by Marc Seifer
TRANSMITTER: A TECHNICAL
DISCUSSION
At the 1990 International Tesla Conference held in Colorado Springs, Dr. Alexander Marincic, curator of the Tesla Museum in Belgrade; Robert Golka, the only modern electrical engineer to construct large-scale magnifying transmitters; and I were engaged in a conversation on the viability of Tesla’s plan. Both Marincic and Golka concurred that Tesla’s ultimate plan, that of sending energy around the earth for industrial purposes, was not practicable.
Leland Anderson, an electrical engineer and Tesla expert for nearly forty years, agreed. Tesla’s experiments at Colorado Springs, according to Anderson, were probably a local effect caused by the fortuitous placement of his tower next to the Pikes Peaks range along a great plain. When Tesla detected lightning discharges and standing waves, he made the incorrect assumption that these waves would encircle the globe. In fact, Anderson wrote, the standing waves Tesla detected were probably “unrecognized reinforcement effects” rebounding off Pikes Peak, and his generated waves probably did the same thing. His conclusion was based on measurements that electronic scientist Ralph Johler made of thunderstorms occurring along the peak.1
Two experts who have concluded that the Tesla apparatus was viable are Professor James Corum and Eric Dollard, both designers of transmitting equipment based on Tesla’s findings. Dollard writes that the invention (circa 1920) of the “multiple loaded flat top antenna” by “Steinmetz’s protégé, Ernst F. W. Alexanderson,” was really “fashioned after those developed by Tesla.” One such plant, located at Bolinas, California, sets up a resonant transformer between two separate “earth plates” and an “elevated plate.” This arrangement produces three separate types of wireless frequencies: “atmospheric induction, antenna transmission, and earth induction.” Acting as a “virtual ground” the aerial transmitting energy down into the earth sets up standing waves that “continuously bounce back and forth between the earth and the reflecting capacitance at a rate tuned to a natural rate of the earth.”2
A simple tuning fork experiment can be used to explain the importance of the ground connection. It resonates much more powerfully when the fork is attached to a ground, such as a table. Due to the conductive property of the earth, individualization of impulse transmission is also facilitated. The electrical energy “does not pass through the earth in the ordinary acceptance of the term, it only penetrates to a certain depth according to the frequency.”3
Corum, who holds a doctorate in physics and is a former professor of electrical engineering at West Virginia University writes, “It has been common in the past to discard Tesla’s far-sighted vision as baseless. [I] believe that such depreciation has stemmed from critics that were uninformed as to Tesla’s actual technical measurements, and physical observation.” Having performed various experiments himself, Corum surmises that Tesla’s mathematical results written in his May 16, 1900, patent application “could have only been obtained as a result of authentic terrestrial resonance measurements.” In other words, he concludes that Tesla’s claims that he (a) measured a terrestrial pulse that rebounded off the antipode of the earth and (b) calculated the resonant frequency of the earth are essentially correct.4
Looking at the wireless project from the technical point of view, most likely, Wardenclyffe was to be set up mainly for the purpose of distributing information and meager amounts of electrical power, just enough to run clocks and stock tickers, but not enough to charge factories. Each tower could act as a sender or a receiver. In a letter to Katherine Johnson, Tesla explains the need for well over thirty such towers.5
Further, the magnifying transmitter was conceived to transmit electricity in a variety of ways. Tesla could utilize the carrier waves traveling within the earth (e.g., the Shuman cavity, and/or the earth’s geomagnetic pulse), he could transmit frequencies through the air, or he could beam a carrier wave up to the ionosphere and use it for transport:
I will confess that I was disappointed when I first made tests along this line on a large scale. They did not yield practical results. At the time, I used about 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 volts of electricity. As a source of ionizing rays, I employed a powerful arc reflected up into the sky…trying only to connect a high tension current and the upper strata of the air, because my pet scheme for years ha[d] been to light the ocean at night.6
Central towers, acting much like today’s wireless trunkline microwave transmitters for the phone company, could then be hooked up via conventional wires to numerous households within a given radius.
WORLD BROADCASTING SYSTEM
From what I can ascertain, I believe that Tesla’s magnifying transmitter in a completed state would have operated as follows: A transmission tower would have been constructed so that its height and ability to radiate electrical oscillations was in a resonant relationship to the size, electronic and geophysical properties of the earth.
Rather than utilize transverse electromagnetic waves exclusively, Tesla would be utilizing longitudinal waves (such as those found in the impulses transmitted by earthquakes and by sound).7 The gigantic Tesla coil was also calculated to take into account the wavelength of light. In other words, the length of the wires wound in the transformer were in a harmonic relationship to the distance light would travel in a given time. With the production of standing waves resonant with the planet, “nodal points” on the earth’s surface were also plotted out.8
A tremendous charge, in excess of 30 million volts and in a harmonic frequency to the electrical and/or geophysical state of the earth, would be driven down the tower, into the ground, and out to sixteen 300-foot- long iron spokes positioned in a spiral down the entire length of the 120-foot well. Thereby gripping the earth, this pulse would generate an electronic disturbance in a harmonic relationship with the naturally occurring geomagnetic pulse that would reach the other side of the globe and in turn would bounce back up the tower. By controlling the period of frequency, this pulse could be modulated and actually increased in intensity in the same way one can make a well-made bell resound in increasing loudness by tapping it at precisely timed faster and faster rates. Also, the energy would be stored at the top of the tower and in specially built condensers by the laboratory. Stationary waves in resonance with known earth currents would thereby be established.9
Like a vibrating spring with a weight on it, this device enabled Tesla to determine and manipulate the electrostatic capacity (in analogy, like the pliability of the spring) and the inductance (analogous to the weight on the spring) of the carrier vibrations.10 Tesla also maintained that the use of liquefied air (-197°F) would greatly augment the production and/or reception of very high frequencies while also reducing impedance caused by friction or heat.11 By transforming energy to higher frequencies on the rebound flow, Tesla increased the efficiency of his towers. Each could act as both a sender and receiver. One tower situated near a waterfall could “jump” energy to another tower situated at another point on the globe.
Just as electricity is available throughout the electrical circuits that run through the transmission lines that circumscribe our planet, electricity would also be available throughout the entire electromagnetic grid of the earth itself. In the same way electricity is not utilized by conventional means until a plug is placed in a socket and a switch turned on, electricity would also not be utilized in the Tesla system until it too was connected up to a wireless instrument and that instrument was turned on. Electricity by the Tesla system would not be wasted by being diffused, no more so than electricity is wasted by present means, such as with wireless car telephones or by being made available through transformers and high-tension wires that run from transmission pole to transmission pole.12
It appears that the tower could at this point serve in a variety of ways. For instance, intelligible signals (wireless telephone) could be transmitted to any region of the globe. Power also could be provided by the same mechanism, probably within a confined region of each tower, to thousands of specific machines after they
sent a coded request impulse or simply to another tower not located by a power source. And this second tower, situated in a remote area, could be connected to home appliances and telephones by way of conventional wires or by wireless. If two transmitters were utilized and separated by many miles, vector waves could more easily place impulses in desired locations.13
Referring to Figure 1: A power source (such as coal or water) would generate energy into a transformer comprising both a secondary (tuned to the wavelength of light) and primary coil. The secondary coil in the transmitting tower would be the inside thinner one, which is longer and has more turns. The generated frequency would be lowered when induced into the thicker primary, which has fewer turns and is shorter. The transmitter would then pump the energy into the natural medium, broadcasting it via earth or air (i.e., two different ways). According to Tesla:
At the receiving station, a transformer of similar construction is employed; but in this case, the longer coil [of many turns]…constitutes the primary, and the shorter coil [of fewer turns]…the secondary…It is to be noted that the phenomenon here involved in the transmission of electrical energy is one of true conduction and not to be confounded with the phenomena of electrical radiation.14
An Additional Criticism
E. Kornhauser, a professor of electrical engineering at Brown University, in reviewing this section, is doubtful that this form of power transmission could be effectively achieved because the earth is not an efficient conductor (e.g., as compared to a copper wire). Concerning the possibility of creating wireless communication that could circumscribe the planet, Kornhauser conceded it was possible. He stated that the navy had unsuccessfully tried to institute a world radar system utilizing extremely low frequencies. Project Seafarer, as it was named, purportedly could have set up communication even with submarines deep underwater at any point of the globe. However, the plan was scrapped, it appears, mainly because of the potential to markedly disturb existing radio and television frequencies and fear of damage to the environment.
Figure 1. The sending and receiving magnifying transmitters are built essentially the same way. The length and size of the tower and transformer is in a harmonic relationship to the electromagnetic properties of the earth. It has a multipurpose function. Standing waves generated in resonant relationship to known Earth currents could be used as carrier frequencies for transmitting electrical power.
The efficiency of Tesla’s radio receiving tubes was also questioned by Kornhauser, who thought it was doubtful that they would have been efficient enough as it would take another fifteen years before radio tubes of any merit came into being. Kornhauser did say, however, that the modern AM radio broadcasting stations use the earth as their primary means of transmitting their impulses. FM and television also use the earth, but the atmosphere in these instances is the more important medium for impulse transmission.
APPENDIX B
THE TUNGUSKA INCIDENT
A question often asked is whether Tesla had anything to do with the massive explosion which occurred in Tunguska, Siberia in June of 1908. As no meteor or crater was found, a rumor stemming from Andrija Puharich, picked up by Tad Wise in his Tesla novel suggested that Tesla used Wardenclyffe to deliver the charge. Since the tower became disoperational in 1903, I saw no reason to include the incident in the first edition of Wizard. However, because the story was repeated on TV, rumors have persisted. Roy Gallant estimates in his book The Day the Sky Split Apart that the Tunguska explosion devastated a forty square mile area, and released energy 2,000 times greater than the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima! Tesla expert James Corum allowed that if Tesla had the capability of releasing just 1% of the earth’s magnetic charge, in theory, he could have produced comparable results. However, both Corum and the author are in agreeement that Tesla not only did not do this, but further, Wardenclyffe simply had nowhere near that kind of capability. As Gallant suggests, the Tunguska explosion was probably caused by a comet or asteroid, which barely missed the earth by skipping along its atmosphere two or three miles above the site.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frequently Used Abbreviations
NT Nikola Tesla
FOIA Freedom of Information Act
CSN Colorado Springs Notes
ITS International Tesla Society, Colorado Springs, Colo.
TMS Tesla Memorial Society, Lackawanna, N.Y.
Research Facilities
LA Leland Anderson, personal archives, Denver, Colo.
American Friends of the Hebrew University, New York, N.Y.
SWP Avery Library, Manuscript Division, Columbia University, New York,
N.Y. (Stanford White papers)
BLCA Bancroft Library, Manuscript Division, University of California,
Berkeley, Calif.
Brown University Library, Providence, R.I.
BLCU Butler Library, Manuscript Division, Columbia University, New York,
N.Y. (Robert U. Johnson, George Scherff, and Michael Pupin papers)
WBP Cornell University Library, Manuscripts Division, Ithaca, N.Y. (William Broughton papers)
TAE Edison National Historic Site, West Orange, N.J. (Thomas Alva Edison,
Charles Batchelor, and Nikola Tesla papers)
Engineering Societies Library, New York, N.Y.
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D.C.
George Arents Research Library. Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
GP Gernsback Productions, Farmingdale, N.Y.
HC Hammond Castle, Gloucester, Mass.
Health Research Publishers, Mokelumne, Calif.
HL Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
LC Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Tesla correspondence on microfilm)
JPM J. Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, N.Y.
Lloyd’s of London, England
MSF MetaScience Foundation Library, Kingston, R.I.
National Academy of Science, Stockholm, Sweden
NAR National Archives, Washington, D.C.
NYPL New York Public Library, New York, N.Y.
NYHS New York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.
OAP Office of Alien Property, Washington, D.C.
Port Jefferson Library, Port Jefferson, N.Y.
St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Mo.
KSP Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (Kenneth Swezey Papers)
NTM Tesla Museum, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
University of Prague Library, Archiv Univerzity Karlovy, Prague, Czechoslovakia
University of Rhode Island Library and Interlibrary Loan, Kingston, R.I.
USX Corporation, Pittsburgh, Penn.
GWA Westinghouse Corporation Archives, Pittsburgh, Penn.
YL Yale University Library, New Haven, Conn.
Frequently Cited Periodicals
BE Brooklyn Eagle
CL Current Literature
EE Electrical Engineer
EEX Electrical Experimenter
ER Electrical Review
EW Electrical World
EW & E Electrical World & Engeineer
NYHT New York Herald Tribune
NYS New York Sun
NYT New York Times
NYW New York World
PACE Planetary Association for Clean Energy
R of R Review of Reviews
Tesla Correspondence
JJA John Jacob Astor
TdB Titus deBobula
RFL Reginald Fessenden Litigation
JHH Jr John Hays Hammond Jr.
JH Julian Hawthorne
AH Admiral Higginson
KJ Katharine Johnson
RUJ Robert Underwood Johnson
TCM Thomas Commerford Martin
JPM J. Pierpont Morgan
JPM Jr J. Pierpont Morgan Jr.
GS George Scherff
NT Nikola Tesla
ET Elihu Thomson
GSV George Sylvester Viereck
SW Stanford White
GW George Westinghouse
>
GWC George Westinghouse Corporation
For example: NT/JHHjr January 3, 1911: Tesla wrote Hammond on that date.
GS/NT April 7, 1902: Scherff wrote Tesla on that date.
Frequently Cited Sources by or About Nikola Tesla
NT 1894 The Inventions, Researches and Writings of Nikola Tesla. T. C. Martin, ed. New York: Electrical Engineer.
NT 6/1900 “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy.” Century, June 1900, pp. 175-211.
NT 1916 Nikola Tesla: On His Work With Alternating Currents and their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephone, and Transmission of Power. L. Anderson (ed.), Denver Colo.: Sun, 1992.
NT 1919 My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla. Ben Johnston, ed., Williston, Vt.: Hart Brothers, 1981.
NT 1937 “The New Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-dispersive Energy Through the Natural Medium.” In Elizabeth Raucher and Toby Grotz, eds. Tesla: 1984: Proceedings of the Tesla Centennial Symposium, Colorado Springs, Colo.: International Tesla Society, 1984, pp. 144-50.
NT 1956 Nikola Tesla: Lectures, Patents, Articles. Belgrade: Nikola Tesla Museum. NT 1961 Tribute to Nikola Tesla: Letters, Articles, Documents. Belgrade: Nikola Tesla Museum, 1961.
NT 1979 Colorado Springs Notes and Commentary. Alexander Marincic, ed. Belgrade: Nikola Tesla Museum, 1979.
NT 1981 Solutions to Tesla’s Secrets. J. Ratzlaff, ed. Milbrae, Calif.: Tesla Book Co., 1984.
NT 1984 Tesla Said. J. Ratzlaff, ed. Millbrae, Calif.: Tesla Book Co., 1984.
R & A. Ratzlaff, J., and Anderson, L. Dr. Nikola Tesla Bibliography 1884-1978. Palo Alto, Calif.: Ragusen Press, 1979.
Bibliography of Major Sources
Abraham, J., and R. Savin. Elihu Thomson Correspondence. New York: Academic Press, 1971.
Adams, E. D. Niagara Power: 1886-1918. Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Niagara Falls Power Co., 1927.