Tesla Coils and Death Rays

So i watched a particularly good episode of Modern Marvels yesterday. It was called "Mad Electricity". The show was about Nikola Tesla who apparently is considered by some the most significant inventor of all time. A few of Nikola Tesla's inventions include; the radio, alternating current(A/C), radar, remote control, wireless electricity, death ray, and an earthquake machine that might have actually worked. He is considered a true mad scientist. I was initially interested because i knew some myths about Tesla and because of his character's role in The Prestige (one of my favorite movies). There is a scene in the movie when Tesla demonstrated his wireless electricity by holding a lightbulb in his hand. This was in realty on of his favorite ways of demonstrating his theories.

While living in Colorado Springs Nikola Tesla built the largest working tesla coil built to date. There he refined his wireless energy theories and apparently was able to wirelessly light a lightbulb from a mile away. He wanted to charge the earth to have free wireless energy for everyone. It is crazy to think of all the benefits that have emerged from Tesla's inventions and how reletively unrecognized he is for it. Below is a picture of Tesla's unfinished Tesla coil in New york.