Nikola Tesla and You

Nikola Tesla and You is a book in Fallout 3. It can be seen in several locations during the game and sometimes in the loading screen of the game. It contains information about directed energy weapons.

Trivia
The book is an obvious reference to the famous (sometimes infamous) inventor, Nikola Tesla, who is considered by many to be the most prolific inventor in the field of electrical and magnetic engineering of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Looking at the front cover of Nikola Tesla and You, the person to the left is probably a caricature of Nikola Tesla himself.

Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase power distribution systems and the AC motor. Contemporary biographers of Tesla have regarded him as "The man who invented the twentieth century" and "the patron saint of modern electricity."

Tesla is the inventor of the Plasma Lamp, a novelty item most popular in the 1980's, after his experimentation with high frequency currents in an evacuated glass tube for the purpose of studying high voltage phenomena. Tesla called this invention an inert gas discharge tube. The modern versions were first designed by Bill Parker.

Tesla was said to have invented a "Death Ray", which is one reason for his association with energy weapons in Fallout. Tesla personally referred to the device as a "Peace Ray," in that it was so effective that it would make future wars unthinkable.

The lack of recognition received by Tesla during his own lifetime has made him a tragic and inspirational character well suited to dramatic fiction. The impact of the technologies invented by Nikola Tesla are a recurring theme in several types of science-fiction.