Part 8/9:
Even though Tesla turbines are inherently easy to construct, they have struggled to find mainstream usage in power generation. Today’s steam turbines have achieved efficiencies surpassing 90%. The Tesla turbine, while more efficient at high speeds, necessitates impractically high RPMs—around 50,000 for optimal performance. This operational challenge is particularly glaring when considering the large industrial disks and associated material stresses at such speeds.