Famous Scientific Illusions by Nikola Tesla
Written specially for the Electrical Experimenter
Editor’s Preface
For over a century and a
half the whole world, educated and otherwise, thought that the moon revolved
around its axis.
Nikola Tesla in the present highly instructive article disproves that theory
and will convince scientists and all others alike that the moon does so such
thing.
For thousands of years it
was thought that the sun and stars revolved around the earth and all kinds of
experimental proofs were furnished to substantiate this theory. The illustrious
Galileo thought different, and everyone today knows that the earth revolves
around the sun.
So it is with Tesla’s
discovery. Tesla also, in the second part of the present paper, shows us that
the ancient and time-worn theory advanced by Benjamin Franklin as to the
lightning conductor is not substantially correct as viewed by latter day
science. It will come as a shock even to our professors that the lightning rod
actually aids the lightning in hitting the building. The reason is that the
lightning rod helps in ionizing (making conductive) the surrounding air.
Mr. Tesla has devised a
lightning conductor with no points, and there is no doubt whatsoever that his
theory is right. Scientists the world over will acknowledge this very shortly.
In a third section of the
same paper Tesla explodes still another popular delusion, viz., that wireless
waves follow the curvature of the earth when messages are transmitted, let us
say from a point in the United States to a point in Europe. In his
revolutionary arguments, supported by facts as well as by logic, Tesla shows
why the currents do not travel around the earth but directly thru it. In other
words, Tesla maintains that wireless communication is accomplished ONLY thru
the medium of the earth itself. His contention seems very sound. If it were not
so, let every wireless station, commercial or otherwise, do away with its
ground connection. None could then operate as is well known, except perhaps over
very limited distances.
Mr. Tesla’s present
article will arouse world-wide comment due to the revolutionary philosophy
contained therein. We are sure our readers will appreciate Mr. Tesla’s most
timely and illuminating article on this but little understood subject.
In this original and
revolutionizing discussion, Nikola Tesla given us something really new to think
about. First — Does the moon rotate on its axis? Second — is the Franklin
pointed lightning rod correct in theory and operation? Third — Do wireless
signal fly thru space by means of so-called Hertzian waves in the ether, or are
they propagated thru the earth at prodigious velocity by means of earth-bound
oscillations? World-famous conundrums these — questions which have been answered
in many ways by some of the greatest scientists. Dr. Tesla explains these three
predominant scientific fallacies in a masterly way, so that everyone can
understand them.
The human brain, with all
its wonderful capabilities and power, is far from being a faultless apparatus. Most of its parts may be in
perfect working order, but some are atrophied, undeveloped or missing
altogether. Great men of all classes and professions — scientists, inventors,
and hard-headed financiers — have placed themselves on record with impossible
theories, inoperative devices, and unrealizable schemes. It is doubtful that
there could be found a single work of any one individual free of error.
There
is no such thing as an infallible brain. Invariably, some cells or fibers are
wanting or unresponsive, with the result of impairing judgment, sense of
proportion, or some other faculty. A man of genius eminently practical, whose
name is a household word, has wasted the best years of his life in a visionary
undertaking. A celebrated physicist was incapable of tracing the direction of
an electric current according to a childishly simple rule. The writer, who was
known to recite entire volumes by heart, has never been able to retain in
memory and recapitulate in their proper order the words designating the colors
of the rainbow, and can only ascertain them after long and laborious thought,
strange as it may seem.
Our organs of reception,
too, are deficient and deceptive. As a semblance of life is produced by a rapid
succession of inanimate pictures, so many of our perceptions are but trickery
of the senses, devoid of reality. The greatest triumphs of man were those in
which his mind had to free itself from the influence of delusive appearances.
Such was the revelation of Buddha that self is an illusion caused by the
persistence and continuity of mental images: the discovery of Copernicus that,
contrary to all observation, this planet rotates around the sun; the
recognition of Descartes that the human being is an automaton, governed by
external influence and the idea that the earth is spherical, which led Columbus
to the finding of this continent. And tho the minds of individuals supplement
one another and science and experience are continually eliminating fallacies
and misconceptions, much of our present knowledge is still incomplete and
unreliable. We have sophisms in mathematics which cannot be disproved. Even in
pure reasoning, free of the shortcomings of symbolic processes, we are often
arrested by doubt which the strongest intelligences have been unable to dispel.
Experimental science itself, most positive of all, is not unfailing.
In the following I shall
consider three exceptionally interesting errors in the interpretation and
application of physical phenomena which have for years dominated the minds of
experts and men of science.
The Illusion
of the Axial Rotation of the Moon
It is well known since
the discovery of Galileo that the moon, in travelling thru space, always turns
the same face towards the earth. This is explained by stating that while passing once around its
mother-planet the lunar globe performs just one revolution on its axis. The
spinning motion of a heavenly body must necessarily undergo modifications in
the course of time, being either retarded by resistances internal or external,
or accelerated owing to shrinkage and other causes. An unalterable rotational
velocity thru all phases of planetary evolution is manifestly impossible. What
wonder, then, that at this very instant of its long existence our satellite
should revolve exactly so, and not faster or slower. But many astronomers have
accepted as a physical fact that such rotation takes place. It does not, but
only appears so; it is an illusion, a most surprising one, too.
Fig.
1. — It Is Well Known That the Moon, M., Always Turns the Same Face Toward the
Earth, E, as the Black Arrows Indicate. The Parallel Rays From the Sun
Illuminate the Moon In Its Successive Orbital Positions as the Unshaded
Semi-circles Indicate. Bearing This in Mind, Do You Believe That the Moon
Rotates on Its Own Axis?
I will endeavor to make
this clear by reference to Fig. 1, in which E
represents the earth and M
the moon. The movement thru space is such that the arrow, firmly attached to
the latter, always occupies the position indicated with reference to the earth.
If one imagines himself as looking down on the orbital plane and follows the
motion he will become convinced that the moon does turn on its axis as it travels around. But in this
very act the observer will have deceived himself. To make the delusion complete
let him take a washer similarly marked and supporting it rotatably in the
center, carry it around a stationary object, constantly keeping the arrow
pointing towards the latter. Tho to his bodily vision the disk will revolve on
its axis, such movement does not exist. He can dispel the illusion at once by
holding the washer fixedly while going around. He will now readily see that the
supposed axial rotation is only apparent, the impression being produced by
successive changes of position in space.
Fig.
2. — Tesla's Conception of the Rotation of the Moon, M, Around the Earth, E;
the Moon, In This Demonstration Hypothesis, Being Considered as Embedded In a
Solid Mass, M,. If, As Commonly Believed, the Moon Rotates, This Would Be
Equally True For a Portion of the Mass M?, and the Part Common to Both Bodies
Would Turn Simultaneously In "Opposite" Directions.
But more convincing
proofs can be given that the moon does not, and cannot revolve on its axis.
With this object in view attention is called to Fig. 2, in which both the
satellite, M, and earth, E, are shown embedded in a solid mass, M1, (indicated by stippling)
and supposed to rotate so as to impact to the moon its normal translatory
velocity. Evidently, if the lunar globe could rotate as commonly believed, this
would be equally true of any other portion of mass M1, as the sphere M2, shown in dotted lines, and then the part
common to both bodies would have to turn simultaneously
in opposite directions.
This can be
experimentally illustrated in the manner suggested by using instead of one, two
overlapping rotatable washers, as may be conveniently represented by circles M and M2, and carrying them around a center as E, so that the plain and dotted arrows
are always pointing towards the same center. No further argument is needed to
demonstrate that the two gyrations cannot co-exist or even be pictured in the
imagination and reconciled in a purely abstract sense.
The truth is, the
so-called “axial rotation” of the moon is a phenomenon deceptive alike to the
eye and mind and devoid of physical meaning. It has nothing in common with real
mass revolution characterized by effects positive and unmistakable. Volumes
have been written on the subject and many erroneous arguments advanced in
support of the notion. Thus, it is reasoned, that if the planet did not turn on its axis it would expose
the whole surface to terrestrial view; as only one-half is visible, it must revolve. The first statement is
true but the logic of the second is defective, for it admits of only one
alternative. The conclusion is not justified as the same appearance can also be
produced in another way. The moon does rotate, not on its own, but
about an axis passing thru the center of the earth, the true and only one.
The unfailing test of the
spinning of a mass is, however, the existence of energy of motion. The moon is
not possest of such vis viva.
If it were the case then a revolving body as M1
would contain mechanical energy other than that of which we have experimental
evidence. Irrespective of this so exact a coincidence between the axial and
orbital periods is, in itself, immensely improbable for this is not the
permanent condition towards which the system is tending. Any axial rotation of
a mass left to itself, retarded by forces external or internal, must cease.
Even admitting its perfect control by tides the coincidence would still be
miraculous. But when we remember that most of the satellites exhibit this
peculiarity, the probability becomes infinitestimal.
Three theories have been
advanced for the origin of the moon. According to the oldest suggested by the
great German philosopher Kant, and developed by Laplace in his monumental
treatise “Mécanique Céleste,” the planets have been thrown off from larger
central masses by centrifugal force. Nearly forty years ago Prof. George H.
Darwin in a masterful essay on tidal friction furnished mathematical proofs,
deemed unrefutable, that the moon had separated from the earth. Recently this
established theory has been attacked by Prof. T. J. J. See in a remarkable work
on the “Evolution of the Stellar Systems,” in which he propounds the view that
centrifugal force was altogether inadequate to bring about the separation and
that all planets, including the moon, have come from the depths of space and
have been captured. Still a third hypothesis of unknown origin exists which has
been examined and commented upon by Prof. W. H. Pickering in “Popular Astronomy
of 1907,” and according to which the moon was torn from the earth when the
later was partially solidified, this accounting for the continents which might
not have been formed otherwise.
Undoubtedly planets and
satellites have originated in both ways and, in my opinion, it is not difficult
to ascertain the character of their birth. The following conclusions can be
safely drawn:
1. A heavenly body thrown
off from a larger one cannot rotate on its axis. The mass, rendered fluid by
the combined action of heat and pressure, upon the reduction of the latter
immediately stiffens, being at the same time deformed by gravitational pull. The
shape becomes permanent upon cooling and solidification and the smaller mass
continues to move about the larger one as tho it were rigidly connected to it
except for pendular swings or librations due to varying orbital velocity. Such
motion precludes the possibility of axial rotation in the strictly physical
sense. The moon has never spun around as is well demonstrated by the fact that
the most precise measurements have failed to show any measurable flattening in
form.
2. If a planetary body in
its orbital movement turns the same side towards the central mass this is a
positive proof that it has been separated from the latter and is a true
satellite.
3. A planet revolving on
its axis in its passage around another cannot have been thrown off from the
same but must have been captured.
The Fallacy of Franklin’s Pointed
Lightning-Rod.
The display of
atmospheric electricity has since ages been one of the most marvelous
spectacles afforded
to the sight of man. Its grandeur and power filled him with fear and
superstition. For centuries he attributed lightning to agents god-like and
supernatural and its purpose in the scheme of this universe remained unknown to
him. Now we have learned that the waters of the ocean are raised by the sun and
maintained in the atmosphere delicately suspended, that they are wafted to
distant regions of the globe where electric forces assert themselves in
upsetting the sensitive balance and causing precipitation, thus sustaining all
organic life. There is every reason to hope that man will soon be able to
control this life-giving flow of water and thereby solve many pressing problems
of his existence.
Fig.
3. — Diagram Used to Explain the Fallacy of the Franklin Pointed Lightning Rod,
and an Analogy Whereby the Author Shows In a Clear Manner How the Charged
Sphere May for Illustration be Considered as Heated to a High Degree, and the
Heat Allowed to Escape at a Known Rate.
Atmospheric electricity
became of special scientific interest in Franklin’s time. Faraday had not yet
announced his epochal discoveries in magnetic induction but static frictional
machines were already generally used in physical laboratories. Franklin’s
powerful mind at once leaped to the conclusion that frictional and atmospheric
electricity were identical. To our present view this inference appears obvious,
but in his time the mere thought of it was little short of blasphemy. He
investigated the phenomena and argued that if they were of the same nature then
the clouds could be drained of their charge exactly as the ball of a static
machine, and in 1749 he indicated in a publisht memoir how this could be done
by the use of pointed metal rods.
The earliest trials were
made by Dalibrand in France, but Franklin himself was the first to obtain a
spark by using a kite, in June, 1752. When these atmospheric discharges
manifest themselves today in our wireless station we feel annoyed and wish that
they would stop, but to the man who discovered them they brought tears of joy.
The lightning conductor
in its classical form was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1755 and immediately
upon its adoption proved a success to a degree. As usual, however, its virtues
were often exaggerated. So, for instance, it was seriously claimed that in the
city of Pietermaritzburg (capital of Natal, South Africa) no lightning strokes
occurred after the pointed rods were installed, altho the storms were as
frequent as before. Experience has shown that just the opposite is true. A
modern city like New York, presenting innumerable sharp points and projections
in good contact with the earth, is struck much more often than equivalent area
of land. Statistical records, carefully compiled and publisht from time to
time, demonstrate that the danger from lightning to property and life has been
reduced to a small percentage by Franklin’s invention, but the damage by fire
amounts, nevertheless, to several million dollars annually. It is astonishing
that this device, which has been in universal use for more than one century and
a half, should be found to involve a gross fallacy in design and construction
which impairs its usefulness and may even render its employment hazardous under
certain conditions.
Fig.
4. — Tesla Explains the Fallacy of the Franklin Pointed Lightning Rod, Here
Illustrated, and Shows that Usually Such a Rod Could Not Draw Off the
electricity In a Single Cloud In Many Years. The Density of the Dots Indicates
the Intensity of the Charges.
For explanation of this
curious fact I may first refer to Fig. 3, in which s is a metallic sphere of radius r, such as the capacity terminal of a
static machine, provided with a sharply pointed pin of length h, as indicated. It is well known that
the latter has the property of quickly dissipating the accumulated charge into
the air. To examine this action in the light of present knowledge we may liken
electric potential to temperature. Imagine that sphere s is heated to T degrees and that the pin or metal bar
is a perfect conductor of heat so that its extreme end is at the same
temperature T. Then if
another sphere of larger radius, v1,
is drawn about the first and the temperature along this boundary is T1, it is evident that there
will be between the end of the bar and its surrounding a difference of
temperature T — T1, which will determine the
outflow of heat. Obviously, if the adjacent medium was not affected by the hot
sphere this temperature difference would be greater and more heat would be
given off. Exactly so in the electric system. Let q be the quantity of the charge, then the sphere — and
owing to its great conductivity also the pin — will be at the potential q / r.
The medium around the point of the pin will be at the potential q / r1
= q / (r + h)
and, consequently, the difference q
/ r — q / (r
+ h) = q h
/ r (r + h).
Suppose now that a sphere S
of much larger radius R = nr is employed containing a charge Q this difference of potential will be,
analogously Qh / R (R
+ h). According to elementary
principles of electro-statics the potentials of the two spheres s and S will be equal if Q
= nq in which case Qh / R (R + h) = nqh
/ nr (nr + h)
= qh / r (nr
+ h). Thus the difference of
potential between the point of the pin and the medium around the same will be
smaller in the ratio r + h / nr
+ h when the large sphere is
used. In many scientific tests and experiments this important observation has
been disregarded with the result of causing serious errors. Its significance is
that the behavior of the pointed rod entirely depends on the linear dimensions
of the electrified body. Its quality to give off the charge may be entirely
lost if the latter is very large. For this reason, all points or projections on
the surface of a conductor of such vast dimensions as the earth would be quite
ineffective were it not for other influences. These will be elucidated with
reference to Fig. 4, in which our artist of the Impressionist school has
emphasized Franklin’s notion that his rod was drawing electricity from the
clouds. If the earth were not surrounded by an atmosphere which is generally
oppositely charged it would behave, despite all its irregularities of surface,
like a polished sphere. But owing to the electrified masses of air and cloud
the distribution is greatly modified. Thus in Fig. 4, the positive charge of
the cloud induces in the earth an equivalent opposite
charge, the density at the surface of the latter diminishing with the cube of
the distance from the static center of the cloud. A brush discharge is then
formed at the point of the rod and the action Franklin anticipated takes place.
In addition, the surrounding air is ionized and rendered conducting and,
eventually, a bolt may hit the building or some other object in the vicinity.
The virtue of the pointed end to dissipate the charge, which was uppermost in
Franklin’s mind is, however, infinitesimal. Careful
measurements show that it would take many years before the electricity stored
in a single cloud of moderate size would be drawn off or neutralized thru such
a lightning conductor. The grounded rod has the quality of
rendering harmless most of the strokes it receives, tho occasionally the charge
is diverted with damaging results. But, what is very important to note, it
invites danger and hazard on account of the fallacy involved in its design. The
sharp point which was thought advantageous and indispensable to its operation,
is really a defect detracting considerably from the practical value of the
device.
I have produced a much improved form of lightning protector
characterized by the employment of a terminal of considerable area and large
radius of curvature which makes impossible undue density of the charge and ionization
of the air.* These protectors act as
quasi-repellents and so far have never been struck tho exposed a long time.
Their safety is experimentally demonstrated to greatly exceed that invented by
Franklin. By their use property worth millions of dollars which is now annually
lost, can be saved.
* Refer to the October,
1918, issue of this journal wherein Dr. Tesla’s new form of non-pointed
lightning rod was fully described and illustrated.
The Singular
Misconception of the Wireless.
To the popular mind this
sensational advance conveys the impression of a single invention but in reality it is an art, the
successful practise of which involves the employment of a great many
discoveries and improvements. I viewed it as such when I undertook to solve
wireless problems and it is due to this fact that my insight into its
underlying principles was clear from their very inception.
In the course of development
of my induction motors it became desirable to operate them at high speeds and
for this purpose I constructed alternators of relatively high frequencies. The
striking behavior of the currents soon captivated my attention and in 1889 I
started a systematic investigation of their properties and the possibilities of
practical application. The first gratifying result of my efforts in this
direction was the transmission of electrical energy thru one wire without return, of which I
gave demonstrations in my lectures and addresses before several scientific
bodies here and abroad in 1891 and 1892. During that period, while working with
my oscillation transformers and dynamos of frequencies up to 200,000 cycles per
second, the idea gradually took hold of me that the earth might be used in
place of the wire, thus dispensing with artificial conductors altogether. The
immensity of the globe seemed an unsurmountable obstacle but after a prolonged
study of the subject I became satisfied that the undertaking was rational, and
in my lectures before the Franklin Institute and National Electric Light
Association early in 1893 I gave the outline of the system I had conceived. In
the latter part of that year, at the Chicago World’s Fair, I had the good
fortune of meeting Prof. Helmholtz to whom I explained my plan, illustrating it
with experiments. On that occasion I asked the celebrated physicist for an
expression of opinion on the feasibility of the scheme. He stated
unhesitatingly that it was practicable, provided I could perfect apparatus
capable of putting it into effect but this, he anticipated, would be extremely
difficult to accomplish.
Figs.
5 & 6. — A Section of the Earth and Its Atmospheric Envelope Drawn to Scale.
It is Obvious That the Hertzian Rays Cannot Traverse So Thin a Crack Between
Two Conducting Surfaces For Any Considerable Distance. Without Being Absorbed,
Says Dr. Tesla, in Discussing the Ether Space Wave Theory.
I resumed the work very
much encouraged and from that date to 1896 advanced slowly but steadily, making
a number of improvements the chief of which was my system of concatenated tuned circuits and method
of regulation, now universally adopted. In the summer of 1897 Lord Kelvin
happened to pass thru New York and honored me by a visit to my laboratory where
I entertained him with demonstrations in support of my wireless theory. He was
fairly carried away with what he saw but, nevertheless, condemned my project in
emphatic terms, qualifying it as something impossible, “an illusion and a
snare.” I had expected his approval and was pained and surprised. But the next
day he returned and gave me a better opportunity for explanation of the
advances I had made and of the true principles underlying the system I had
evolved. Suddenly he remarked with evident astonishment: “Then you are not
making use of Hertz waves?” “Certainly not,” I replied, “these are radiations. No energy could
be economically transmitted to a distance by any such agency.
In my system the
process is one of true conduction
which, theoretically, can be effected at the greatest distance without
appreciable loss.” I can never forget the magic change that came over the
illustrious philosopher the moment he freed himself from that erroneous
impression. The skeptic who would not believe was suddenly transformed into the
warmest of supporters. He parted from me not only thoroly convinced of the
scientific soundness of the idea but strongly exprest his confidence in its
success. In my exposition to him I resorted to the following mechanical
analogues of my own and the Hertz wave system.
Imagine the earth to be a
bag of rubber filled with water, a small quantity of which is periodically
forced in and out of the same by means of a reciprocating pump, as illustrated.
If the strokes of the latter are effected in intervals of more than one hour
and forty-eight minutes, sufficient for the transmission of the impulse thru
the whole mass, the entire bag will expand and contract and corresponding movements
will be imparted to pressure gauges or movable pistons with the same intensity,
irrespective of distance. By working the pump faster, shorter waves will be
produced which, on reaching the opposite end of the bag, may be reflected and
give rise to stationary nodes and loops, but in any case, the fluid being
incompressible, its inclosure perfectly elastic, and the frequency of
oscillations not very high, the energy will be economically transmitted and
very little power consumed so long as no work is done in the receivers. This is
a crude but correct representation of my wireless system in which, however, I
resort to various refinements. Thus, for instance, the pump is made part of a
resonant system of great inertia, enormously magnifying the force of the imprest
impulses. The receiving devices are similarly conditioned and in this manner
the amount of energy collected in them vastly increased.
Fig.
7. — The Theory Has Been Seriously Advanced and Taught that the Radio Ether
Wawe Oscillations Pass Around the Earth by Successive Reflections, as Here
Shown. The Efficiency of Such a Reflector Cannot be more than 25 Per Cent; the
Amount of Energy Recoverable is a 12.000-mile Transmission being but One
Hundred and Fifteen Billionth Part of One Watt, with 1.000 Kilowatts at the
Transmitter.
The Hertz wave system is
in many respects the very opposite of this. To explain it by analogy, the
piston of the pump is assumed to vibrate to and fro at a terrific rate and the
orifice thru which the fluid passes in and out of the cylinder is reduced to a
small hole. There is scarcely any movement of the fluid and almost the whole
work performed results in the production of radiant heat, of which an
infinitesimal part is recovered in a remote locality. However incredible, it is
true that the minds of some of the ablest experts have been from the beginning,
and still are, obsest by this monstrous idea, and so it comes that the true wireless
art, to which I laid the foundation in 1893, has been retarded in its
development for twenty years. This is the reason why the “statics” have proved
unconquerable, why the wireless shares are of little value and why the
Government has been compelled to interfere.
We are living on a planet
of well-nigh inconceivable dimensions, surrounded by a layer of insulating air
above which is a rarefied and conducting atmosphere (Fig. 5). This is
providential, for if all the air were conducting the transmission of electrical
energy thru the natural media would be impossible. My early experiments have
shown that currents of high frequency and great tension readily pass thru an
atmosphere but moderately rarefied, so that the insulating stratum is reduced
to a small thickness as will be evident by inspection of Fig. 6, in which a
part of the earth and its gaseous envelope is shown to scale. If the radius of
the sphere is 12½”, then the non-conducting layer is only 1/64″ thick and it will be obvious that the Hertzian rays cannot traverse
so thin a crack between two conducting surfaces for any considerable distance,
without being absorbed. The theory has been seriously advanced that these
radiations pass around the globe by successive
reflections, but to show the absurdity of this suggestion reference
is made to Fig. 7 in which this process is diagrammatically indicated. Assuming
that there is no refraction, the rays, as shown on the right, would travel
along the sides of a polygon drawn around the solid, and inscribed into the
conducting gaseous boundary in which case the length of the side would be about
400 miles. As one-half the circumference of the earth is approximately 12,000
miles long there will be, roughly, thirty deviations. The efficiency of such a
reflector cannot be more than 25 per cent, so that if none of the energy of the
transmitter were lost in other ways, the part recovered would be measured by
the fraction (¼)30. Let the transmitter radiate Hertz waves at the
rate of 1,000 kilowatts. Then about one
hundred and fifteen billionth part of one watt is all that would be
collected in a perfect
receiver. In truth, the reflections would be much more numerous as shown on the
left of the figure, and owing to this and other reasons, on which it is
unnecessary to dwell, the amount recovered would be a vanishing quantity.
Fig.
8. — This Diagram Illustrates How, During a Solar Eclipse, the Moon's Shadow
Passes Over the Earth With Changing Velocity, and Should Be Studied In
Connection With Fig. 9. The Shadow Moves Downward With Infinite Velocity at
First. Then With Its True Velocity Thru Space, and Finally With Infinite
Velocity Again.
Consider now the process
taking place in the transmission by the instrumentalities and methods of my
invention. For this purpose attention is called to Fig. 8, which gives an idea
of the mode of propagation of the current waves and is largely
self-explanatory. The drawing represents a solar eclipse with the shadow of the
moon just touching the surface of the earth at a point where the transmitter is
located. As the shadow moves downward it will spread over the earth’s surface,
first with infinite and then gradually diminishing velocity until at a distance
of about 6,000 miles it will attain its true speed in space. From there on it
will proceed with increasing velocity, reaching infinite value at the opposite
point of the globe. It hardly need be stated that this is merely an
illustration and not an accurate representation in the astronomical sense.
Fig. 9. — Theory.
The exact law will be
readily understood by reference to Fig. 9, in which a transmitting circuit is
shown connected to earth and to an antenna. The transmitter being in action,
two effects are produced: Hertz waves pass thru the air, and a current
traverses the earth. The former propagate with the speed of light and their energy
is unrecoverable in the
circuit. The latter proceeds with the speed varying as the cosecant of the
angle which a radius drawn from any point under consideration forms with the
axis of symmetry of the waves. At the origin the speed is infinite but gradually
diminishes until a quadrant is traversed, when the velocity is that of light.
From there on it again increases, becoming infinite at the antipole.
Theoretically the energy of this current is recoverable
in its entirety, in properly attuned receivers.
Fig.
10. — Tesla's World-Wide Wireless Transmission of Electrical Signals, As Well
As Light and Power, Is Here Illustrated in Theory, Analogy and Realization.
Tesla's Experiments With 100 Foot Discharges At Potentials of Millions of Volts
Have Demonstrated That the Hertz Warn Are Infinitesimal In Effect and
Unrecoverable: the Recoverable Ground Waves of Tesla Fly "Thru the
Earth". Radio Engineers Are Gradually Beginning to See the Light and That
the Laws of Propagation Laid Down by Tesla Over a Quarter of a Century Ago Form
the Real and True Basis of All Wireless Transmission To-Day.
Some experts, whom I have
credited with better knowledge, have for years contended that my proposals to
transmit power without wires are sheer nonsense but I note that they are
growing more cautious every day. The latest objection to my system is found in
the cheapness of gasoline. These men labor under the impression that the energy
flows in all directions and that, therefore, only a minute amount can be
recovered in any individual receiver. But this is far from being so. The power
is conveyed in only one direction, from the transmitter to the receiver, and
none of it is lost elsewhere. It is perfectly practicable to recover at any
point of the globe energy enough for driving an airplane, or a pleasure boat or
for lighting a dwelling. I am especially sanguine in regard to the lighting of
isolated places and believe that a more economical and convenient method can
hardly be devised.
The future will show whether my foresight is as accurate now
as it has proved heretofore.
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