Nikola Tesla - On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telgraphy

262 Pages·2010·56.52 MB·English

NIKOLA
~.....,
ÆTHERFORCE
NIKOLA TESLA ON HIS WORK WITH
ALTERNATING
ÆTHERFORCE
Second banquet meeting of the Institute of Radio Engineers (now part of the Institute of Electrical Engineers) at Luchow's in
New York City, April 24, 1915. Photo by C.A. Schere
Smithsonian Institution
Standing at back from left,
George W. Ferdinand John Stone Jonathan Lee de Nikola Fritz Alfred N. Ernst F.W.
Pierce Braun Stone Zenneck Forest Tesla Lowenstein Goldsmith Alexanderson
Tesla refers to these contemporaries in the interview at pages:
not mentioned 103 16, 124 16, 133 100 178, 179 not mentioned 24, 171
ÆTHERFORCE
Tesla Presents Series
1
NIKOLA TESLA ON HIS WORK WITH ALTERNATING CURRENTS
AND THEIR APPLICATION TO WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY,
AND TRANSMISSION OF POWER
An Intervievv
Leland
2002
Twenty First Century Books
Breckenridge, Colorado
ÆTHERFORCE
Copyright © Twenty First Books
All reserved. First Published 1992
Printed in the United States of America
by Fidlar Doubleday, Inc.
No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical,
or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without in from the publisher.
Library of Long!:ess Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nikola, 1856-1943.
Nikola Tesla on his work with currents and their to wireless
telegraphy, telephony, and transmission of power: an extended interview / Leland
U1(lerSOtl. editor.
p. cm.--
Originally published: 1992.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-893817-01-6
2. Tesla, Nikola, 1856-1943--Interviews. 3. Electric
States--Interviews. 4. systems--United States--Patents. 5.
Electric currents, Alternating. 6. Telegraph, Wireless. 1. Anderson, Leland 1. II. Title.
ill. Series.
TK257 .T48 2002
621.382'092--dc21
2002072006
Originally by Sun uu"uU'I"" Denver
a subsidiary of
& Colorado
·~--··--Books
Box 2001
.....,U.""""H.L~UJ<,", Colorado 80424
IV
ÆTHERFORCE
This work is dedicated to the late
D. Jordan, Professor emeritus
of American history, University of
who pressed his
to the review of legal records in
historical research. few
Istc::mans, librarians, and archivists
L¥~'V~H"L.~the of
materials. . .. Yet the law, in one
way or is the basis of most
institutions-political, social, cultural,
economic .... It is unfortunately
a truism that graduate students
are seldom introduced to
materials."*
* "In Search of Legal n~~,,,,u,, American Archivist, Vol. No.4 (Oct. 1970).
v
ÆTHERFORCE
ÆTHERFORCE
CONTENTS
Xl
Introduction
I. High 1
with Wireless and 9
Mechanical Oscillators 36
rv.
Apparatus Condenser Discharges;
Damped Waves 48
for Transformation by
Continuous Waves 76
VI.
Energy Transmission 125
VIII. 148
IX. Receiving 1
of Remarks 169
L
181
.~"'~ ~t-""A of 1915 ship board
LLa, ••, ,,,.JLlL
spiral antenna
[Re£ from p. 1
inventory
1
237
ÆTHERFORCE
FIGURES
Figure Page
1 Diagrammatic illustration of first high frequency alternator with 384 poles. 4
2 Photographic view of alternator [shown in Fig. 1]. 6
3 Light and motive devices operated from this alternator in novel manner. 7
4 Vacuum tubes lighted in alternating electrostatic field. 8
5 Illustrating various ways of using a high frequency alternator. 10
6 Diagram of the second machine built with no wire on the rotating part. 13
7 Photograph of machine covered by US. Patent No. 447,921. 16
8 Diagrammatic drawing of the third and larger machine with 480 poles. 18
9 Photographic view of alternator covered by US. Patent No. 447,921. 19
10 Small alternator of very high frequency built for purposes of investigation (receivers). 20
11 Small high-frequency alternator of different construction, for the same purposes. 20
12 Diagrammatic illustration of machine with rotating magnetic field excitation. 22
13 Instrument to receive radio waves of 1896-1899 structure. 25
14 Electrical condenser described in US. Patent No. 464,667. 30
15 Electrical condenser described in US. Patent No. 567,818. 31
16 Improved form of electrolyte condenser as used in N.yC.laboratories. 33
17 Form of condenser with air under great pressure as dielectric. 33
18 Apparatus for manufacture of condensers and coils to exclude air. 34
19 Simple mechanical oscillator used in first experiments. 36
20 Mechanical oscillator with air spring combined with electric generator. 37
21 Another mechanical oscillator with controlling electromagnetic system. 38
22 Another type of small mechanical electromagnetically controlled oscillator. 39
23 Large electro-mechanical oscillator for generating isochronous oscillations. 40
24 Diagram of electro-mechanical oscillator for generating isochronous oscillations. 40
25 Double compound electro-mechanical isochronous oscillator. 41
26 Diagram of double compound electro-mechanical isochronous oscillator. 42
27 Large mechanical and electrical isochronous oscillator with four vibrating parts. 43
28 Diagram showing length of section of large mechanical and electrical oscillator. 44
29 Small high frequency mechanical and electrical oscillator used in many investigations. 45
30 Diagram of small high frequency electro-mechanical and electrical oscillator. 46
31 Method of transformation of electrical energy by oscillatory condenser discharges. 49
32 Series quenched spark gap. 50
33 Discharger working in hydrogen rich atmosphere, still further weakened by heat. 51
34 Oscillatory apparatus with interrupter in oil. 53
35 Apparatus with mechanical break as installed on a large scale in the N.yC.labs. 55
36 Isochronous mechanical break used in 35 So. Fifth Avenue laboratory. 57
37 Mechanical break with two oppositely rotating discs. 58
ÆTHERFORCE
~""J'A""L."un with break.
HH."',llAUJ''-D.J.
by condenser discharges (both
",,+"PIP"" transmitting -.u .......... ".
illustrating transmission and transformation of through one
vacuum tubes and lamps.
through one wire.
U.a..l""LLLU"\..U
which a at the of a 88
56 which the coil is not directly 89
\.Vl.lll,,\.
57 preceding were made. 91
with coils
,,,UU,,,,,'VH of energy with 93
60 Application of transmission messages. 93
61 .U.U""'"'''''''''U):; an eXJJer:tmc~nt alternator and
62
Striking expenrnen electrorrlag:net:1c waves. 95
An important experiment in the transmission of energy performed in 1899. 96
65 98
66 101
67 wave
arr:~;errlefi1ts.
68 111
69 113
70 electricity set movement. 114
71 were performed. 1
",-'.H"''-H"0
72 Diagram showing general arrarlj;;erneIlt of transmitting and receiving 1
\...U.'.U"'-,,!.
Experimental at Colorado a later phase development. 117
74 at Colorado investigative structure. 118
75 of a transmitter a pressure of 12 volts. 121
"",-uao,.«'-
Another discharge remarkable for symmetry at Colorado plant.
IX
ÆTHERFORCE