decline the Nobel Physics prize. The first nine refusals were genuine selflessness, and the two rejections with Edison were actually influenced by a remark from Tesla’s friend Mark Twain: "How can a wife be co-owned, especially with a common thief, isn’t this extremely dangerous?"
Although Tesla never won a Nobel Prize, the proportion of direct influence many Nobel Physics Prize winners got from Tesla’s research reached 27%, which is a rather astonishing figure.
The proportion of indirect influence exceeded 65%, including Roentgen, who helped prove the dangers of X-rays for Tesla and thus won the inaugural Nobel Physics Prize in 1901.
Tesla’s greatness is beyond doubt, and when such a great genius scientist is willing to give 100% effort to study and work, who could dare to imagine what astonishing scientific contributions this genius is capable of creating?
The scientific contributions Tesla will make in the future can only be understood in time, but Carlo believes that with Tesla’s help, Spain will be able to obtain more scientific achievements in electricity and radio, as well as other fields, thereby accelerating Spain’s progress in electricity and radio development.