Nexus - 0225 - New Times Magazine-pages

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TESLA ELECTRICITY GENERATION EXPERIMENT TESLA ELECTRICITY GENERATION thing to do, it seemed, would be to make bottles. These were arranged side by side EXPERIMENT out a list of materials required. Copper in large wooden boxes lined with sheet wire and cable, condensers, step-up trans- copper or tin. There was usually 30 to 40 by Anthony Hansen formers, mechanisms for breaking or puls- bottles per box. The basic idea was to fill ing the system, insulating materials and the bottles with a concentrated salt water inety-five years ago, near Colorado many other things. There was also the — solution to within a few inches of-the top. Nites USA, a strange device was need to decide what length of wire might The salt solution was also surrounding the connected to the Earth. It was a be necessary to tap into the Earth. Tesla bottles, When connected up, Tesla had a large electrical machine which, at its high- usually wound his coils to quarter wave- cheap and very strong capacitor. He also est point, was 167 feet tall. Part of the lengths and stated that a certain length was had the use of the champagne and, as he device was 50 feet in diameter. The com- needed to tune in. If it was shorter, the fre- liked entertaining, there were probably plete machine was kept in a wooden build- quency would be too high and it would be quite a few bottles. This seems a wonder- ing specially made for it. impossible to draw out energy. ful use for champagne bottles. The other When the device was switched on, bolts Having decided to use a certain length of advantage was that if the capacitor over- of lightning would jump from a metallic secondary wire, I then turned to the next loaded, the bottles would burst. It could be ball 30 inches in diameter and 167 feet consideration which was the size of the said that this was like a fuse blowing and from the ground, straight up to the sky. A secondary. As the length of wire was quite added safety to the system. I have seen spectacular demonstration of energy, no long it was obvious the secondary would be modern capacitors blow up, sometimes doubt it would have impressed the people fairly large. with spectacular results. I would rather of Colorado Springs. The next problem was capacitors. The hear a champagne bottle pop inside a box - The man who designed and built this ones I needed had to be able to take a great than watch modern oil-filled ones explode. strange device was Nikola Tesla (1856- electrical pressure and also have a fairly The overall consideration was what are 1943). Tesla is perhaps best remembered large storage capacity. These proved to be the basic things required to build a com- for the AC power system which was first quite difficult to obtain, or, if they were plete system. The list now read as follows: used at Niagara Falls and is now used in available, were very expensive. Tesla 1—Secondary coil (exact length to be virtually every country. He is not well- solved this problem by using champagne determined) known for his Colorado experiments. _-—— - According to Tesla, the device was con- structed to prove his theory that electricity could be taken from the Earth—in other words, a previously unknown source of power could be extracted from the Earth and put to use. It seems that Tesla was suc- cessful but the system was never put into use, much to Tesla's disappointment. It appears that some experimenters did try to build these machines but apparently to no avail. Some even complained to Tesla who usually replied by saying, "Well, it is not my fault if you cannot build my machines; it just means that you are electri- cians of the ordinary kind." Sometimes he answered by saying anyone who has the same ability as he, can build them. As there are very few people like Tesla, this seemed a formidable task. But after careful consideration it occurred to me that Tesla had left more than enough clues how to build this equipment, and that most of the material necessary to build one of these devices was available. I then decided that I would attempt to build one of these devices. Now the first a Tesla in his offices at 8 West 40th Street, New York. (Columbia University Libraries) APRIL - MAY 1995 NEXUS ¢ 51 by Anthony Hansen