the broadcast power of nikola tesla (gerry vassilatos)

7/27/2019 The Broadcast Power of Nikola Tesla (Gerry Vassilatos)

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TheBroadcastPowerofNikolaTeslaPartIby Gery VassilatostT f HE d rama of Twentieth Century Science and it s

I intrlguing relationship with financiers and govI ernments unfold together in the remarkable lifeof Nikola Tesla. His is a biography replete with al l theelements of tragedy. Tesla, a great discoverer of unsur-passed force, became the focal point of old insidiousforces ntent on destroying the future for the selfish sakeof the statusquo. Tesla remains a focal point of wonder-ment, of dream, and of worlds which yet should be tothose who are familiar with his biography. For them,Tesla stands astride the quaint past century and thegleaming future. He is a technological Col ossus, point-ing the way to a new dawn.

The biography of Nikola Tesla should be the veryfirst chapter n every child's science e xt. Yet, we ffnd hisname stricken rom the record in every avenue of whichhe alone holds priority. This conspicuous absenceprompts wonderment. What the world doeswith discov-erers determines the world course. In the life of NikolaTesla we see he portrayal of our own future, the fate ofthe world. The achievements of this researcher werelofty. The world has not yet implemented his greatestworks. For a time, all the world's dramatis persone focussed onTesla. He remains the legend, the theme, the archetype of al lTwentieth Century scientists.

But who was Nikola Tesla, and where was he from? How did hereach such a mighty stature,and what did he actually invent? Teslawas born in 1856, he son of an illustrious Serbian family. His father,an Orthodox priesl his uncles noteworthy military heroes ofhighest rank. He was educated in Graz, and later moved toBudapest.Throughout his life he was blessed,or haunted, by vividvisions. n the terminology of Reichenbach he would be termed anextreme sensitive. It was through these remarkable visions thatNikola Tesla nve nted deviceswhich the Victorian world ha d neverseen. Indeed, his visionary experi ences produced the modern

world as we know it.He attended various Universities in Eastern Europe during

early adulthood. While delving into his studies,he became awby the new and insidious scientific trends which questionedvalidity of human senseand reason. An impassioned soul, Tefelt the pain of modern humanity in its ntellectual search or a sFinding no solace n any of his classes, e sought refuge in a mromantic treatment of science and nature. None could be fouProfessors dutifully promoted the "new view" by which it declared that the natural world was "inert...dead...amere collecof forces".

This quantitative regime was mounting force among academwho were then attempting the total conversion of scienti fic meth

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Thosewho would not accept he new order were compelled !odepart rom academicpursuits.Tesla otally rejected hesenotionson the shongestof inner intuitions.Most of his instructorswouldhave said that he was not Univenity material. Tesla, sensitiveoeverysuchdogmaticwind, rejected heir thesisand soughtsomebefrermeans or knowingnature. f he was o excel n engineering,therecould onlybe cooperationwith natural orce, neverviolence.It was clear to him that the new scientificworld-attack wouldultimately ead to violent responsesrom nature tself.His innerconflict expressedtselfopenly andcandidly, bringingyoung Tesla nto certain disrepute unongrigid Univenity authori-ties.Universitieswere more like military academies han placeswhere original thinking was conducted in open forum. Tesldchallenged oo many persons of esteemedrank with probingquestionsor which he wasgiven rebuke but no real answers.A gifted researcherand voracious reader, he chanced uponsome orgottenvolumesof natural sciencewritten by Goethe.Hehad not been aware hat Goethe, ong beforehe chosepoetry forthe vehicle of his scientific themes, hadwritten several magnificenttomes on the

textsand readthese o the exclusion ofall other philosophies. t was throughthis window that we may comprehendall ofTesla's ciendficmethodsand aterstatements.or n Teslawe see he quest

ilffi,-A1lffi:.'#,l,1'lo*il"hile eta student,eslavery same emotions, When the new[:"Jil3:*,T;fr,$?T:':"'ilfiadbecamewaref cer-;Tl*;il""asonewhostandswatchain scientific imperativesGoethe was well aware of the newscientincrendndt, *;ri;;;;. ih" enqngiated by JOhann YOnreduction of nature to forces and mecha-li:T:iff":H:;"#fff,,fff*:;Goethe. ne f these as'i#';J[T::"";,":il:'Tffi: thepreservationnd xten-

theseeffortswas he strongest esire o achievesomethingoriginal,and by this, to attain financial ndependence or the sakeof pureresearch.His only dream was to have a laboratoryfacility of hisown.The excessiveabors and mental exertionsnearly drovehim tothe brink of madness.He was, for as time, seizedwith stxangmaladies and sensitivitieswhich physicianscould not addressReichenbachaccuratelydescribes hese symptoms,characteristiof extreme sensitives. here come times when the neurologicasensitivityof these ndividuals literally transformsand processethrough their being. The emergenceof these rare sensitivitieaffectssuchpersons or the remainder of their lives.Tesla found that his senseswere amplified beyond reason.Hewas terribly frightened atfirst nervousexhaustionpermeatinghisfrail being.Eventually eaming to manage hese are faculties,heagainresumed his life. But thevisions which began n his youthwere now more vivid and solidthaneverbefore.When theycameunbidden, he could literally touch and walk around them. Now

also,he was equal to receiving them.He was waiting for the revelation bywhich his alternating current motorwould appear.

Tesla's life came into a new focuswhile walking in a park with somefriends, the year 1881. It was lateafternoon, and Tesla became en-hanced with the sight of a glorioussunset. Moved to indescribableemotions, he began quoting a versefrom Goethe's "Faust":

"The glow retreats, done is ourday of toil;

it yonder hastes,new fields of lifeexploring,

ah, can no wing lift me from thissoil. . .upon his track to follow, followsoaring?"

As he reached his ast ine of verse,Teslawassuddenlyseizedby an overwhelming ision. n il he beheld a greatvortex, whirlingeternally n the sun and driving across he earth with its infinitepower. Completelyabsorbed n this glory, he becamecatatonicand irresponsive...tohe great fear of his companions.His mindand body buzzingwith he power of the vision, he suddenlyblurtedoul "seemy motorhere...watch e reverse t", They shookhim,believinghe had lost his mind completely.Rigid and resistingall of their efforts,he would not move untilthevisionsubsided.Whenhe was ina lly ed to a bench,he seemecompletelyhansformed.The remainder of the daywasspent n agrand and oyous celebration,Tesla'sremaining unds supplyingthe feast.Throughout the long hours of that night he sharedwithhis friends the great sighthe had beheld. They spoke of the sureimplicationsportendedfor the world's future, and departedwithvery great expectations.Moving to Strassburg, e was employed as an engineer n a

sion f allactivitiesatural.for communion with nature, one based on the faith that mind,sensation, onsciousness,nd ordained skuctureform the world-foundations.The sense-validatingQ;ralitativeTheme againappearsn NikolaTesla.Armed with this oundation,hewasableto filter andqualifyeveryother new studywith which he was presented. n addition,he was irresistibly drawn into the study of electricity,the "newmagick". In the following months, he absorbed the electricalengineering ourses o rapidly that he no longer attendedclasses.He had taken a technical position in Budapest. Several newintuitionshad seizedhim. Tesla became ascinated. bsessed ithalternatingeurrent electricity.The problem he facedwas consid-ered insurmountable,Tesla was sure that he could devise anenginewhich was urned, notby contact-currents,ut by magneticfield actionsalone.The struggle toward designing such a device, begun as apuzzlingamusemen!was now completelyconsuminghis strength.The answer,antalizingand near,seemedelusive.Undergirding all

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telephone subsidiary of the Continental Edison Company' It wasi n a s m a l l m a c hi n e s h o p t h a t h ec o n s h u c t e d th e w o r l d ' s f i r s tbrushlessmotors, He called them umagnetic vortex motors"' Theirwhirling magnetic fields ba.filed electrical engineers' Now, Tesla'sprofurri., riere studying his work' Goethe was absolute in hisjudgement of science and human nature: nature leads humanity to"follow, follow soaring".

Tesla'sstxangewhi. l ingdevicesworkedontheirveryf irsttr ial.There were no connections between the rotors and stators' nosparking, lossy brushes. The motion was smooth and elficienlNu*"ro,r. alternating current generators, transformers' and"brushless" motors, al l were developed by Tesla in quick succes-'sion. The vision in material form. Himself a professional draftsman'he mapped out his entire Polyphase System' Tesla emigrated toAmerica with a full pordolio of plans. America would be the placewhere his dreams would find fulfillment'

Continually attracted to engineering problems which nonecould master, his sudden visualization of the solutions became hisnormal mode of operation' In this respec! as well as others' heremained the wonder of all his technical assistants'He worked forThomas Edison in NewJersey for a very short time period untilsecuring a laboratory and financial supPorters of his own'

In his first independent venture he developed arc lamps andlighting systems.When his financial supporters betrayed his trusgti"y tJft'frit" bankrupt ovemight. He became a ditch digger,sufiering all the indignities which immigrants faced in Americaduring -the 1880's. He learned the value of publicity after hisincesslantmention of polyphase and alternating current managedto attract the attention of certain new financial supporters' Theydrew him out of the ditch, but not before he demanded his ownlaboratory, a machine shop, and a sizable personal percentage upfront". The resultwas our presentday electrical distribution system'

Tesla did not invenf alternating current' Tesla reinventedalternating currentin the form of Polyphase Current' His Polyphasesystem *a. a no\rel means for blending three identical alternatingcurrents together simultaneously, but "out of step"' The idea wassimilar to having three pistons on a crankshaft rather than one'Tesla's method had wonderful advantages,especially when motorswere to be operated. Formally, no one could make an alternatingcurrent motor turn at all simply because no net motion could bederived from a current which lust "shuttled" to and fro'

Polyphase applied a continuous series of separate "pushes" torotors. hesla's-iolyphase System made brushless motors andbrilliant lighting methods possible. Polyphase made it also possibleto send elect ical power to very great distances with little loss.Alternating electrical currents vibrated in the line. Current did notflow continuously from end to end, as in Edison's flawed system'Edison's direct current systemcould not supply electricity beyonda few city blocks before current virtually disappeared'

In efforts to discover a more efficient kind of polyphase, Teslaexplored higher frequency alternating currents' During this re-,"ur.h, he built and patented several remarkable generators'Higher frequency polyphase was found by Tesla to perform withfaigreater "ffi.u"y than the common sixty-cycle variety which westill-use. He fully intended on implementing these special genera-tors n the systemwhich his Patron and friend, George Westinghouse,had proliferated. The business arrangement rendered Tesla fabu-

louslywealthy at a Youngage'Tesla extendedLis generator requenciesn multiplesof sixtyuntil reachingsome hirty thousandcyclesPersecond'Theseveryhigh frequeriry altemating current Seneratorsbecamethe marvelof-all t u ".ua"mic and engneeringworld' They werecopiedandmodified by several other subsequent nventors includingAlexanderson.Remarkablydriven at excessive peeds,hey con-stitutedTesla's irst belief that high frequencyalternatingcurrentgeneratorswould supply the world's Power'High frequencycurrentphenomenawerenew andexceedinglyculoJs. A line of experimental esearchwas conductedn order oevaluatenew safeand possiblymore efficientways or hansmitingpoweralong ong elevated ines,Teslastated hat the transmissionof such safe currentsacrossve{y long powerline distancesn thefuturewould be a certainty,seeing heir wonderful new qualities.Tesla found that high frequencycurrentswere harmlesswhencontactedby the human body. Dischargesrom thesegeneratorshaversed he outer surfaceof materials,neverpenehatingmafrerwith depth. There was no danger when working with highfr"q.r"ncy currents. He also observed their very curious andbeautifuf spark effects.They hissed and fizzled all over wireconductors,could stimulate luminescence n low pressuregasbulbs.seemed o traverse nsulativebarrierswith ease,and madeIisle pinwheelsspin like delicate ittle fireworksdisplays'Though curious, the effects were weak and furtive' Theyseemedto intimate some future technologywhich he was yetunable to penetrate.Tesla learned that his intuitionsand visionswere infallible.What he guessedusually proved true' This verypersonal evelation,he later claimed,was his Sreatest iscovery'^, As the safetyof all personnelwas his main concern,he wasconsumedwith the dea of making his High FrequencyPolyphaseSystem ompletelysafe or human operaton and consumenalike'An extensiveexaminationof eachSystemcomPonentwasunder'takenwith this aim in mind. Teslawas horoughand relentlessnhis quest or safetyand efliciency.But,his nvolvementwith alternating urrentswould come o anabruptand unexpectedend.During a seriesof experimentswhichfollowed hesehigh frequency ests, namazingseldom-mentioneaccidento""u.r"d in which Teslaobserveda phenomenonwhichforever alteredhis view of electricityand technology'

SHOCKING DISCOVERYTeslawas anavid and professional xperimenterhroughouthislife. His curiositywasof suchan intensenature hat hewas able!o

plumb the mysieriesof an electricalpeculiaritywith no regard oriri. o*r, comiort.WhereasEdisonwould work and sleep or a fewhourson the floor, Teslawould neversleepuntil he had achievesuccessn an experimentalventure.This marathoncould last ordays.He *". orr.. observed o work through a seventy wo houperiod without fatigue.His technicianswere in awe of him'The Victorian Era was looding overwith new eleckicaldiscoveriesby the day. Keeping up with the sheervolume of shangelectrical discoveriesand curiosities was a task which Teslthoroughly enjoyed...andpreferred. His PolyphaseSystem inperfeciwotking order, the pleasurableoccupationofshrdyingnewgazettesand slientific journals often fascinatedhis mind to theIxclusion of all other iesponsibilities.A millionaire and world

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GREATSffiDISCOVEWhyendlNhola Tesla ,fl-I Postttvely E'',.ct Tt'Elt Wkt h, tl', Nos, Dc{od.Nt*

Sourcq ol EneeJI llflll Bcopend Up Wl&hmtl fttt at th U.rloJ/d ol MatM Emryvbn ft|votn llnttmttud Amo.iitt-I Ha|, LId.a D''(',V.'/l

whlch I.E t.Et to Ant'pdtitr. &6"& Flrry Gol&rf,lIOU fE,I L d |ffi. l. Fl ! -i . . r.

h t l $ d d b -l d U d . t . r { | d.a . rh l l bff ib Laa d h 5 l l . *

,;;",us before the age of thirty, Tesla sought the pure kindof researchhe had so long craved'

Whenever he observed any intriguing electrical effect heimmediately launched into experimental study with a hundredvariations. Each study brought him such a wealth of new knowl-edge that, based on phenomena which he observed, he wasimmediately able to formulate new inventions and acquire newpatents.

Tesla's New York laboratories had several sections. This com-plex was arranged as a multilevel gallery, providing a completeresearch and production facility. Tesla fabricated several of hislarge transformers and generators in the lower floors, where themachine shops of this building were housed. The upper floorscontained his privaie research laboratories. He had athacted aloyal staff of technicians. Of all these, Kolman Czito was a trustedfriend who would stand by Tesla for the remainder of his life. Czitowas the machine shop foreman in each of Tesla's New Yorklaboratories.

Tesla observed that instantaneous applications of either director altemating current to lines often caused explosive effects.Whilethese had obvious practical applications in improvement andsafety, Tesla was seized by certain peculiar asPectsof the phenom-enon. He had observed these powerful blasts when knife-switches

were quickly closed and opened in his PolyphaseSystem.Swirch erminalswere oftenblasted o pieceswhen the speedof the switchmanmatched he currentphase.Tesla assessedhe situationvery accurately.Sud-denly applied currents will stressconductors bothelecbicallyand mechanically'When the speedof theswitch-actions brief enough,and the power reachesasuflicientlyhigh crescendo,he effectsaf,enot unlike aminiature ightring stroke.Electricity nitially heats hewire, bringing it to vapor point.The continualapplica-tion of current hen blasts he wire apartby electrostatirepulsion.Butwas thismechanistic xplanation esPonsible for eveqypart of the phenomenon?The most efractorymetalswere said o bevaporizedby sucheleckicalblasts.Othershad used his phenom-enon to generate iny granular diamonds.Yes, therewere otheraspects bout thisviolent impulsephenom-enon which tantalizedhim. Sufficiently nhigued, hedevelopeda small ightning"generator"consisting f ahighvoltagedynamoand smallcapacitorstorage ank.His ideawas o blastsectionsof wire with lightningJikecurrents.He wanted o observe he mechanically xplosive effectswhich wires sustain under suddenhigh-poweredeleckifications.Instantaneous pplicationsofhigh currentand highvoltage could literally convert thin wires into vapor.Charged o high direct currentpotentials, is capacitorwere allowed o dischargeacrossa sectionof thin wire.Tesla configured his test apparatusto eliminate allpossible urrentalternations. he applicationof a singleswitchcontactwould here produce a single,explosiveelectrical surge: a direct current impulse resemblinlightning. At first Tesla hand-operatedthe system

manuallysnappinga heavyknife switchon and off. This becameless avorableas he dynamovoltageswere deliberatelyncreasedHe quickly closed he argeknife switchheld in his glovedhandBang!The wire exploded.But as t did so, Teslawas stungby apressureblast of needle-likepenetrations.Closing the dynamodown. he rubbed his face,neck, arms, chest,and hands'Theirritationwas distinct.He thoughtwhile the dynamowhirred downto a slowspin.The blastwas owerful.He musthavebeensprayeby hot metal droplets as small as smoke particles.Though heexamined his person,he fortunatelyfound no wounds. No evidence of the stingingblastwhich he so powerfullyfelt.Placinga large glassplate betweenhimselfand the explodingwire, he performedthe test again.Bang!The wire again urned tovapor...but he pressured tingingeffectwas still felt. But'whatwas

this?How were these stingingeffectsable to penetrate he glasplate?Now hewasnot surewhetherhewasexperiencingaPressureffect or an electricalone. The glasswould have screenedanymechanicalshrapnel,butwould not appreciablyshieldany electrcal effects.Through careful isolation of each experimentalcomponenTeslagradually ealized hat hewasobservingavery raxeelechicaphenomenon. ach bang"produced he sameunexpected hocresponsen Tesla,while explodingsmallwire sectionsnto vapor

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The instantaneousurst produced strangeefrectsnever observedwith alternating urrents.The painful shockingsensation ppearedeachtime he closedor opened the switch.These suddenshockcurrentswere MPUISES, not alternations.What surprisedhimwas the fact that theseneedle-like shocla were able to reach himfrom a disiance:he was standingalmostten feetfrom the dischargesite!These electrical irritations expanded out of the wire in alldirectionsand filled the room in a mys6$ing manner. He hadneverbeforeobserved uchan effecl He thought hat he hot metalvapormight be actingas a'carrier' for the electricalcharges. hiswould explain the shong Pressurewave accompanied by thesensation f electricalshock. He utilized longer wires. When thedischargewire wasresistiveenough,no explosioncould occur.Wire in place, he dynamowhirred at a slowerspeed.He threwthe switch or a brief instanl and was again caughtoffguard by thestingingpressurewave! The effectper-

whatwas happeninghere?The pressurewave was sharp andstrong, ike a miniature hunderclap. tfelt strangely"electrical" when the dy-namo voltagewas sumcientlyhigh. In

He could freelywalk aroundthe room during the tesLHe couldhold the shield or simply walk without it A small rotary sparkswitch was arranged in place of the hand-held knife switch. Therotary switchwas arrangedto intemrpt the dynamo current in slow,successiventervals.The systemwas actuated, he motor switchcranked it contactsslowly. Snap...snap...snap'..eachontact pro-duced the very s:uneroom-Iilling irritation.This time itwas most ntense.Tesla could not get away romtheshocks, egardlessof his distance rom the apparatusacrosshisconsiderablyarge galleryhall. He scarcely ould getnear enoughto deactivate he rotating switch.From what he was ableto painfullyobserve, hin sparksof a bright blue-whitecolor stoodshaight outof the line with each eleckicalcontact.The shocke{fectswere elt far beyondthe visible spark ermina-tions. This seemed o indicate that their potentialwas far greaterthan the voltage applied to the line. A paradox! The dynamochargewas suppliedat a tensionofIifteen thousandvolts, yet the sting-ing sparks were characteristicsofelectrostatic discharges exceedingsome two hundred fifty thousandvolts. Somehow this input currentwas being bansformed nto a much

higher voltageby an unknown pro.cess.No nahral explanationcouldbe found. No scientilicexplanationsufticed. herewassimplynot enoughdata on the phenomenon or an an-swer. And Tesla knew that this wasno ordinary phenomenon. Some-where n the heart of this activitywasa deep natural secret.Secretsof thiskind always opened humanity intonew revolutions.Teslaconsideredhis strange olt-age multiplying effect from severalviewpoints. The problem centeredaround the fact that there wursnomagnetic induction taking place.Transformers aise or lower voltagewhen current s changing.Herewereimpulses. Change was happeningduring the impulse.But there was no

bansformern the circuit.No wireswere closeenough or magneticinductions o take place.Without magnetic nduction,therecouldtheoreticallybero transformationeffecl No conversion rom lowto high voltage at all. Yel each switch snap brought both theradiating blue-whitesparksand their painful sting.

IMPULSESTesla noted that the shangesparls were more like elechostaticdischarges.fthe sparkshad beendirectcurrentarcs eaching romthe test ine, he would surelyhave been killed with the very firstcloseof theswilch.The physicalpressure nd sfrnging ainof thesesparksacross uchdistances ould not be explained.This phenom-enon had neverbeenreportedby thosewho shouldhave seenandfelt its activities.

:ff*,*":3ih.l.l::::l'i** The hockffects ereeltine mystery. Hotvaporwas not availableH'tr;*:J:'n*;lm:*s'Tarbeyondhe isibleparkH#ff"*l'ilffi::.?":ll'ilterminations...Teslanewthat hiswasnoordinaryphenomenon.omewhereff:i'Jlilffi'1#y"Tf*::5n heheart f thisactivitybeyond certain thresholds. t became;:T"ffiffifl:ffi;;;il:JllTas deepaturalecret.l*,:"*"liffH'X"""#":J.:ecretsf this indalwaysused.Perhaps ewas ortunateenoughtoobserve-tl,u","ph;;;;; r?; Opened hUmanity intO neythe first time.*Jf"Th*;l:lT:;i"n:*ilevolutions.this shangemanner?Here was a phe-nomenonwhich was not described nany of the texts with which he was familiar. And he knew everywritten hing on electricity.Thinking thathe was he victim of somesubtle,and possiblydeadly short circuil he rigorously examinedthe circuitdesign.Though he searched, e could find no eleckicalleakages.fhere were simply no paths for any possiblecoronaeffects o lind their way back into the switching terminal which heheld.Deciding !o better insulate he arrangement n order that allpossibleine leakages ould be eradicated,he againattemptedheexperimenlThe knifeswitch rapidly closedand opened,he againfelt the unpleasant hockJustas painfully as before.Right throughthe glassshield! Now he was perplexed. Desiring total distancefrom the apparatus,he modified the grstemonce more by makingit "automatic'.

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Tesla'spolyphasegeneratorshad beenconstructed. eslapenetratedhe valid-ity of Maxwell's mathematicalmethod. f f: _t_ r/ .rtwaseunown".,'il'Jffl".: High voltage impulse cur-derived his mathematical descriptionsorerechomagneticnductio',t'.T i fents pfgdqged a hitheftOgreat collection of available eleckicallTl"ffi;i'i:1ff":*ff';f,',;nknownadiantffect.ndoing so.pJrhapsewerhenomena.hadot factrhere was an electricalbeen discovered, and were thereforeilil:H:fJffi"'i1ffi:f; oobroadcast"effectwhoseimplementationnamyriadnl;:[:l*U;**t""rt'#:ofuarredesignswouldset

Tesla gradually casre to theconclusion that the shockeffect wassomethingnew, something never before observed.He furtherconcluded hat the effect was never seen before becauseno onehad ever conskucied such a powerful impulsegenerator.No onehad ever reported the phenomenon becauseno one had evergenerated he phenomenon.Tesla once envisioneda vortex of pure energy while lookinginto a sunsel The result of this great hovidential vision waspolyphase cunenl A true revelation. But this, thiswiu an originaldiscovery ound through an accidenL Itwas an empirical discoveryof enormous signiffcance.Here was a new electrical force, anutterly new species of electrical force which should have beenincorporated into the electrical equations ofJamesClerk Morwell.Surprisingly, it was notTesla now questionedhis own knowledge.He questioned hefoundations nwhichhe had placedso muchconlidence n the astseveralyears. Maxwell was the "rule and measureoby which all of

statinghis equations s"final"?In deriv-in g the laws of electromagneticinduction, Maxr,vellhad imposed his

he considered o be "the most funda-mental" nductioneffectsrom thestartThe selection rocesswaspurelyarbitrary. After having"decided"which induction efrectswere "the most fundamental", Maxwellthenreduced heseselected ases nd described hem mathemati-cally. His hope was to simplif mattersfor engineerswho weredesigningnew electricalmachines.The results were producing"prejudicial" responses n engineerswho could not bear thethoughtof any variations rom the ustandard".Tesla had experi-enced this kind of thematicpropagandabefore, when he was astudent.The quandtativewave of blindnesswas catchingup withhim.Tesla and others knew very well that there were strangeandanomalous orms of electromagneticnduction which were con-stantlyand accidentallybeing observed.Theseseemed o vary asthe experimentalapparatus aried.New elechical orcediscoverieswere a regular eatureof every NatureMagazine ssue.Adamant

in the confidence hat all elechical phenomena had been bothobservedand mathematicallydescribed,academicianswould bevery slow to acceptTesla's claims.But this academicsloth is not what bothered Tesla. He hadalready ound adequatecompensation or his superiorknowledgin the world of industry.Tesla,now in possessionf an effectwhichwas not predicted by Maxwell, began to question his own knowl.edge. Had he become a "mechanist",the very thing which hereviled when a shrdent?Empirical fact conbadicted what thatuponhe based his whole life's work. Goethe taught that nahnre eadshumanity.The choice wasclean accept the empirical evidenceand rejectthe conventional theory. For a time he struggled with a way to"derive" the shock elfect phenomenon by mathematically wrestling "vdidity" from Maxwell's equations...but ould not. A newelectricalprinciple had been revealed.Teslawould take his,as hedid the magnetic vortex, and from it weave a new world.

What had historically taken placewas indeed unfortunate. Had Max-well lived after Tesla's accidentaldiscovery, then the effect might havebeen included in the laws. Of course,we have to assume that Maxwellwould have 'chosenn the phenom-enon among those which heconsidered "fundamental".

There was no otherway to see hisnew discovery now. Empirical factconhadicted theoretical base. Teslawas compelled to follow. The resultwas an epiphany which changedTesla's inventive ourse. For t}te re-mainder of his life he would makescientilic assertions which few couldbelieve, and fewer yet would repro-duce. There yet ex is t severa lreproducible eleckical phenomenawhich cannot be predicted by Max-well. They continually appearwhenever adventuresome experi-menters make acc identa lobservations.

FOCUSHigh voltagempulse urrents roduceda hithertounknownradiant effect. In facl here wirs an elechical "broadcast"effectwhose mplementation n a myriad of bizarre designswould setTeslaapart rom all other nventors.This newelectical forceeffectwasa pre-eminent iscoveryof greathistoricalsigniftcance. espitethis fact, few academiciansgrasped ts signiftcanceas such. Fo-cussed ow on dogmatizingMaxwell'swork, theycould not acceptTesla's excited announcements.Academes argued that Tesla'seffectcould not exisl They insisted hatTesla evisehisstatementsTesla's mysteriouseffect could not have been predicted byMaxwell becauseMaxwell did notincorporate twhen formulatinghis equations.How could he havedone so,when the phenomenonwas ust discovered?Teslanow pondered theacademic amifica-

:ff';fl*::T'llTi:1'i:"f:Ieslapartromallotherobservedsince he eighteenthcentury.Maxweuaddifficulty;;;:; inVentOfS.

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Nikola Tesla, age 63.

tions of this new effect.What then of his own a"ndpossibly otherelechical henomena hichwerenot ncorporatednto Maxwell'sforce aws?Would academes ow ignore their existence?Wouldtheynow evendare o reject he possibility f suchphenomena nthe basisof an incomplete mathematicaldescription?Seeinghat the effectcould grant humanity enortnouspossibili-ties when oncetamed, Teslawished to study and implement theradiantelectricalactionunder much saferconditions.The very firststepwhich he took beforeproceedingwith this experimental inewas the conshuctionof specialgroundedcopper barriers: shieldsto block the electricalemanations rom reaching him.They were arge, body sizedmandesof relatively hick copper.He grounded hese o insure his own completesafety. n electricalterms, hey formed a "FaradayCage"around him. This assemblywould block out all static discharges rom ever reaching Tesladuringthe tests.Now he could both observeand write what he saw

with confidence.Positionedbehind his coppermantle,Tesla nitiated he action.7Z727Z...the motorized switch whirring, dynamo voltage inter-rupted several undredtimesper second, he shockactionwasnowcontinuous.He felt a steady hythm of elechostaticrritations ightthrough the barrier accompaniedby a pressurewavewhich keptexpanding.An impossibiltty.No elechical nfluence should havepassedhrough the amountof copperwhich composed he shield.Yet this energeticeffectwas penehating,electricallyshocking,andpressured,He had no words to describe his aspectof the newphenomenon.The shocks eally stung.., Tesla was sure that this new discovery would p.roduce acompletelynew breed of inventions,once amed and regulated. tseffectsdifferedcompletely rom thoseobserved n high frequencyalternatingcurrenl These special adiant sparkswere the resultofnon-reversing mpulses. In facl this effect relied on the non-reversingnature of eachapplied burst for its appearance. quickcontactchargeby a powerfulhighvoltagedynamowasperforminga feat of which no alternatinggeneratorwas capable.Here was ademonshationof "broadcasteleckicity".Most researchers ndengineers re ixed in their view of NikolaTesla and his discoveries.They seemcuriously rigidiffed in thethought that his only realm of experimental developmentsay inaltemating current electricity.This is an erroneousconceptionwhich careful patentstudyreveals.Few recognize he documentedfacts thal after hiswork with alternating currentswas completed,Tesla switched over completely o the study of impulse currents,His patents rom this period to the end of his careerare filled withthe ierminology equatedwith electrical mpulsesalone.The secret ay principally in the direct current application n asmall time interval. Tesla studiedthis time increment, believingthat it might be possible o eliminatethe pain lield by shorteningthe Iength of time during which the switch contact s made. In adaring series of experiments,he developed rapid mechanicalrotary switcheswhich handled very high directvoltagepotentials.Each contact asted an averageof one ten-thousandth econd.Exposing himself to such impulses of very low power, hediscoveredo his oy and amazementhat the pain fieldwasnearlyabsent. n itsplacewas a strangepressure ffectwhich could be feltright through the copper barriers.Increasing he power levels ofthis device produced no pain increase, but did produce aninhiguing ncreased ressureield. The resultof simple ntemrptedhigh voltage DC, the phenomenonwas never before reportedexceptby wihresses f closeightningstrokes. hiswaserroneouslyattributedhoweverto pressureeffectsn air.Not able o properly comprehend treir nature at irsl Teslaalsoconservatively pproached he pressure henomenonasdue to airpressure.He had first stated hat the pressure ield efrectwas dueto sharpsoundwaves hich proceededoutward rom the suddenlycharged ine. In fac! he reportedthis n a little-knownpublicationwhere he irst announcedhe discovery.Calling he pressure ffects"elecbifiedsoundwaves", e described heir penetratingnature nacoustic erms.Further experimentationhowever, gradually brought the newawaf,enesshat both the observed pressureeffect and eleckicalshock ieldswere not takingplace n air at all.He demonstratedhattheseactionscould takeplace n oil immersions. mpulse charged

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lines were placed in mineral oil and carefully watched. Strongpressure rojectionsemerged rom sharpwire ends n theoil, as fair were sheamingout under high pressure.Tesla irst believed hat hisstreamwaswire-absorbed ir drivenoff by electricalpressure.Continual operationof the phenomenonconvinced him that the projected stream was not air at all.Furthermore,he was not at-a loss to explain the effecl but wasreluctant omention his own theoryof whathad been generated yhigh voltagedirect current impulses.Tesla made eleckical measurements f this projectivesheam.One lead of a galvanometerwas connected o a copperplate, heother grounded. When impulses were applied to wire line, theunattached nd distantmeterregistered continualdirect current.Current through space without wires! Now here was somethingwhich mpulsesachieved,never observedwith alternaUng urentsof any frequency.Analysis of this situation proved that electrical energy orelectrically productive energieswere being projected from theimpulsedevice as rays,not waves.Tesla wasamazed o lind theserays absolutely ongitudinal n their action throughspace,describ-ing them in a patent as "light-like rays". These observationsconformed with theoreticalexpectationsdescribed in 1854 byKelvin.In anotherarticleTeslacalls hem "dark-rays",and "rayswhichare more ight-like n character".The raysneitherdiminishedwiththe inversesquareof the distancenor the invene of the distancefrom their source.They seemed o stretch out in a progressiveshock-shello great distanceswithout any apparent oss.

MAGNETIC ARCSNikola Tesla now required greater power levels than thoseprovided by his mechanical otary switchsystem.He also saw heneed for controlling ultra-rapid current interruptions of highrepetition("succession") ates. No mechanicalswitch could per-form in this manner.He had to envisionand devisesome newmeansby which ultra-rapid nterruptionscould be obtained. n hisbest and most efftcient system, highly charged capacitorswereallowed to impulsivelydischargeacrossspecialheavy duty mag-netic arcs.The magneticarcgapwascapableof handling he argecurrentsrequiredby Tesla. n achievingpowerful,sudden mpulsesof onepolarity, these were the most durable. Horn shapedelectrodeswerepositionedwith a powerfulpermanentmagnetic ield. Placedat right angles o thearc itself, hecurrentswhich suddenly ormedin thismagneticspacewere accelerated long he horns until theywere extinguished.Rapidly extinguished!Arcs were thuscompletelyextinguishedwithin a specilied imeincrement.Teslaconligured hecircuit parameters o as o preventcapacitoralternationsrom occurring hrough the arc space.Eacharc discharge epresenteda pure unidirectional impulse of verygreatpower.No "contaminating urrent eversals'werepossibleorpermissible.Reversals..,alternations...woulduin the"shockbroadcast".Theeffectwasneverobservedwhenalternadng urrentswereengaged.High voltagewassuppliedby a largedynamo. Teslacould speedor slow this dynamo with a hand operated rheostat.Power wasapplied in parallel across he capacitor. The magneticarc was

linked almostdirectlyto one sideof thiscapacitor,a long and thickcopper strap connecting he magnetic arc and the far capacitoplate.This simple asymmetricpositioning of the magneticarc discharger to one side of the dynamo supply produced pureunidirectional electropositiveor elechonegative mpulsesas desired. Tesla designed his very simple and powerfully effectivautomaticswitchingsystem or achievingultra-rapid mpulsesof asinglepolarity. Capacitorvalues,arc distances,magnetic ieldsanddynamo voltages were all balanced and adjusted to leld arepedtive train of ultrashort singularimpulseswithout "flyback"elfects.The system s not really well understood by engineers, heexceptional activitiesof the arc plasma inhoducing numerouaddifional features o the overall system.While the effectswhichTesla claimed can be reproduced with electron tube impulsecircuitry, these produce decidedly inferior effects.The overalpower of the basic arc discharge is diflicult to egual. Teslaeventuallyenclosed he magneticarc, mmersing he gap spacenmineral oil. This blocked premature arcing, while very greatlyincreasing he systemoutput.Most imaginethat the Tesla impulsesystem s merely a "veryhigh frequencyalternator".This is a completelyerroneousnotionresulting n elfects which can never equal thoseto which Teslareferred. The magnetic dischargedevice was a kue stroke ofgenius. t rapidly extinguishes apacitorcharge n a singledisruptiveblast.This rapid current riseand decline ormedan mpulseofextraordina{Fpower. Tesla called this form of automatic arcswitching a "disruptive discharge"circuil distinguishing t fromrlumerousother kinds of arc discharge ystems.t is very simplyameans for intemrpting a high voltage direct current withoutallowing any backward current alternations.When thesecondi-tionsare satisfied, heTesla Effect s thenobserved.The asymmetrical ositioningof the capacitorand themagneticarc determineshe polarity of the mpulse rain. If themagneticarcdevice s placednear the positivecharging side, hen the sbap schargednegativeand the resultantcurent discharges decidedlynegative.Tesla approached he testingof hismore powerfulsystemswithcertain fear. Each step of the testingprocesswas necessarilyadangerous one. But he discovered that when the dischargeexceeded en thousandper second, he painful shockelfect wasabsent.Nervesof the body wereobviously ncapableof registeringthe separate mpulses.But this insensitivitycould lead to a mostseductivedeath. The deadly aspectsof elechicitymight remain.Tesla wasthereforeall the more wary of the experiments.He noticed thal though the pain field was gone, the familiarpressure ffect emained. n itsplace camea defined andpenetrating heat.Tesla was well aware hatsuch heatcould signal nternalelecbocution. He had already made a thorough study of theseprocesses,ecognizing hatsuch heatingprecedes heformationofelectricalarcs hrough he body. Nevertheless,e appliedpower othe dynamo in small but steady ntervals.Each ncreasebrought increase n the intemal heatingeffectsHe remainedpoisedat eachpower evel,sensing nd scoping isown physiology or dangersigns.He continuedraising he powerlevel until the magneticarc reached its full buzzing roar. Tesla

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found that his heatcould be adjustedand,when not extreme'wascompletelyenjoyable.Sosoothing, eloring, and comfortablewasthismanifestationhat Tesladaily exposedhimself o theenergies'An eleckical'sauna'.He Iater reported these ftndings in medical journals, freelyoffering the discovery to the medical world for ib therapeuticbenefits.Teslawas a notorioususerof all such herapies rom thistime on, oftenfalling into a deep sleep n the warm and penetratinginfluences.C)nce,havingoverindulgedthe electresauna herapy,he fell into a profoundly deepsleep rom which he emergeda daylater! He reported that this experiencewas not unpleasant butrealized hat proper"electrodosages"would necessarily ave'tobedeterminedby medicalPersonnel.During this ime,Tesla ound shorter mpulse engthswhere heheating effect disappearedaltogether, rendering the radianceabsolutelyharmless.These mpulse trainswere so very high thatthe deepestnenresof one'sbody could not sense he permeadngradiantenergy ield. Now he could Pumuehis vision of broadcastenergysystemswithout fear of rendering to humanity a technologi-cal curse, rather than a true blessing'

TRAI{ISFORMERSTesla opera0edhe magneticarc $'stem at higher power levels'experim.entingwith various impulse lengths and repetition rates'He measured the mys0eriouselechical current which apparentlyflowed through space from this system. These radiant fteldsoperated at far greater power than before. Strange effecb weresuddenlyappearing tcertaindistancesrom the magneticimpulser.For one hing,Teslanodced hat metallicsurfaces ear he mpulserbecame covered with white brush-like corona dischaqges.Whilethe sparksplayed n uailsacrosshe metal surfaces, eslaobservedphysicalmovementamongthe metal objects.Tensionsand rock-ing motions.Both phenomenaoccurtng simultaneously, e wasutterly fascinated.The sparls themselvesseemed alive. Themoving metalobjectsseemed o suggest ew motor effects.What

was this shangecodition, this synchronicity of phenomena?Brilliant white coronas came forth with a gaseous"hhslng"sound rom metalpoinb and edges.Metal plateswere soonpoisedall around the devicefor observation'Tesla recognizedat once hatthese efrecb were not identical with those obtained earlier whileusing high frequency dteinating currents. These new dischargeswerewhite, energetic,and shong.The electricalbehavior of copper plates, ods, cylinders,andspheresnear his Primary impulser brought forth a greatvariety ofwhite fluidic discharges. trongdischargebrushesappeared romthe ends of copper plates'These came in prodigious volumes,hissing and arcing wildly in all directions, especially from sharppoints.Tesla hied copper discs.These seemed o produce morestabledischarges. e observed he curiousmanner n which thesewhite discharges eemed o *raceoaround the disc edgeat times,blending and separating with all the other sparls. Here was aCreatlymagniliedexampleof Reichenbach'sOd forceperhaps!- He notedthe manner n which white brush dischargesappearedfromcopperconductorsof difrerentshapes. ach orm, poisednearhis impulser,gave a characteristiccorona dishibution. This coronalcorresponderrce ith specilic geometricform greatly {Pressedtrim. With certain metal forms the discha^rges ere very fluidic in

appeaxance. mooth, luidic sheaths overedcoPpercylindespeciftc size. This absolutely fascinatedTesla' There waaerodynamic nature inherent in radiant eleckicity'Copper cylinders produced remarkable volumes of whitecharges.The discharges rom certain sizedcylinders were actlarger than those being applied. This inferred that an enbaisformation efrect was talcing place withhf the cylinder'reminded him of his initial observationwith the shock-exwires.Thosewhich did not explodegave orth far greatervoltthan were initially used.He had never understoodwhy thisoccurring. Here wasanother instance n which applied energyseeminglymagnifiedby a conductor.Why was this happenThe key to understanding his bizarre phenomenonmighfound here,he thoughr He observed he dischargestom cocylinders of various diameters.Each became edged with wbrush dischargeswhen held near or actually placed withinconductivecopPerstrapof the impulser'The dischargeefrecmostpronouncedwhen cylinderswere placedwithin the peripof the copper strap.Tesla noticed that white corona sheathswere actually covthe outer cylinder wall at times' These would appear, buistrength,and disappearon sudden dischargewith a surplength. The sheathingaction was repetitive when the cylinder" "titi".[y smallvolume.Very smallcylindersbehaved ikewhere dischargesonly appearedat their edges.The stabiltheseshangesheathdischarges aried with cylinder diametelength.Tesla noticedthat not every cylinder performedwell neaimpulser.Only cylindersof specificvolume produced stabl"otttinoonrwhite electricalsheaths'f the cylinderswere toosthen the sheathswere intermitent and unstable. There waobvious connectionbetweenthe supplied impulsehain ancylinder volume. But what was it?Tesla surveyed the entire range of his recent discovImpulsesproduced a radiant elechicd effect.Radiant electwas mysteriously flowing through space.As it flowed, it focover metal conductors as a white fluidic corona' When the sand volume of the metal conductorswere just righg the eappeared as a stablewhite corona of far greater voltage thaimpulsegeneratorsupplied.More quesdons.More discoveRods produced sparks from their edges,but not as locoppercylindersdid. Teslaselected cylinderwhichworkedwell,and placedseveralhorizontal cuts"all around ts surfawastotally surprisedwhen, on testing,the spark discharge rocut cylinderwasnotably arger han before. ncreased parkmeansncreased oltage.Butwhy did this diminishedconduforce the voltageuP?The cutsdiminished conductivity in the cylinder by forcinenergy into a tighter "squeeze".He had noted that eleimpuisesdisplayeda tendency o traversehe outersurface fconductors.Certain cylinderswere often ensheathedn a fwhite dischargewhich smoothlyhavelled betweencoil endtightly constricted ayer. Here was something ruly notablinpui voltagewas far less han that producedfrom the uppterminal.But why from end to end?The essential easonwhy current preferredouter surfacduction was preciselybecause hey were impulsing' The s

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shock which any conductor experienced produced an expansiveeffect,where the electrical charge was rejected by the conductiveinterior. This "skin effect" was a function of impulse time andconductor resistance. Highly resistant objects forced all of theimpulse energy to the surface.Now he was getting somewhere. Frustrated radiant electricityconstricted nto a tighter surface volume when encountering metalsurfaces.This intense surface focussing effect brought the voltageup to tremendous values. Here was a new transformer effect! Hebelieved it was an electrostatic transformation. Impulse currentseach possessed n electrostaticnature. The bunching of charge n

the impulser brings this electrostatic field to a peak in a small instantof time.Constricting this field volume produces a greatly magnifiedvoltage. Placement of any conductor in the field space alters thefield by constricting its shape. When symmetrical conductors ofspecial shape,volume, and resistanceare placed in this space, hefield is greatly constricted.Because he impulsing electrostatic ield

is very abrupt, it "snaps" over the conductor from end to end.

Tesla knew that here is where the secret ies. If resistance n theconductor is great enough, the snapping electrostatic orce cannotmove any charges. It is forced to "grow" over the conductor surfaceuntil it discharges at the end point where greatly magnifiedvoltagesare obtained. When the wire diameter is small enough, hewire explodes under electrostatic pressures which exceed thoseseen in dynamite.

In effect, Tesla had managed to interrupt a high voltage directcurrent several thousand times per second. In doing so, he haddiscovered away to completely separateelectrostaticenergy fromcurrent impulses. Tesla pondered these facts, wondering if it was

.possible to force the magnification effect beyond the limits ofstandard electromagnetic transformers. In other words, how highcould voltage be raised? Was there a limit to the process?In order to achieve such enormous voltage levels, he needed aconductive shape which offered so much resistance to chargemovemen! that all the applied energy would become electrostatic.In effect, Tesla wanted to convert a quantity of supply power intoa pure electrostatic voltage. This phenomena suggested hat hisgoal was not impossible.

Tesla extended his dea of the cut copper cylinder to coils.Fromthe viewpoint of electrostatic mpulses, flat copper coils appear tobe "continuously cut" cylinders. The electrostatic ield focusesoverthe coil as it did with the cylinders, from end to end. A simplemagnet coil of specific volume would offer so much resistance iratit would be difficult to predict the actual resultant voltage whichresults without an empirical test.WHITEFIRE

Qonstructing several of these, he was ready for the test.Wheneach copper magrret coil was impulsed, Tesla saw tremendouswhite brushes eaping from their free ends: dischargesapproachingone million volts! But his supply power was nowhere near thesevoltages, and the coil was not wrapped in thousands of windings.These previously unexpected voltage magnifications were theresult of an energ'y ransformation, one which took electricalpowerand converted it completely into pressure. Watts into Volts, anunheard thing. It was the key to a new and explosive technology.Tesla also ound that such coils required very thin coil forms. Heceased using cellulose and cardboard forms, preferring "squirrelcage" type forms made of thin end-braced wooden rods. Wire waswound about thesecylindrically disposed rods, producing the verybest effects. Spacings were also tried between successive coilwindings with excellent results. Spaced windings reduced spark-ing to a minimum.

Tesla remarked that the electrostatic potentials along the coilsurface (from end to end) could be as much as ten thousand voltsper inch of winding! A ten inch coil of proper volume couldproduce one hundred thousand volt discharges. n addition, andin confirmation of his suspicions,no curr ent was ever measured atthe free terminals of these coils. A "zero coil current" condition! Itwas simply another paradox which would occupy the academ!cians for several more argumentative decades.

Tesla suddenly realized hat coils representeda truly special andvaluable component in his quest. The instantaneous resistancewhich any coil offered to an applied impulse was so immense thatcurrent could not flow through the wire length. As a phenomenal

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consequence, o current flowed through the coil windings at all!But sparkingwas observed, ravellingfrom coil end to end.Herewasyet anotheranomaly!He beganplacing hese secondary"coilswithin his "primary"impulsercircuit.The straPwhich connectedhis magneticarc to thecapacitorsormed the "primary". He made necessary istinctionsamonghis Transformercomponents.Few engineersactuallyappreciate these distinctions.The "primary" and "secondary" ofTeslaTransforners are not magrretic nductors. They are resistivecapacitors.Coil-shapedcapacitors!Tesla Transformer action iselectrostaticnduction.Therewere conditions or the mostefffcientmanifestation f the ..effect.Maxrvell could not predict thesevalues' Tesla empiricallydiscoveredmost of the rules for impulsebehavior.He found thatthe hansformativeabilities of these smooth copPer coils weremaximumwhen the coil massequalled he massof the impulser'sconductive copper shap. It did not matter how thin the coilwindingswere. The equalityof coppermasses rought mardmumhansformativeeffects.When this equal masscondition was ful-Iilled, Tesla said that the coil-capacitorswere uin resonance''Electrostaticesonance.Tesla ound it possible o producemillionsof elecirostatic oltsby this method.His {irst Transformerswere horizontal n orienta-tion, both free ends of the secondarycoil-capacitorproducingunidirectional impulses of great Power' White discharges romeachofthese ree endshad very differentcharac0eristics,ndicatingthe unidirectional low. Elechopositiveerminalsalwaysappearedbrushlikeand broad. Electronegativeerminalsalwaysappearedconskictedand dartlike.His next Transformerseriesemployed vertical cylinderswiththe baseconnecteddirectly to ground.Free terminalsstoodquitea distanceabove he primary capacitorstraP,sPoutinga brilliantwhite crown.Thesemarked a turningpointin his heoriesconcern-ing electricity, ince twas possibleor him to developwell overonemillion volts mpulsepower n a devicescarcely aller thana child.Thesedischarges ere of an ntensewhitecoloration.Whitefire.Very sudden mpulsescolor dischargechannelswith the brilliantwhitefirebecauseTeslaTransformersseparatehe effusiveeetherfrom electrons.TeslaTransformerconduct ether, not elechons.The whitefirebrilliance s hedisfnctiveetheric hademarkofTeslaTransformers.During this time, Tesla discovered he peculiar necessityorstreamlininghis Transformers.Clindrical secondarycapacitorssuddenlybecameconical orms.Thesepresentedhe most bizarreappearance f all.Tesla usedcone-shapedecondarieso focus heimpulses.Whitefire dischargesrom these forms evidencedrealfocussingeffects, he discharges hemselvesassuming nvertedconicalshapes.Their greatly ntensifiednature is seen n photographswhichwere aken underhis own inhigued supervision. hemagnifiedvoltageswere reachingthose thresholds n which hislaboratory enclosureswere far too small !o continue makingindushial scaleprogresson radiant energy systems.The fact that whitefire dischargespass through all matter,notably insulators, evealed the etheric nature. Tesla saw thatwhitefire discharges ould permeateall materials n a strangelygaseousmanner.This penetrationscarcelyheatedmafrer. n faclthe whitefire brushes often had a cooling effect' The sparks

themselves, hough violent in appearance' were "soft" whencompared to all other forms of electricity.He had successfullyremoved the hazard from electricity. In blocking the slow anddensecharges,he had freed the mysteriouseffirsiveather streamsinherent n electricity.Becauseof this,new,and ntensified adianteffecbwere constantlymaking their appearance crosshis labora-tory space.Tesla found that as thesenew "ImpulseTransformers"greatlymagnifiedpower supplied to them, so also their radiant elechiceffectswere equally magniffed.He found it possible o wirelesslyproject elechostatic ower to very greatdistances,ightingspeciallamps to full candlepowerat hundreds of feet' In these experi-ments,he alsoconceivedof signallingsystems.twould be possible0o switch radiant effects in telegraphic fashion. Distant vacuumtube receiverswould then light or dim in correspondingmanner.Tesla experimentedwith a specialbreedof telegraphicwireless n1890.He also found it possible o wirelesslyoPeratespecially con'structedmotors by properly intercepting his space-flowing nergystream.He had madehis ownpolyphase ystem bsolete!The newvision was vastly more enthralling. The world would be hans-formed.He discoveredways o beamthe enerry out to any focus,even!o the zenith.His plan to illuminate the night skywith a radiantenergybeacon capturedthe minds of all who listened'Tesla now possessedhe meansby which the radiant eleckicitycould be Creadymagniliedand hansmised.He could now bans-form the very nature of the radiance so that it could carryincreasingly reaterpower.Now he couldbegin developinga newtechnologywhich would completely revitalize the world order.Powdr could be broadcast o any location without wire connec-tions. Radiant electricity could be utilized in completely newappliances.A new world was about to be released!

SPACE FLOWING CI,JRRENTUnderstanding he analoguebetween hese electrical mpulseeffectsand the behaviorof high Pressure asesw.ulof paramount

importance.This gaseous spectof impulseelectrical adiancewasperhaps he most mystifyingaspectof thesenew-foundenergies.Thosewho soughtout Tesla'severy echrrewerevery aware hata new elechicalspecieshad been discovered.While yet a shldenl Teslahad becameawareof certainscientilicimperativesenunciatedbyJohann von Goethe.One of thesewasthe preservationand extension of all activities-nahrral.Goetheimplied that when natural conditions were Preservedduringexperimentation,hen nature tselfwas n the bestconliguration0orevealmore unifiedphenomenalexhibitions o qualitativeobserv-ers.Teslarecognizedhat his new discoveryof impulse, he resultofan acciden! was a total departure from polyphase alternatingcurrent.While his originalvision of the vortexwas applied by himto the designingof motorsand generators, esla now redized thatthiswas not its primary message'n fact, taken rom theviewpointwhich Goettreexpressed, olyphasewas a mostunnatural orm ofenerS'y.Nahrral acfivity is suffusedwith impulses, not alternationsNatural activity is initiated as a primary impulse. Nature is floodedwith impulses of all kinds. From lightning to nervous activities,all

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natural energy movements occur as impulses. Impulses were nowseen by Tesla to fill the natural world. But, more fundamentally,Tesla saw that impulses flood the metaphysical world.

The mysterious flow of meanings during conversation occurs asa sequence of directed impulses in space. Though inert air vibratesin alternations with sounds uttered, the flow of meaning remainsunidirectional. Intentions are also impulses. The unidirectionalflow of intentions appear as impulses. Motivations proceed fromthe manifestation of sudden desires. Overtly expressed as actions,the initiating impulses are then fulfilled.

Tesla wished to comprehend where this "motivating force"came from, and where it went during the expressed actions. In allof this, he was very much the wonderful stereotype of the Victoriannatural phllosopher. His scientific pursuits followed these consid-erations until the last. Those who study his announcementsrecog'nize his metaphysical foundations, the basis of all his subse-quent scientific uests.

with the unnatural...with polyphase...he .pulses. ould t be that he nductionof

electricity the fundamental naturalenergy... he motivator?

Victorian Science was not exactlysure what electricity was, there being soverv manv attributes associated with the

Tesla observed the amazing "coordi- r lnation'r ewr,",,o*",,u;'4g"t VefV epUtableexpefiment-seemed to bring new technological po- 'lillf,,lj,311'T;#::J"Tj;'illers esideseslaontinuednew and fortunate position in nature. I o . lr / zt atHavingomehowb.oken-isixarionClalmmg tnat"spaCe ilOW-

as conceived by Faraday. Young James Clerk Mocwell alsobelieved hat force ineswere dynamic, ongitudinal inesof flow.But flowlines of what substance?Here lay the principle problemwhich occupiedphysicists hroughoutthe Victorian Era.Victorian researchers nd natural philosopherswished to dis-cbver he exactnatureof the "flowingcharge" of which force ineswere composed.Most agreed that the mysterious lowing "sub-stance" had to be an effusive, ultra-gaseouslux, This flux wascomposed of infinitesimal energy particles which effected thevariouspressures nd inductions observed.Henry and Faradayshuggledwith the idea of deriving usableelechic power from static charges.The notions was thal sinceforcelineswere made of a "flowing charge substance", hen lixedcontactsplaced on chargedm:Nseswould supply electricalpowerforever. No one was able,however, o derive this flowing chargeIossy discharges recededevery contact,Most researchers, hoseattempts with highly charged ley-denJars ailed,soughta more benignsource of concenhatedcharge.Thequest shifted to magnets,but theattempt remainedas futile as ever.There remainedno availableway toderive power from the individualflowing chargesof a forceline.

JJ. Thomsondiscovered lechonsin vacuumdischarges, ssuminghatthese electricparticles' operaled nall instanceswhereelectricalactivitywasobserved.Victorian researcherdid not accept hisview completelyThomson's"elechons"wereviewedas the result of violent collisionsacrossavacuumacceleration paceIt was not possible to ascertainwhether thesesameuThomsoncur-rents' were active within eleckicalconductors operating at small volt-ages.Very reputable experimentersbesides Tesla continued claimingthat"space lowing electricity' is thereal elechicity. Tesla's classicdem-onstrations proved that rapid

re-entered the natural or-,,,"-"-,^,,,.,fh6h'f::":::::j:; ing electricityt' s the realcity"i,lil$ri'il'Jlij:il:ffi1,I1",*;lectricity.esla'slassiche producing a metaphysical vortex, rinto hichur,".,,p,l,:"ori;;; demOnStfatiOnspfovedthatof nature would now flow? Was this the;T:il:['T""'ff:;T:i;";31fi::apidelectricalmpulsesactuallyxceedheability

electrical impulses actually exceed the ability of ffxed charges totransmit the applied forces. Charges lag where electrostatic forcescontinue propagating. One is compelled to see that electrostaticforces precede the movement of charges.

Tesla saw that electrostatic impulses could flow without linecharges. His "zero current coi ls" operated simply because thecharges themselves were immobilized. Electricrty was shown to bemore in the nature of a flowing force rather than a sheam of massiveparticles. But what then was this u{lowing current"?

In Tesla's view, radiant electricity is a space flowing currentwhich is NOT made of electrons. Later Mctorians believed thatthere was a substance which both filled all space and permeaied allmatter. Several serious researchers claimed to have identfied thisgas. Notables, such as Mendeleev predicted the existence of

of fixedchargeso trans-ffiifi:l,TnffiJ,:3iffi*,:fiit heappliedorces.on the nature of both electric and mag-netic forces. Gilbert and Descartesshared the belief that these forces were a special kind of "flowingcharge", a space radiant stream which took place in tightlyconstricted ines. Some equated the el ectromagnetic forces with a"dark light", which Karl von Reichenbach later proved in part.

Faraday adopbed and modified the view that electromagneticforces acted through space because they were a special flow ofcharge. This effus ive charge movement changed when travellingthrough conductors, becoming more densified and retarded invelocity. Faraday's "lines of force' were not conceived by him tobe mere static tensions as modernists view them. Faraday envi-sioned these force lines as radiant, sheaming lines. They weremobile, moving longitudinally into space.

Others would change the names, referring to electric force linesas"dia-electric' or dielectric flux, but the view remained essentially

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several ulha-raxegaseswhich Preceded hydrogen' These, heclaimed,were inert gases.This is why they were rarely detected'The inertgases hich Mendeleevpredicted ormedan atrnospherewhich llooded all of space.Thesegaseousmixturescomposed heather.Tesla and othersbelieved that both electrical and magneticforceswere achrally streamsof ether gaswhich had been ftxatedin matter.Materialswere somehow polarized"byvarious "frictive"beabnentsby which an ather gas low was induced in them' Mostmaterialscould maintain the flow indeffnitely, since no work wasrequired on their parl Matter had only to remain polarized,transducing he ather flow' The ather gascontained all the powor'Unlimited power.This ether gas power manilested asthe elechomagnetic forcesthemselves,adequatereason to Pursuethe developmentof anether gasengne. Such an engine could run forever on the eternalkinetic ener$es of the ether itself, it being both generatedand&iven by the stars.Teslabelieved hat radiantelectricity s composedof ather gas'He based his beliefon the factthathis zero currentcoilswerenotconducting the "slow and dense" chargesusually obsewed inordinary electricalcircuib. Abrupt impulsesproduced distinctiveand difierenteffects...fluidicffects. he qualitiesascribedby Teslato "electricity" or things "electrical" in his numerous Patent textsand press nteMews are thosewhich refer to the ether gas'Tesladid not refer o elechoncunentsas"electricity"'He did not equate"elecficity" with electron low. WheneverTesla spokeof "elecki-cal" effectshe alwaysdescribed their efrusive,gaseousquality.Tesla referred to sPace as the "ambient or nahral medium".Space,he claimed, was that which "conducb electricity". He hadfound a means by which ttris gaseouselectrical flow could begfeatly concentrated, magnifted, and directed. He saw that thisradiant elecblcity was, n reality, a gaseousemanation.An ethericemanation. This is why he made constant reference to fluidictermtnology throughout his lechrres.

Resistance,volume, capacity, reservoir, surface area' tension,pressure, ressureelease:hesewere the terms upon w-hichTeslaielied throughouthispresentadons.he terminologyof hydraulics'Tesla also recognized that because ether was a gas, it hadaerodynamic equiremenb..fBtiiet, n Tesla's exicon, wiN sPace lowing electricity: a gas ofsuperlative and transcendent qualities. /Ether was the electricity*hi"h fiilud all of space,a vast reservoirof unsurpassable ower'Motive, dynamic' and free for the taking. ,iEther gas technologywould revolutionize the world. ,Ether gas engineswould providean eternalpowersource or the world. Science,ndusbry, orPora-tions, inancialalignmenb,socialorders,nations...everythingouldchange. | (Part 2 in ncxt issuc)

Grnnv Vlssr,eros began vrifing for Borderlandsmagazineseveralyearsago.He is he producerof the Rayof Drscooaryideo documentary'seies,Tura Motors,Earth Toncs, nd is dso the author of rhe VrilCompcndiumaborderland esearch ncyclopediawhichnowtotals Ivolumes'As an avid experimenter' vfr' Vassilat'os asconhibutedtoseveraladvancementsn the lields of Radionicsand energy esearch'This shis ifthbiographyin nongoingseriesf heborderlandgreats"'

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TheBroadcastPowerofI{ikola TeslaPartrby Gery Vassilatos

OMPLETING a tour of the major scientilicinstihrtes n America" Tesla expected to retirefor a seasonof rest in New York once again.

News of his advancements however, flooded everytechnical rade oumal. The nasreTeslawaseverywhereonceagain.First polypbaseand now radiant electricity.He was the "darling" of the press.Tesla caphrredthepublic eye once again.Peopleeverywherewere thrilledwith the projected fuhrre visions which Tesla freelyprovided. He was a model European immigrant suaveand debonair.Theseare probably the qualitieswhichffrst attractedAnne Morgan- lrresistible, wealthy, unat-tached,and warm. Teslawas her obsession.Despite his great personal charm and magnetic per-sonality, he maintained his serious tone and poisewhereverhewent. The vision of the future was far moreimportant than the a.frentions f a young and llirtatiouslady. In anticipadonof these orthcomingevents,Teslaoften invited other socially esteemedguests o his laberatory for specialdemonstrations. n this manner, it wasnoised abroad that what he claimed was in fact real.Anne often attendedthesegatherings,breathing silentlyi:n he shadowsof his laage oft laboratoqy. ROYAL SOCIETY LECTURES

In the very midst of all these national attentions, Tesla receiveherewere otherswho, dthough not attending hesedemonsha-tions, were equally watchful of Tesla's newest radiant energy an invitation from Lord Kelvin. He was formally requesteddevelopments,Severalof thesePersons'shallwe say, were inter-ested in his new discovery and its implications...becauseheirfortuneswere threatened.Tesla had swept the world once withpolyphase.He wipedoutEdison'sDirectCurrentSystem vernight.J.P.Morgan,Edison's ecent"patron", had lost a considerable umduring that ffasco. t was certain hat Teslawould soonsweep heworld againwith broadcastelecbicity.This destabilizingnfluencewould not be tolerated.Anne complicated he affairconsiderably.Shewas n love with Tesla.Obsessedn facl Too obsessed nddesperateo let go.

addresshe RoyalSociety,his atest indingswere earnestly esireThe English,usuallyextremelyconservative,weresure hat Teswould change he courseof world history.Tesla, adjourning from his daily researchesnow preparehimself for the lectureswhich would start the world-change.Hpackednearlyeverypieceof delicate quipment necan maginVacuum tubes,Trinsformers, strangemotors,and equallystranwireless pparatus. llwere carefullycratedandpenonallybrougto Europeby Teslahimself.His belovedelderand personalmentoSirWilliam Crookes, reetedhim.

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In the openingportionsof his Royal Society ecturesTesla irstdescribedhis preliminaqrwork with high voltagehigh frequencyalternatingcurrentsn some ength.He explained hatthesedevicesembodied the very last investigationsand improvementsof hisPolyphaseSystem.He demonstrated everalof the ffnt small highfrequency alternatorsand iron-core induction coils in order -topreparehis audience or a final announcemenlIn thisvery astdramaiicdemonshationTesla evealed o BritishAcademia the disruptiveelectricdischargeand the propertiesofelectric ays.Teslamadea rareand complete full discLsurenof theelechicray effectat the very end of his lecture. t was he very lasttime he would everdo so again n academiccircles,Tesla showed that the new radiant eleckicity was distinctive.fraving been openly proclaimed during the london Royal Society

eriesas mere preparatory nhoductionsto impulses.Teslashowedby wayof comparisonhat disruptive feld mpulsebanscendentlyexceedall other electro,inductive ffectsby severaorders.He expresseddifficulty in discerningwhether the effecbwereelechostatic r electrodynamicn nature,preferring o assocate hemmore with electrostatic ffects.We deduce hathehadonlvrecentlybegundeveloping heelectric mpulseeffectbecause f hishesitancen identiSing the phenomenaproperly.Tesla was skingently exact in all his statements. his seemuncharacteristicof his scientilic nature. But he did this in truescientificopenness. esladid not know exactlywhatwasoccurringin the eleckic impulse at that time, desiring only to share thediscovery openly and candidly. Academic disapproval of hispersonalsemantics ame swiftly n journal after ournal.lectures.Tesladeliberaielycompared

He demonshatedwirelessamps, itto full brillianceby radiantelectricity.He ran small motors at sizable dis-tancesor his audiencesosee.This astlechrrerepresents he only recordedinstance n which Tesla openly an-nounced his discovery o f theelecho-radiant mpulse. He tells thepersonallyevolutionizingaspectof hisdiscoveryand how it virtually eradi-cateshis previouswork. He went bogreat detail verbally describing anddisclosingheexactmeans or elicitingthephenomenon.In his closing time Tesla quicklydemonstrates pecial "electrostatic"motorsand lampsmade to utilize theradiant effect. Examination of these

It is clear hatSir William Crookescompletelygraspedhesignilicance fTesla'sentiredemonshationand real-ized heclosing ormalannouncemenoftheneweleckic orce.Crookes ouldnot containthe thrilling implicationsHe was also sure that the new forcewould completely revolutionize thescientiffcworld.CrookesupheldTesla hereafterasthe rue discovererofan unrecognizedeleckical orce.Teslacontinuedcorre-spondencewith his mentor after hisdeparture romEngland.He hadhopedthat his dramaticannouncementanddemonstrationwould producea newregime of electricalengineering,andthat otherswould now reproduce heradiant electric effectsas described.His hopeswould be strangelydashedto piecesn the comingyearswhen hederisiveacademicattacksbegan.To European academes, he lec-ture serieswas astounding. t was aglimpseof thefuture,so clearthatfewcould find time to arguewith Teslaatall. Tesla concluded his tour of En-

observers,ere ctually"lossynstabilities".The istantadianteffectsedesired ereinterruptednddistorted heneversparkingccurred.

and conbasted the potentimpulse rad!;ffi"::.H"ffiil:;T*',fffeslaiscoveredhatruary 1892).Fluorescent amps andotherruminouswonders;"ffiiJ#xcessivg sparking,encespellbound. ll thewhilehisvoice,f,T31;,:fil'5frT;li:,h'ouch-houghmpressiveo

{irst amp and vane-motordevices eveals heirprimitive and nitialstate.Tesla modelled the motor after the Crookes radiometer,statinghis actpublicly for thebenelitof hisreveredmentor.Teslafinallystated hevast mplicationsof thediscovery.He pointed heirminds towardthe establishment f true power transmission.He propheticallyannounced he new civilizationwhich wouldemerge rom these irst devicesand systems. he world would becompletelyrevolutionizedby this new principle. Tesla describedbeam-kansmissionf electricalenergy,and the possibilityof har_nessinghe radiantenergiesof space tself.Those who had witnessedTesla's entire demonstrauonwerecompletelyenthralledat his results,but misunderstoodhis newannouncement ompletely.This becameapparent o Teslaa shortwhile after he, highly decoratedand honored, departed for hisParisian our. British Sciencewas yet delving into Teslian highfrequencyalternations. eslahad alreadydisposedof thesediscov-

glandand France,everywhereheralded n typicalVictorian heroicstyle.One nighg while in Paris,a telegram nformedhim that hismotherwason point of death.Rushing o her bedside,he manageda few hoursoffinal conversation.He always eferred o heras heone who completelyunderstoodhis strangeabiliues.Was shenot thewomanwho had encouragedhim when he fint remarked about his childhood visions? lliensiblingsand riendsderidedhim, shewashissupport.Early henextmorning, n an adjacenthouse,hewasabruptlyawakenby avision.What he beheld changedhis life. A seraphichostsurroundedhismother.Shewasascendingnto bright clouds.Severalminutesafterthal the announcement ame.His motherhad quietlypassed way.He spenta torturousweek n hisnative and for her funeral,and ledback again o New York,

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RE\rERSALSWhen Englishengineerswrote, asking he means or generating

his impulseeffects,Tesla gave hem very strictdescriptivePaxam-eters.He never failed to openly disclose he secretby which hisspectacular ffectswere oblained.He had learnedto freelysharewhat he kner,vwith all. He was surprised to discover that theacademicsocietieswho sowarmly addressed im in Europe'weregradually osing nterestn his discovery.Beingutterly ncapableofduplicatinghisspecifiedparameters,mostbelieved he effectso be"dubious".The impulseeffecthad very skingent requirementsbefore itsmanifestation. are n conshuctingmpulsegenerators as he basicrequirement.Engineerswantedequations. eslagave hem descriptions. A few experimenters ucceededn later duplicatingTesla'sbroadcastelectricityefrects.But thesesystemswere direct descen-dantsof Tesla'searliestand lessefficientdesigns.It is often n the natureof academeso forgoempiricallyevidentfactsand arguepersonaldilferences,especiallywhen foreigrrper-sonalities xegivenexcessive duladon.Fixatedon issues aving odo with words and personalpoise,Tesla'saudiencesound severalacrid voiceswhose equally vile publicationsdared tamper withTesla'scharacter.New criticswere everywhere, venathome.Dolbear,Thomson'and evenPupin found rime to criticizeand derideTesla,Becausemostyoungeracademes elied entirely on schoolingand less onempiricalmethod,theywere easilyswayedby academicopinion'Tesla underestimated he power of media and of opinions inunderratinghis abilities.He quicklyfoundthatpublic opinioncouldactuallyswayscientificopinion.He failed o seewho wasbehind hemediacampaign.Tesladisregardedhis antagonistic olleagues.Crookesalwaysdeferred to Tesla, whom he admired and loved .$ a youngerprotege.Teslarevered he agedCrookes,upon whose confidencehe came o rely duringmore difficultyears.Crookeshad beengivena hue TeslaTransformerwhen Tesla had givenhis lectures.Thesmalldevicewas potenggiving the uncharacteristic ffectswhichTeslahad alwaysclaimed.This singlepieceof evidencewas eft inEngland or all to see.Remarkably, his evidencedid not silencehecritics.Teslacouldseeno reason n all of this' Somethingdid not quiienaddup'. EvenTeslacould see hat therewas a missingpart of the"equation".Discovering his part would explainhis own reversals.As if thesepersonallydevastating ventswere not enough or him,the nsolentyoungAnne continuedhauntinghim at his every urn.He continuedbeing "polite" to her, but never more than this.Crookeswrobemany timesbo he Royal Societyand to Teslaconcerninghis act.Sure hatTeslawasamodem Faraday,Crookescontinuedespousinghe belief that Teslahad discovered he nexthistoricallymportantelectricaladvancement.He was encouragedto continue esearch espitehis protagonists. ew academes ustedTesla'smethodsnow. Feweryet listened aly longer to his state-ments.Losingcredibilityas quickly ashe had found it, financierswereslow o trust nvestingn his newsystems.His inventionscontinuedtheirsteadymarch nto electrical istory.Eachnew devicechroniclesa new step n the technologywhich shouldhavechanged heworld.He plunged imself eadlongntowork.Onlyworkwouldvindicate

him. Opinion would fadewhen othersgradually saw he astoundingdevelopmenbwhich he would produce. In theseactions,Teslarevealedhis noble and naivenature.The world had changed,butchanged oward a more brutishrule.

BROADCAST POW.ERHe set o work developingmore powerful embodimentsof hisinitial Transformers. n order to mal


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Copper in the receiverhad to "match" the copper massof thehansmifrern a veqyspecialequivalence,otherwise adiant ransferwould not be efiicienLThe requirementsdiffered very much fromthose of ordinary radio antennas.He also found that elevatedcopper spheresmore powerfully enhanced he broadcast adiantpowerfrom his transmifrers. his was Tesla'smeansby which hishansmitters nd receivers ould be beter "connected"despite heirdistance,Teslabelieved hat theseelectricalbeams nvisibly linked bothhis hansmitter and receiverstogether. He considered each as"disconnectederminals" o ground. Electrical adiancespreadoutin all directions rom the elevatedcopper sphereof his transmitter.The secret in receiving a maximum signal was to match thehansmitter'scoppermasswith the receivermass.Then, the atherstreams ould actually ocus nto thematched eceiver.This afrnitywould take time, the hansmitter energy "searching" for befrerground sites.Radiant elechicity evidenced curiously vegetative"growthcharacteristics".Receivers ow were outfiued with smallcopperspheres. heseprovided a more elficientaflinity and absorption or the radiatedpower. The additional copper sphereswhich surmountedTeslahansmifrerseffectively owered the input eleckical power for theproductionof focussedether discharges.Tesla took the gas dynamic analogy to another evel when hefound that both low pressuregaseousand vacuum tubes couldreplacecopper.Electro-radiant ffects rom gas-ftlledglobeswereprojectedwith lesselectricalossand evengreaterpower. arge lowpressureugongas illedglobeswereempirically oundto broadcasthemendous adiancewhenusedatophis ransmitters. dditionally,he ound hatargongasat owpressuresouldserveas urequivalentreceiveraspure copperspheres.Thu &" filledglobeswould be esscostly hancopperspheresodisseminaten public use.He was approachinga totally ellicientsystem.Numerouspersonageswerenvitedto observehese istorictests.J.H.HammondJr. was one such ndividual. EnthralledwithTesla'sdevelopments, e and his wife invited Teslarepeatedly otheirhome n lateryears.Teslawas heir honoredguest or monthsat a time. Later in years, after World War I, both Tesla andHammond worked on roboticsand remotecontrol.Teslaenvisioned mallpowerunits or bothhome and ndustrialuse.The installationand maintenanceof theseunitswould requirea small monthly fee.Through thesewirelessunitsone could drawsufficientpower to operatefaotoriesand homes alike. Elechicalusagecould be metered.The superiority of this new broadcastpowersystemwas obvious o all who observed t in operation.Teslaalsodescribed heuseof thesepower units oi hansporta-tion.Transatlantic hipscouldsimplydraw heirmotivepower romcontinental owerbroadcast tations. rainsand automobiles ouldbe operatedby drawing heir power. The potential ortuneswouldsoonstimulate inancierso investheavily n the "coming activity"

In keepingwithhispublicity-mindedness,everalnvestorswerealways nviied to Tesla'sprivate demonshations.Tesla knew thattheirurge o supporthis newworld-shaking enturewould becomeirresistiblewhen onceeach had beheldhis smallbroadcastpowersystem.The demonstrationswere deemedby these ndividualsas"entertaining",n their typical dry tone.Bul he rarely heard fromthesepeople again.Here wasa new change.Shy moneymen.A true conhadiction.

Their reticenceeftTesla n a stateof bewildermenl Once, n aditchis conversationalone was sufiicientperfrrme o attract he beeNow? None would dare leap into the new world sea.Why? Whsharla were there besides themselves?Tesla could simply nounderstand his new "dearthn, his incredulousconservafism nlack of imaginationon the part of New York investors.Eager o begin,Teslapatientlywaited or the messengerso caHad he known more of theworld aroundhim, however,he woulhave stoppedwaiting.Shortly afterTesla'sprivatedemonshatiowereconcluded,Morgan'sagentapproached eslawitha "busineproposition".The bribe being sizable, onhactswould haveplaceMorgan n controlof Tesla'snew system.Tesla aughedat thepalittle Mr. Brown in his pinching-tight tails, informing him that hhimselfwas alreadya millionaire. Why should he need such aaf{iliationat all? He was escortedvery graciouslyby the amuseTesla.While dining in theWaldorf severalhours ater,a rude intemrption nformedhim thathis aboratorieswereablaze.The connectiobetweenhis refusal to bow and the flameswhich now reacheskywardwasnotmadeuntilallwasconsumed.Thatnight,theworlchangedcompletely or Nikola Tesla.He losteverythingof hispasEverything.The totality of his technologicalachievementswerburned into vapor,Books,priceless ouvenirs,delicateeguipmenpatents,models,drawings,newpiecesof apparatus.Everythingwaburned.He read the messagewell.There wasa twoweekperiodwherehe simply vanished.No oncould lind him. Kolman Czito, his trusted echnical oremanandmachinisteared orTesla'sife. GtherineUnderwoodJohnson abesideherselfwith anguish.She was he wife of a close riend, theonly real love of Tesla's ife. The lire was meant to kill. It wasamessage s clearasanyonewould need.The assassinaHonfrempfailedto kill the ntendedvictim. It certainlydid not kill his dreamsWhereverhe was or those wo weeks, hedreamswerewith himBut a part of Nikola Tesladied in the{ire. It was hepart whichwatied o thepast.His eyeson the uture,Tesladevelopedhisdiscoverinto a major technologywhich the world seemso haveforgotlenOf all thosewho prayedand wept overTesla,sdisappearance,nepersonwasno longerconcemed.Neveragainwould Anne need obe troubled by the thoughtof Nikola Tesla.His lovewas alreadsealed.Teslarecovered rom the flames.His subsequent iscoveries nd inventionssurpassed is formeworks for forty moreyears;special adiationprojectors,self-actinheatengines,power transmitters,emotecontrol and robotics, he"World BroadcastSystem",BeamBroadcast ransmitters,ethericreactorsand etheric engines', cosmic ray motors, psychohonitelevision...theist of astounding nventions s huly awe-inspirinTesla demonshatedeach of thesesystems or a selectgroup ofwibnesses.Furthermore,despite umorsof hispublic and scientificdemiseTeslamaintained wo penthouse uitesatopthe Hoiel New yorkerin a time whensuchextravagance asotherwise nobtainable.Oneof thesesuites was converted into a complete radio laboratoryseveralaccoutrements f which having been rebieved by antiqueradio enthusiasts.eslawas an indefatigable esearcher. he biography of Nikola Tesla s repletewith truly mysteriousdesignsanddevelopments.But theseare pa.rts f hisbiographywhich mustbetold in other volumes. f

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the broadcast power of nikola tesla (gerry vassilatos)

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