From: Das GOAT
To:
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 ...
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