The SI unit of magnetic flux density is named the tesla
In 1960 the tesla (T) was established in the International System as the unit of magnetic flux density, honouring Nikola Tesla. This Fact is the metrological naming, not the 1888 motor. In the causal graph this event strengthens Digital Learning Access, a driver that weakens Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries) — an improving welfare path.
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In 1960 the tesla (T) was established in the International System as the unit of magnetic flux density, honouring Nikola Tesla. This Fact is the metrological naming, not the 1888 motor.
Context
Naming a unit concentrates credit. It does not prove unique invention of all magnetism.
Nikola Tesla is not the sole author of every later object, law, or museum label that uses the name. Shared work with courts, excavators, printers, spouses, officials, and later states does not erase a documented role, and it does not make an ancient person the signer of a twentieth-century statute.
Why it matters
Scientific-language path. High confidence on the 1960 naming.
A unit is not a tower.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Nikola Tesla
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.15 · verified
Complex: metrological honour about him. Stored as dated scientific-language access, not as a new machine.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactThe SI unit of magnetic flux density is named the tesla
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicators (3)Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
impact weight 0.55 · Effect from 1 October 1960 · verified
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.22 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.4)
Observed
70% of 10-year-olds · 70 above the normal line (2022)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 57% of 10-year-olds (2019) and 70% of 10-year-olds (2022).
20192022 Above normal = worse
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.19 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.35)
Observed
472 PISA score points · 28 below the normal line (2022)
Worse than normal7 readings, 2003–2022: fell from 499 PISA score points to 472 PISA score points.
Above normal = better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.17 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.3)
Observed
11% of primary-school-age children · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalAbove normal = worse
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.CGPM resolutions (SI unit tesla, 1960 lineage)Bureau International des Poids et Mesures · High credibility · verified
- 2.UNESCO Memory of the World — Nikola Tesla's ArchiveUNESCO · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
UNESCO’s archive description independently notes the unit.
BIPM CGPM resolution listings and UNESCO’s Tesla archive page independently record the SI tesla.
Established: SI unit tesla in 1960. Not established: that the unit measured Niagara’s output, or that it cancelled Wardenclyffe’s failure.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorNikola Tesla
- contributed toFactThe SI unit of magnetic flux density is named the tesla
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicatorLearning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). The SI unit of magnetic flux density is named the tesla. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/si-tesla-unit-1960
https://factrail.ai/facts/si-tesla-unit-1960
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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