From: Das GOATTo: Subject: [CTRL] (2) Tesla [repost] Date: Friday, April 23, 1999 2:28 AM -Caveat Lector- Excerpt from "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla -- Biography of A Genius," by Marc J. Seifer, 1996, Birch Lane Press/Carol Publishing Group (ISBN 1-55972-329-7) [Jump ahead to the end to get a taste of things to come ...] ____________________________________________________________ 2 Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Edison, Westinghouse had been surreptitiously meeting with Henry Villard, Edison's financial backer, over a two-year period to discuss a possible merger ... [Villard] conferred with J. Pierpont Morgan, the real power behind the operation, and had Morgan send Edward Dean Adams, a longtime banking associate, to Menlo Park to try and get Edison to align with Westinghouse. Edison would hear none of it. Villard switched tactics and approached Thomson-Houston with the thought of buying them out ... In December a meeting was held at 23 Wall Street, in [J. P.] Morgan's office, to finalize plans for a merger. After Morgan looked over the financial records of both companies, he realized that Edison Electric, which was in debt for $3.5 million, had less revenue [so he] suggested that Thomson-Houston buy out Edison Electric ... [H]e created a monopoly ... Morgan maneuvered Villard out of the company altogether --he had to blame someone for problems-- and Charles Coffin took control of the new consolidation. They named the company General Electric (GE). Edison realized that a new age of electricity had arrived, one that would not countenance [the financial losses created by] his commonsense, trial-and-error approach. So Edison turned his interests to furthering the work of Edward Muybridge, a pioneer in motion pictures. In 1888 and 1891 he had his first patents on a device he called the kinetograph and a few years later he developed a fully-working movie camera and projection system. The "Morganization" of General Electric created an even greater foe for Westinghouse but also a critical problem for GE. Whereas Westinghouse was blocked [by Morgan's control of Edison's patents] from using an efficient lightbulb, GE was blocked from generating AC ... From the point of view of the courts, it was still undecided as to who the author of [Tesla's] AC polyphase system really was. Westinghouse had [patents from his own technicians] to back those of Tesla ... [GE] approached Charles Steinmetz with a scheme to work on improvements on AC designs in such a way that these would obscure Tesla's. Attracted [by] intrigue, Steinmetz accepted. The fray between Westinghouse and GE took a new turn in the race to win the bid to light the upcoming Chicago World's Fair and to harness Niagara Falls. Westinghouse [conferred] with Tesla ... and the money men reluctantly agreed to dismantle the lucrative but outmoded [pre- Tesla] machinery. [GE] hoped someone like Steinmetz could come up with a competing design, but they hadn't realized that Tesla held all the fundamental patents. Quite simply, there was no other [possible] system; one couldn't proceed without [Tesla]. [GE's Elihu] Thomson and Steinmetz were reduced to figuring out ways to somehow bypass the patents ... In a [clear] case of industrial espionage, [they] apparently paid a janitor to steal the Tesla blueprints from the Westinghouse plant. The intrigue must have triggered a variety of emotions in Steinmetz [who] had already lived a clandestine life in Germany. Editing a radical socialist newspaper under a pseudonym during the so-called Reign of Terror, he had learned to use secret passwords at radical meetings and write with invisible ink, as when he [acted as courier for] his leader, the charismatic revolutionary Heinrich Lux ... Steinmetz never renounced his affiliation with the Socialist movement, [yet] he supported an unscrupulous capitalist corporate structure ... motivated by the all-consuming profit motive [and counting on] its ability to subvert the law to achieve its ends. His affiliation with the Machiavellian policies of [J. P. Morgan-controlled] GE induced Steinmetz abandon his ideals: His opus on AC, "Theory and Calculations of Alternating Current Phenomena," first published in 1897, omitted any reference to Tesla ... (At the time, Tesla's [own] book was a veritable bible for all engineers in the field. That it does not even appear in the blibliography of Steinmetz's work is astounding.} In the foreword to Steinmetz's second text, "Theoretical Elements of Electrical Engineering,' written in 1902 ... Steinmetz wrote, "The electrical literature has been haunted by so many theories, for instance [Tesla's, about] the induction motor, which are incorrect." This not only aided in obfuscating the truth, it bolstered [Steinmetz's] own image in the corporate community. As these texts on AC would serve as important [sources] for subsequent writers, it was quite common in later years for engineers to obtain degrees, study AC, and even write textbooks on the topic themselves and never come across Tesla's name. Clearly, it was to GE's benefit to pretend that Tesla never existed, and to Westinghouse's benefit to [do the same] ... Perhaps the most blatant case of misrepresentation occurred a generation later, when Michael Pupin published his Pulitzer Prize-winning [book, including] a long [section] on the history of AC [which] described "four historical events, very important in the annals of electrical science" [in ALL of which Tesla had played a central role] [yet] ignored Tesla almost completely. Pupin concluded, "If [J. P. Morgan's company] had contributed nothing other than Elihu Thomson to GE, it would have contributed more than enough ... [Through him,] senseless opposition to the system of AC current vanished quickly ..." [And] in the preface, Pupin had the audacity to write that "the main object of [my] narrative [is] ... to describe the rise of IDEALISM in American science and related industries ..." ! These attempts to alter the past turned the stomach of a number of key players, notably C. E. L. Brown, of Oerlikon Works in Switzerland, and his top engineer, B. A. Behrend, author of one of the first definitive works on the AC motor ... Based on Tesla's [1888] treatise ... Brown was able to construct "[BEFORE] Westinghouse, probably the first successful motor in 1890." [Brown defended Tesla in technical journals.] Brown had been the first to transmit electrical power over long distances with Tesla's AC invention ... (Tesla himself had not [yet] demonstrated physically that his system could be used for long-distance transmission.) [B. A.] Behrend, particularly upset by the tactics of such as Steinmetz in using other people's work and leaving their names out of the bibliography, would later become one of Tesla's most important allies. The body of [Behrend's own] book [on AC] began with the sentence: "The Induction Motor, or Rotary Field Motor, was invented by Mr Nikola Tesla in 1888." Tesla's picture also appeared as the frontispiece. An emigre from Switzerland [who] came to [to the United States to] work for a division of GE in 1896, Behrend throughout his life sought to set the record straight as to who the real [inventor] of the AC polyphase system was. When Westinghouse sued [his division of GE] for patent infringements, Behrend was placed in a [difficult] position: [J. P. Morgan] wanted him to testify AGAINST Tesla. [He] wrote back, "It is not possible [for us to legitimately argue] the invalidity of the Tesla patents ... I cannot undertake this duty." --pp. 75-82 The Royal Society (1892) The rapid progress in the field of electromagnetic radiation, opened up by the findings of Sir William Crookes, Sir Oliver Lodge, and especially Hertz, induced in Tesla a mania to complete as many patents as he could ... It was at this time that the grand vision arose of wireless transmission of electrical power ... [H]e abhorred the thought that someone else should invent it before he could. Thus, he began to build ever more powerful coils while at the same time continuing his numerous experiments in high-intensity lighting, ozone production, converting AC to DC, and wireless communication. In February 1891, Tesla applied for the first of three portentous patents for the conversion and distribution of electrical energy. This invention was the mechanical oscillator, a completely unique multipurpose device [which] supplied a smooth, continuous current which could not only generate hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of volts but could also be tuned to specific frequencies ... The current was so "absolutely steady and uniform ... one could keep the time of day with the machine." In 1891, Tesla came upon an article by Prof. J. J. Thomson, [a] British scientist whose work would lead him to a Nobel prize as the discoverer of the electron, [who] was [engaged] in the process of directing [beams of electrons] from cathode-ray tubes to study the structure of electromagnetic energy. These investigations prompted a vigorous exchange [in print,] in the electrical journals, between the two men, and inspired Tesla ... Tesla would [meet] Thomson in person six months later, during the lectures he gave in London. Tesla arrived in London [on January 26, 1892]. [His] plan was to speak before the Institution of Electrical Engineers a week later "and leave immediately for Paris" to lecture before the Societe Francaise des Electriciens. Sir William Preece ... invited [him] to stay in his house. It must have been gratifying that Preece took an interest, as he was one of the patriarchs of the British scientific community ... As head of the government's Postal Telegraph Office, Preece had worked with telegraphy as far back as 1860 and had brought Bell's telephone, along with Bell himself, to the British Isles in the 1870s. He had also been associated with Edison since 1887, having coined the term "Edison effect" [for that process observed in] vacuum tubes ... whereby electronic particles flowed through space from the negative pole to the positive. Using that device as a voltage regulator, Preece returned to England to show his colleagues, especially Sir [John] Ambrose Fleming. On February 3, [Tesla's] discourse, entitled "Experiments with Alternate Currents of High Potential and High Frequency,' was presented. "For a full two hours," [the "Electrical Review" reported,] "Mr Tesla kept his audience spellbound. Before such colleagues as J. J. Thomson, Oliver Heaviside, Silvanus P. Thompson, Joseph Swan, Sir John Ambrose Fleming, Sir James Dewar, Sir William Preece, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir William Crookes, and Lord Kelvin, Tesla proclaimed ... 'Can there be a more interesting study than that of alternating current? ... We observe how THIS energy [=AC] can take the many forms of heat, light, mechanical energy and even chemical affinity ..." Firing up his great coil, amid erupting thunderbolts, Tesla spoke as if a sorceror. He announced that with his knowledge he had the ability to make animate that which was inert. "With wonder and delight ... [we note] the effects of strange forces which we bring into play, which allow us to transform, to transmit and direct energy at will ... We see the mass of iron and wires behave as though endowed with life ..." Tesla unveiled the first true radio tube in 1892, in the presence of all the key forefathers in the invention of the wireless. "I am firmly convinced," Tesla stated, "that [this] may be the means of transmitting intelligence to a distance without wires ..." Discussing the research of Preece, Hertz, and Lodge on the radiation of electromagnetic energy into the earth and space, Tesla then displayed "no-wire" motors. "It is not necessary to have even a single connection between the motor and generator," he announced, "except, perhaps, through the ground [or] through the rarefied air ... There is no doubt that luminous discharges with enormous potentials [can] be passed through many miles of [space] and that, [transmitting by this means] the energy of many hundreds of horsepower, motors or lamps may be operated at considerable distances from [the power] source ..." Based on research conducted the year before, prompted by the work of J. J. Thomson in propagating streams of [electrons], Tesla expanded upon his high-intensity button lamp, a device that could "vaporize" matter. This arrangement, as we shall see, is precisely the configuration required to create LASER BEAMS. Most likely, Tesla displayed ACTUAL laser beams at this time [but] neither he nor the other scientists present recognized the unique importance of the directed ray, as it was [only] part of a combination of OTHER lighting effects which [together] resulted in the disintegration of the material that was being bombarded. There are two types of standard lasers which correspond to Tesla's work: (1) a ruby laser, which reflects energy back to its source, which in turn stimulates more atoms into emitting special radiation, and (2) a gas laser, which consists of a tube filled with helium and neon ... Tesla worked with lamps constructed in exactly [the manner required]. The first he called a button lamp; the second, an exhausted or phosphorescent tube ... [He] also constructed a type of button lamp which could disintegrate any material, including zirconia and diamonds, the hardest substances known to exist. The lamp was, in essence, a globe coated inside with a reflective material (like the Leyden jar) and a "button" of any substance, most oftyen carbon, which was highly polished and attached to a source of power. Once electrified, the button would radiate energy that would bounce off the interior of the globe and back onto itself, intensifying a "bombardment" effect [until] the button would be "vaporized." Tesla next described precisely the invention of the ruby laser, over five decades before its reappearance in the middle of the 20th Century. The description is quite explicit ... The inventor's talk [continued] with the speculation that with improvements in the construction of long-distance cables, per his [specifications], telephony across the Atlantic would soon be possible. (It is significant to note that at this moment [Tesla] did not yet envision wireless transmission of voice, but rather of intelligence [=intelligent signals] (i.e., Morse code), light and power. However, his discussions with Preece on the existence of earth currents was beginning to take hold, and shortly afterward Tesla began to conceptualize transmitting voice and even pictures by wireless means.) "It has been my chief aim in presenting these results," Tesla concluded, "to advance ideas which I am hopeful will serve as starting points for new departures ..." At the end of the lecture "Mr Tesla tantalizingly informed his listeners that he had shown them only a THIRD of what he was prepared to [demonstrate], and the whole audience remained in their seats, unwilling to disperse, insisting on more, and Mr Tesla had to deliver a supplemental lecture ... It should be stated ... that practically the whole of the experiments shown were new, and had never been shown before, and were not merely a repetition of those given in America." The perspicacious Professor Dewar ... realized that [Tesla] more information to impart ... As a member of the board of the Royal Institution, also situated in London, Dewar knew that there were many dignitaries who had missed the grand event, especially Lord Rayleigh, so he set himself the task of persuading Tesla to [repeat the performance] the following evening. After the talk, Dewar escorted Tesla on a tour of the Royal Institution, where he displayed the work of his predecessors, especially Michael Faraday's ... He invited Tesla to visit his own lab, where he was creating extremely low temperatures that approached absolute zero and conducting pioneer studies of electromagnetic effects in such environments as liquid oxygen. "Why not stay for one more performance?" Dewar inquired. "How often do you think you will have the chance to visit the laboratories of such men as Crookes or Kelvin?" Tesla recalled, "It was an enviable experience. The next evening I gave a demonstration before the Royal Institution." At the culmination of the lecture, much of which, again, was new material not presented the previous evening ... Lord Rayleigh took over the lectern for the conclusion. Tesla recalled, "[Lord Rayleigh] said that I possessed a particular gift for discovery but that I should concentrate on one idea ..." Coming from this "ideal man of science," who had worked out mathematical equations for the wavelengths of light and also calculated the atomic weights of many of the elements, this suggestion made a great impression. A new sense of destiny swirled through Tesla as he began to realize that he would have to figure out a way to surpass his earlier discoveries ... Tesla had sparked the imagination of his British colleagues, and rapidly a number of them would begin to replicate his work and make their own advances ... The next day, Tesla received an invitation from Ambrose Fleming, [who had] been a consultant to Edison in connection with the lighting industry, [who] would four years hence work with Marconi in developing the wireless, and a few years after that, [would] invent the rectifier, a device for converting AC to DC. [Tesla reminisced that] Fleming "congratulated me heartily on [my] grand success. 'After this, no one can doubt your qualifications as a magician of the first order.'" The English aristocrat concluded by dubbing Tesla a member of the fictitious "Order of the Flaming Sword." As was his custom, Tesla toiled incessantly until the eclectic [Sir William] Crookes forced him to take a break ... After dinner, the two scientists sat back and prognosticated. Topics ranged from ramifications of their own research ... to religion and metaphysics. [Crookes] revealed that he had experimented in wireless communication before even Hertz began his investigations in 1889 [and] discussed the possibility that [electromagnetic] waves would be able to penetrate solid objects, such as walls. [He] argued against Kelvin's suggestion that the life force and electricity were at some level identical. "Nevertheless, electricity has an important influence upon vital phenomena, and is in turn set in action [=generated] by the living being, animal or vegetable." Further speculation caused the two men to discuss the possibility that electricity could be used to purify water, and to treat "sewage and industrial waste." Crookes suggested: "Perhaps proper frequencies could [be applied to fertilize] gardens, stimulate growth, make crops [resistent] to insects." Expanding on the work of Rayleigh, Crookes discussed with Tesla the possibility of setting up millions of separate wavelengths so as to ensure secrecy in communication between two wireless operators. They also reviewed the work of Helmholtz on the structure of the eye, noting that receptors on the retina are "sensitive to one set of wavelengths [i.e., visible light] while silent to others." In the same way, a receiving device for accepting electromagnetic signals might also be constructed to receive certain transmissions and not others. "Another point at which the practical electrician should aim," Crookes said in response to one of Tesla's speculations [recalling Ben Franklin's "harnessing of lightning"], "is in the control of weather." Such goals as the elimination of fog, or the ghastly "perennial drizzle" that plagued [England], and the creation of great amounts of rain scheduled for specific days, were discussed. [Sir William Crookes in "Some Possibilities of Electricity," Fortnightly Review, February 1892, pp. 173-81.] And if this were not enough, Crookes also introduced Tesla to a vigorous discussion of his experiments in mental telepathy, spiritualism, and even human levitation. As a member of the [British] Society for Psychical Research, and later [its] president, Crookes was in good company. Other scientists who would rise to the helm of the psychic society included Oliver Lodge, J. J. Thomson, and Lord Rayleigh, [all of whom, by the way, had been present at Tesla's demonstrations]. Crookes straightforwardly presented a plethora of convincing evidence, including drawings by [telepathic] receivers that matched those created by senders, photographs from seances of ectoplasmic materializations generated by the [medium] Florence Cook, and eyewitness accounts by himself and his wife. Those statements were enough to raise the eyebrows of anyone, and they served to rattle Tesla's worldview. As a staunch materialist up to that time, Tesla had absolutely no belief in any aspect of the field of psychic research, including relatively tame [phenomena] such as thought transference. But with Crookes' documentation and the support of other members of the cognoscenti, especially Lodge, and with Tesla [sleepless, intoxicated and] already exhausted from the strain of his severe schedule, the Serb's mind began to spin ... The world of superstition he thought he had left behind when he emigrated from the Old World swarmed through his brain like a hive of bees and [impinged on] the reality of the scientific worldview he had so efficiently constructed ... The pressure Tesla was under [prompted] Crookes to offer some friendly advice: "You are suffering from overwork, and if you do not take care of yourself, you will break down ..." --pp. 83-92 NEXT, IN PART 3: "VRIL POWER" and SIGNALS FROM MARS ... DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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