CHAPTER 1 - Nikola Tesla and Radiant Energy

CHAPTER 1 - Nikola Tesla and Radiant Energy

                                                         Gerry Vassilatos
                                 in ”Secrets of Cold War Technology: Project HAARP and Beyond”,
                                              Borderland Sciences Research Foundation,
                                              P. O. Box 220, Bayside, CA, U.S.A, 1996;
                                                        ISBN 0-945685-17-3.

                        I. ANOMALY                                 the world over to make attempts in this essential research.

   Deep in the heart of many conspiratisttopics sits a desper-
ate desire to rediscover the lost magic of Nature. It was with
this lost magic, this qualitatively accessed communion with
Nature, that late Victorian researchers were all too familiar.
Their numerous accounts cannot often be rationalized against
the wall of academic regulation which prides itself in explain-
ing all natural phenomena through Simple mechanisms, the
reductions of natural phenomena to meaningless force-chains.
But even the journals of that day reveal a scientific world ab-
solutely awash in discoveries and anomalous phenomena, por-
traying energies and dynamics which defy mechanistic expla-
nation. The lost magic of vital energy! Developments which
came with our present century represent empirical discoveries
which yet have no theoretical precedent. In the very midst of
that marvelous Epoch stand several personages who must for-
ever remain as legends of Qualitative Science. One of these
is Nikola Tesla. But why is Tesla the shadow which yet so                             Nikola Tesla 36 years old.
haunts and provokes military researchers? Furthermore, why
can it be said that the name of Nikola Tesla represents the ”ab-      The central effort of each Cold War project tells the tale of
solute rule” by which to comprehend each of the successive         seemingly separate themes. But once again, only a complete
military projects, seemingly separate and unconnected exper-       familiarity with each stage of technical achievement in this
imental ventures observed throughout the Twentieth Century?        progressive advancement can enable an informed comprehen-
   Why are the various achievements of Tesla so often quoted       sion of such themes. From a singular vantage point alone do
in military hardware articles, proposals which seem to attract     we see each of these separate themes merge, intertwine, and
the greatest interest only after mentioning both his name and      become coherent Themes germane to comprehending Cold
some aspect of his work? Since they most certainly have not        War Technology were each the resuIt of private attempts at re-
been able to duplicate Teslian Technology, why then do we          producing the achievements of a Single individual, one whose
continually find that military project committees are forever      work has now positively haunted the scientific and military
yet attempting to approximate Teslian Technology? Every            world in excess of a century. Why indeed is it also very ob-
professional Tesla aficionado secreily knows that Tesla elec-      vious that, with the exception of one very Simple dtscovery,
trical energies were more like luminous beams of gaseous           neither military nor private developers have yet successfully
light than radiowaves or electrified particles. What they do       duplicated any part of true Teslian Technology? In order to
not know is how he produced the energies. This Simple but          best appreciate the sheer frustration of radio and military en-
profound process represents a most fundamental natural prin-       gineers, whose consistent failure to reproduce the effects re-
ciple which could never have been predicted. Having been           ported by Nikola Tesla troubles their fundamental theoretical
the result of accidental empirical discovery, so few suspect       base, we must study something of Tesla and his own work.
it can exist. The blinding influence of mathematically pre-           The technical themes relevant to understanding of all ad-
cise models serves only to block awareness that other realities    vanced technologies necessarily begins with Tesla. Because
can or do exist. However basic and simple, Tesla Technology        of a long-standing network of misinformation and the resul-
contains the secret of a power revolution which each knows         tant skewed academic perceptions, Teslian Impulse Technol-
would have changed the world. In his lifetime, the once fa-        ogy has never been openly legitimized or endorsed as a viable
mous Tesla became the target of dubious financial intrigues,       threat to either military or industrial agencies. This gloss is
failed death attempts, and outrageous deprivations and depre-      of course a complete fabrication. The most diligent examina-
cations. The fear which surrounded this rare genius seemed to      tion of Tesla lectures and other lost Tesla publications, cou-
heighten with his every announcement, a thing which greatly        pled with access to corroborative experimental work which
amused him throughout the years of his self-exile. It is the       vindicates most ofTesla’s own findings, has made the follow-
persistence of this fear which so provokes military agencies       ing chapter possible. In these few pages, you will therefore

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receive a summary review of the essential Teslian principles.      which academicians hold. In the rare instance that they are
These are absolutely necessary before we proceed with our          able to manage a positive remark, usually one of mock indul-
central theme. My Simple request is that you patiently read        gence, the accolades address his early work with Polyphase.
through this section, keeping in mind that all of the informa-     Other than these occasional smug comments, most academi-
tion will be completely applicable to each subsequent chapter.     cians view Tesla as a ”poet-scientist” who made too much of
   It is only through the window of Teslian Impulse Technol-       standard phenomena. Nothing can be further from the truth.
ogy that we can comprehend the progression of projects in-            After completing his initial work in Polyphase and High
dustrial and military throughout the entire Century. Learning      Frequency Alternating Currenls, Tesla made a Singular dis-
each lesson carefully will best help appredate the scope of this   covery which forever altered the course and nature of his ex-
present theme in all of its deep implications. Here you will       perimental research. Whether purposefully or inadvertently,
find factual information otherwise difficult, if not impossible,     this Singular discovery has been completely overlooked even
to obtain. One learns quickly that ”things Teslian” are much       by those who claim to know his work best A Single article
more than they appear to be. Tesla was a classical lover of        and statements made in several of his Lectures absolutely af-
conundrums and enigmas, and knew how to use them to en-            firm the conviction that Tesla, while working with violently
crypt his meanings. When Tesla spoke, everyone listened in-        abrupt elecbical discharges, discovered a new force. Indeed,
tently. But few persons understood his meaning. To know Tes-       it was through the development and application of this new
lian Technology, one must be willing to suspend conventional       physical agency, his greatest discovery, that Tesla encountered
knowledge, listening only to the descriptions and cunning un-      unexpected and devastating hostility throughout both the aca-
derstatements by which Tesla craftily concealed his priority       demic and the financial worlds. The monstrous social forces
discoveries. Confusion over a surprising few distinctions has      which drove him into self-exile did not, however, stop him
proved to be the only stumbling block keeping professional         from continuing his most important applications of this ener-
engineering communities from achieving the Teslian agenda.         getic species. Living in New York City until his passing in
   It is for many young aspiring scholars an astounding reve-      1943, Nikola Tesla continued to conduct small experiments
lation to find that the degree of revolutionary thought engaged    in applications which recall his discovery of radiant elecbical
before the Century’s turn went further than modern technol-        energy. Few of his experiments were conducted without an
ogy now dares to dream. The more established academes              accompanying assortment of reliable witnesses.
consistently rejected Teslian hypotheses as a matter of habit.        Throughout his lifetime in New York City there were many
Tesla was nothing less than aJules Verne character, who            notables who observed these developments with greatest fas-
stepped out of a visionary world and worked wonders in the         cination. Among those who were awestruck by the things they
world. What Tesla achieved could not have been made possi-         saw were Samuel Clemens, Marguerite Merington, Robert
ble without his extraordinary sensitivity and keen awareness       UnderwoodJohnson, Edward Hewitt, Kolman Czito, Fritz
of his own perceptions. In the absence of physical evidence,       Lowenstein, George Scherff, Dr. John Hammond, Lee de For-
Tesla all too often worked his way toward natural truth. In this   est, and Dr. Anton Kammela, Several mysterious profession-
manner he discovered what theoreticians would never seek.          als who assisted Tesla in his actual tests runs were Simply re-
                                                                   ferred to as ”Mr. Uhlmann, Mr. Ailey, and Mr. Myers”. Apart
   Most who pursue things Teslian know the sundry details
                                                                   from this scant information, we do not know more of these
of his early work in Polyphase, and his subsequent discov-
                                                                   witnesses to his works. Along with these personages were a
ery of high frequency alternating current. Few however man-
                                                                   number of his private machinists. His secretaries, a number
age to isolate, identify, and comprehend his most important
                                                                   including Dorothy Skerritt and Muriel Arbus, bore witness to
Single discovery, the phenomenon through which all of his
                                                                   his persistent experimentation. The office at 8 E.40th Street
supposed outlandish claims were actually made possible. The
                                                                   off Fifth Avenue also served as a small laboratory workshop.
discovery has not been adequately described among those who
                                                                   All of this was moved to the Hotel New Yorker in his later
claim to know something beyond the initiatory facts concern-
                                                                   years. Thus whether on the large scale, by which his younger
ing his work. Those who believe that only experimentation
                                                                   years of experimenting were performed, or on the small scale,
will reveal the truth concerning Tesla may be in for a sad de-
                                                                   which characterized his last years, there are several witnesses
feat Indeed, those who undertake the reproduction of Teslian
                                                                   to his continuous exertions and successes, What Tesla stated
transformers know the disappointment and subsequent disin-
                                                                   in the press, throughout his career, were always supported by
terest which has followed so many others before. Few are
                                                                   a great number of experimental proofs.
honest enough to admit the possibility that their own failed
experimental reproductions are entirely due to their own mis-
understanding. Those who publish the plans for such designs
have already contaminated the process with a fundamental and                               II.   VORTEX
failure-prone misunderstanding. Old electrical experimenter’s
texts are no better. By the end of the last Century, so much          Tesla spent his student years in the Polytechnic Institute at
misinformation conceming the essential Teslian component,          Graz, Austria. WhUe thoroughly engrossed in deep study of
the Tesla Transformer, had brought a complete and devas-           the ”electrical mysteries”, young Nikola Tesla observed the
tating chaos to the field. When experimental results there-        operation of an alternating current generator in a lecture hall
fore contradict statements made by Tesla, the usual conclu-        demonstration. This was the high frontier of his day, and he
sions find soured agreement with the low opinions of Tesla         was very much impressed with the apparent efficiency of this

3

design. When compared with the older Gramme machines,             aged inventor was reduced to an callous and embittered shell.
this alternating current generator was a true engineering mar-    Tesla, who kept politely refusing Morgan, was finally threat-
vel. The complete absence of commutator bands in the hous-        ened. Powerline technology had been monopolized by Mor-
ing allowed the complete elimination of sparking losses, a        gan who, on the strength of this monopoly, strongly suggested
greatly increased efficiency in output current being the result.    that Tesla might not be able to export his Polyphase Power
The AC generator did not sizzle as it turned, it hummed. The      to any consumers. Without Morgan-owned powerlines there
problem was in the form of current which emerged. It alter-       would be no Tesla- Westinghouse Company. Tesla informed
nated with a regular tempo, first surging one way, and then       Morgan that means had already be found to eliminate the need
the other. Used for every application save one, motors, the       for powerlines, a statement which appeared the very height of
AC generator outperformed any device which formerly com-          desperation. Morgan believed he had sufficiently leaned on
prised the electrical arsenal of apparatus. Slowly, methodi-      Tesla to acquire his company. But these attempts to force
cally, young Tesla began developing a conceptual model for a      Tesla to yield falled. Tesla proved more indomitable than
new system of power distribution based on alternating current.    even the imposing Morgan and, when the silence was broken,
Consumers could be given a superior electrical supply, one        Tesla demonstrated before Morgan associates a new means
which would replace every Edisonian model then so much the        for transmitting high frequency alternations through both the
revolution. The Tesla systems could supply power for most         ground and the air in absence of powerlines. Morgan was
electrical appliances. Most, but not all. Motors proved to be     literally thunderstruck by this premise, and sought opportu-
the problem. How to manage the continuous rotation of a mo-       nities against Tesla at every turn. Students are taught that
tor operated by an alternating current proved too taxing for      Tesla developed non-rotating high frequency generators, sys-
any other mind. Tesla himself was completely baffled for a          tems employing sparks and capacitors. The name of Tesla is
time with this perplexing problem, but not because he could       inexorably and tragically equated only with alternating cur-
not solve it. Tesla knew he already had the answer, a familiar    rents. It is in this essential error that acadernes, engineers,
experience for one who received inspiration through vision.       young students, and avid experimenters have too long re-
Tesla was awaiting the moment when the revelation would           mained. Though engineers still erroneously equate Tesla only
flash before his eyes. Ready for that instant, he would simply    with high frequency alternating current, a recent and prolific
write down what he perceived in the ecstasy of his visions.       experimenter has proven all these suppositions to be fraudu-
   This vision proved nearly impossible to release until, while   lent. While Tesla was in fact the first to discover the high fre-
strolling in a park, he chanced to behold a beautiful sunset.     quency alternating current realm, there was a more important
Moved to emotion, Tesla began quoting a melodious poem            discovery which is rarely outlined. The truth of this second
written by his favored author, Goethe. During this dramatic       great discovery remains unrecognized and unappreciated.
rendition, Tesla suddenly became enraptured with the vision          But what was the critical event which few recognize, and
of a swirling vortex in the very heart of the sun. In this        which fewer still have the patience to extract from Tesla liter-
momentary episode, Tesla demonstrated both his absolute re-       ature? When did this event occur, and how does Tesla address
liance on vision and his ability to materialize the same. The     the finding? Except for the consummate achievements of en-
use of several superimposed alternating currents managed the      gineer Eric Dollard, undoubtedly the most brilliant expositor
formation of a swirling magnetic vortex, one in whose grip        of Teslian Technology in the world today, we too would have
an armature was forcibly and continuously dragged around          believed the error. What Mr. Dollard has successfully demon-
upon its axle. Tesla Polyphase revolutionized the world. Tesla    strated is the absolute separation between Tesla’s Polyphase
became a multimillionaire literally overnight. Together with      period and the Impulse Technology which explains his fifty
George Westinghouse, he harnessed Niagara Falls, establish-       years of experiments conducted until his passing. Mr. Dollard
ing forever the hydroelectric resource. Tesla continued seek-     experimentally vindicated most of Tesla’s basic and seem-
ing new ways to improve his Polyphase system, developing          ingly outlandish claims. In a series of experimental demon-
means for raising the frequency of current alternations into      strations, exact reproductions of Tesla systems, Mr. Dollard
new and formerly unknown levels. He designed and tested a         shows us evidence that post-Polyphase Teslian Technology
few new high frequency alternators, high speed rotating ma-       relied entirely upon a strange and special electroradiant phe-
chines which produced up to 30,000 alternations per second.       nomenon. But how did Tesla arrive at this new and revolution-
Tesla also found it possible to send such high frequency alter-   ary development, and how do engineers perceive this phase of
nations through a Single wire.                                    his work?
   At this time, Tesla unfortunately attracted the monopolistic
dreams of one l P. Morgan. The contact, established through
Morgan’s associates, was one which had more the atmosphere                            III.   SHOCK WAVES
of a threat. Politely refused by the young Tesla on several
occasions, the continual visits by Morgan associates became          James Clark-Maxwell predicted the possibility that electro-
something of a humorous charade. Tesla had observed the re-       magnetic waves might exist. In theoretical discussions de-
sults of yielding to these forays, while working with Thomas      signed to more thoroughly explain his mathematical descrip-
Edison in New Jersey. Morgan, who worked his way toto             tions, Maxwell asked his readers to consider two different
the Edison Company, eventually became the primary stock-          kinds of electrical disturbance possibly existing in Nature.
holder. Enunciating his impossible demands on Edison, the         The first consideration dealt with longitudinal electric waves,

4

a phenomenon which required alternating concentrations of          uncover.
electrostatic field lines. This densified and rarefied pulsation      The abrupt sparks, which he termed ”disruptive dis-
of electrostatic fields necessarily demanded a unidirectional      charges”, were found capable of exploding wires into vapor.
field, one whose vector was fixed in a Singular direction. The     They propelled very sharp shockwaves, which struck him with
only variable permitted in generating longitudinal waves was       great force across the whole front of his body. Of this surpris-
the concentration of he field. Subsequent propagation along        ing physical effect, Tesla was exceedingly intrigued. Rather
the electrostatic field lines would produce pulsating thrusts on   like gunshots of extraordinary power than electrical sparks,
charges, pulsations moving in a Single direction. These ”elec-     Tesla was completely absorbed in this new study. Electri-
trical soundwaves” were rejected by Maxwell, who concluded         cal impulses produced effects commonly associated only with
that such a condition was impossible to achieve.                   lightning. The explosive effects reminded him of similar oc-
   His second consideration dealt with the existence of trans-     currences observed with high voltage DC generators. A fa-
verse electromagnetic waves. These required the rapid alter-       miliar experience among workers and engineers, the Simple
nation of electrical fields along a fixed axis. Space spread-      closing of a switch on a high voltage dynamo often brought a
ing electrical lines would supposedly ”bend to and fro” under      stinging shock, the assumed result of residual static charging.
their own momentum, while radiating away at the speed of              This hazardous condition only occurred with the sudden
light from the alternating source. Corresponding forces, exact     application of high voltage DC. This crown of deadly static
duplicates of the alternations produced at the source, would be    charge stood straight out of highly electrified conductors,
detected at great distances. He encouraged that experimenters      often seeking ground paths which included workmen and
seek this waveform, suggesting possible means for achieving        switchboard operators. In long cables, this instantaneous
the objective. And so the quest to find electromagnetic waves      charge effect produced a hedge of bluish needles, pointing
began.                                                             straight away from the line into the surrounding space. The
   In 1887, Heinrich Hertz announced that he had discov-           hazardous condition appeared briefly, at the very instant of
ered electromagnetic waves, an achievement at that time of         switch closure. The bluish sparking crown vanished a few
no small imporl. In 1889, Nikola Tesla attempted the repro-        milliseconds later, along with the life of any unfortunate who
duction of these Hertzian experiments. Conducted with abso-        happened to have been so ”struck”. After the brief effect
lute exactness in his elegant South Fifth Avenue Laboratory,       passed, systems behaved as designed. Such phenomena van-
Tesla found himself incapable of producing the reported ef-        ished as charges slowly saturated the lines and systems. After
fects. No means however applied would produce the effects           this brief surge, currents flowed smoothly and evenly as de-
which Hertz claimed. Tesla began experimenting with abrupt         signed. The effect was a nuisance in small systems. But in
and powerful electric discharges, using oil filled mica capac-     large regional power systems where voltages were excessive,
itors charged to very high potentials. He found it possible        it proved deadly. Men were killed by the effect, which spread
to explode thin wires with these abrupt discharges. Dimly          its deadly electrostatic crown of sparks throughout component
perceiving something of importance in this experimental se-        systems. Though generators were rated at a few thousand
ries, Tesla abandoned this experimental series, all the while      volts, such mysterious surges represented hundreds of thou-
pondering the mystery and suspecting that Hertz had some-          sands, even millions of volts. The problem was eliminated
how mistakenly associated electrostatic inductions or electri-     through the use of highly insulated, heavily grounded relay
fied shockwaves in air for true electromagnetic waves. In fact,    switches. Former engineering studies considered only those
Tesla visited Hertz and personally proved these refined ob-        features of power systems which accommodated the steady
servations to Hertz who, being convinced that Tesla was cor-       state supply and consumption of power. It seemed as though
rect, was about to withdraw his thesis. Hertz was truly dis-       large systems required both surge and normal operative design
appointed, and Tesla greatly regretted having to go to such        considerations. Accommodating the dangerous initial ”super-
lengths with an esteemed academician in order to prove a           charge” was a new feature. This engineering study became the
point                                                              prime focus of power companies for years afterward, safety
   But while endeavoring toward his own means for identi-          devices and surge protectors being the subject of a great many
fying electrical waves, Tesla was blessed with an accidental       patents and texts. Tesla knew that the strange supercharging
observation which forever changed the course of his experi-        effect was only observed at the very instant in which dynamos
mental investigations. Indeed, it was an accident which for-       were applied to wire lines, just as in his explosive capacitor
ever changed the course of his life and destiny. In his own        discharges. Though the two instances were completely dif-
attempts to achieve where he felt Hertz had failed, Tesla de-      ferent, they both produced the very same effects. The instan-
veloped a powerful method by which he hoped to generate and        taneous surge supplied by dynamos briefly appeared super-
detect real electromagnetic waves. Part of this apparatus re-      eoncentrated in long lines. Tesla calculated that this electro-
quired the implementation of a very powerful capacitor bank.       static concentration was several orders in magnitude greater
This capacitor ”battery” was charged to very high voltages,        than any voltage which the dynamo could supply. The ac-
and subsequently discharged through short copper bus-bars.         tual supply was somehow being amplified or transformed. But
The explosive bursts thus obtained produced several coinci-        how?
dent phenomena which deeply impressed Tesla, far exceeding            The general consensus among engineers was that this was
the power of any electrical display he had ever seen, These        an electrostatic ”choking” effect. Many concluded it to be
proved to hold an essential secret which he was determined to      a ”bunching” action, where powerM fully applied force was

5

unable to move charge quickly through a system. Mysteri-                                 IV. PERMEATIONS
ous, the combined resistance of such systems seemed to influ-
ence the charge carriers before they were able to move away            The academic world of experimenters was yet fixated on
from the dynamo terminals’ Like slapping water with a rapid         his former discovery of high frequency alternating currents.
hand, the surface seemed solid. So also it was with the electri-    It seemed that Tesla alone now exclusively studied these im-
cal force, charges meeting up against a seemingly solid wall.       pulse discharges. He was producing explosive impulses which
But the effect lasted only as long as the impact. Until cur-         had not been observed in laboratories. Every component was
rent carriers had actually ”caught up” with the applied elec-       carefully insulated, himself implementing insulator rods and
trical field, the charges sprang from the line in all directions.   rubberized regalia to insure complete safety. Tesla had ob-
A brief supercharging effect could be expected until charges         served electrostatic machines whose ability to charge insu-
were distributed, smoothly flowing through the whole line and       lated metals was potent, but this demonslration exceeded the
system. The dynamo itself thus became the brief scene of a          mere charging of wire by the instantaneous switch closure.
minor shockwave. He began wondering why it was possible             This effect produced ”springing” charge, phenomena like no
for electrostatic fields to move more quickly than the actual       other before witnessed by Tesla for its sheer strength. What-
charges themselves, a perplexing mystery. Was the field it-         ever the conditions observed in previous systems, he had now
self an entity which simply drove the more massive charges          leamed how to maximize the effect. Balancing voltage and
along? IT this was true, then of what was the eleclrostatic         resistance against capacity, Tesla leamed to routinely produce
field itself ”composed”? Was it a field of smaller particles?       supercharge states which no existing device could equal.
The questions were wonderfully endless.
                                                                       Emptrical observation had long taught that ordinary capac-
                                                                    itor discharges were oscillating currents, spark currents which
                                                                    literally ”bounced” between each capacitor plate until their
   Despite the wonderful ideas which this study stimulated,         stored energy was wasted away. The high voltage of the dy-
Tesla saw a practical application which had never occurred          namo exerted such an intense unidirectional pressure on the
to him. Consideration of the dynamo supercharging effect             densified charges that alternations were impossible. The only
suggested a new experimental apparatus. It was one which            possible backrushes were oscillations. In this case, charges
could greatly outperform his capacitor battery in the search        surged and stopped in a long series until the supercharge was
to find electrical waves. A Simple high voltage DC generator        wasted away. All parameters which forced such oscillations
provided his electric field source. Tesla understood that the       actually limited the supercharge from manifesting its total
resistance of lines or components, viewed from the dynamo           energetic supply, a condition Tesla strove to eliminate. In-
end, seemed to be an impossible ”barrier” for charge carri-         deed he spent an excessive time developing various means to
ers to penelrate. This barrier caused the ”bunching” effect.         block every ”backrush” and other complex current echo which
Eleclrostatic charges were literally stopped and held for an in-    might forced the supercharge to prematurely waste its dense
stant by line resistance, a barrier which only existed during       energy. Here was an effect demanding a Single unidirectional
the brief millisecond interval in which the power switch was        super pulse. With both the oscillations and alternations elimi-
closed. The sudden force application against this virtual bar-      nated, new and strange effects began making their appearance.
rier squeezed charge into a density impossible to obtain with       These powerful and penetrating phenomena were never ob-
ordinary capacitors. It was the brief application of power, the     served when working with high frequency alternations. The
impact of charge against the resistance barrier, which brought      sudden quick closure of the switch now brought a penetrat-
this abnormal electro-densifled condition. This is why the          ing shockwave throughout the laboratory, one which could be
conductive wires in his present experiment often exploded.          felt both as a sharp pressure and a penetrating electrical irri-
                                                                    tation. A ”sting”. Face and hands were especially sensitive
                                                                    to the explosive shockwaves, which also produced a curious
                                                                    ”stinging” effect at close range. Tesla believed that material
   The analogy to steam power and steam engines was                 particles approaching the vapor state were literally thrust out
urunistakable. Large steam engines had to be valved very            of the wires in all directions. In order to better study these ef-
carefully. This required the expertise of old and well-             fects, he poised himself behind a glass shield and resumed the
experienced operators who knew how to ”open up” an engine           study. Despite the shield, both shockwaves and stinging ef-
without rupturing the vessels and causing a deadly explosion.       fects were felt by the now mystified Tesla. This anomaly pro-
Too suddenly valved, and even a large steam engine of very          voked a curiosity of the very deepest kind, for such a thing was
high capacity could explode. Steam also had to be admit-            never before observed. More powerful and penetrating than
ted into a system gently, until it began smoothly and gradu-        the mere electrostatic charging of metals, this phenomenon
ally flowing into every orifice, conduit, and component. Here       literally propelled high voltage charge out into the surround-
too was the mysterious ”choking” effect, where a large capac-        ing space where it was felt as a stinging sensation. The stings
ity system seemed to behave like an uncommonly high resis-          lasting for a small fraction of a second, the instant of switch
tance to any sudden and sustained application of force. Tesla       closure. But Tesla believed that these strange effects were a
learned that he could literally shape the resultant discharge, by   Simple effect of ionized shockwaves in the air, rather like a
modifying certain circuit parameters. Time, force, and resis-       strongly ionized thunderclap.
tance were variables necessary to producing the phenomenon.            Tesla devised a new series of experiments to measure the

6

shockwave pressure from a greater distance. He required an          tlemen ran throughout the huge stone, oak, and iron building
automatic ”trip switch”. With this properly arranged, a more        with insulated metal objects now. Each touch of a penknife
controlled and repetitious triggering of the effect was possible.    or screwdriver to anything metallic, however distant from the
In addition, this arrangement permitted distant observations        coil or insulated from the floor, produced long and continuous
which might cast more light on the shied-permeating phe-            white sparks. The account was written up as a short article in
nomenon. Controlling the speed of the high voltage dynamo           Scientific American later in the same year.
controlled the voltage. With these components properly ad-
justed, Tesla was able to walk around his large gallery spaces         In studying each of these two prior observations, events
and make observations. Wishing also to avoid the continuous         each separated by some thirty years, Tesla perceived an essen-
pressure barrage and its slinging sparks, Tesla shielded him-       tial unity with that of his own discovery. Each observation was
self with several materials. The arrangement of rapidly in-         perhaps a slight variant of the very same phenomenon. Some-
terrupted high voltage direct currents resulted in the radiation    how accidentally, each experimenter had managed to produce
of slinging rays which could be felt at great distances from        the explosive super-charging effect. In the case of Dr. Henry,
their super-sparking source. In fact, Tesla felt the slings right   the explosive bursts occurred in a Single flash, electrostatic
                                                                    machines being used to accumulate the initial charge. The
through the shields! Whatever had been released from the
wires during the instant of switch closure, successfully pene-      second case was peculiar, since it evidenced the sustained and
trated the shields of glass and of copper. It made no difference,    continuous production of super-charging effects. The effect
the effect permeated each substance as if the shield were not        was rare because it obviously required very stringent electri-
there at all. Here was an electrical effect which communicated       cal parameters. Tesla deduced this from the simple fact that
directly through space without material connections. Radiant        the effect was so infrequently observed by experimenters the
electricity!                                                        world over. In addition, he was quick to remark concerning
                                                                    the anomalous attributes attached to the phenomenon. Tesla
   In these several new observations, the phenomenon was vi-        knew that, despite the extremely penetrating effects in each
olating electrostatic charge principles experimentally estab-       case, he had secured the only means for achieving the ”com-
lished by Faraday. Projected electrostatic charges normally         plete” and maximum manifestation of supercharging. His was
spread out over the surface of metallic shield, they do not         an apparatus with no equal, capable of releasing an aspect of
penetrate metal. This effect had certain very non-electrical         the electrostatic field which others very apparently had not.
characteristics. Tesla was truly mystified by this strange new      Though discovered by Tesla in 1889, the preliminary obser-
phenomenon, and searched the literature for references to its       vation of this effect was published after an intensive battery
characteristics. No such reference was found, except in the         of investigations. The ”Dissipation of Electricity”, published
surreptitious observations of two experimenters. In one case,       just prior to Christmas of 1892, is the pivotal Tesla lecture.
Joseph Henry observed the magnetization of steel needles by         This is the departure point in which Tesla abandons research
a heavy spark discharge. The extraordinary feature of this ob-      and development of high frequency alternating current. Di-
servation (1842) lay in the fact that the Leyden Jar, whose         vorcing himself from that field entirely, Tesla describes the
spark apparently produced the magnetizations, stood on the          shockwaves and other effects of IMPULSES. In addition to
upper floor of an otherwise electrically tmpervious building.       those physical sensations which he describes in characteristic
Brick walls, thick oak doors, heavy stone and iron flooring, tin    understatements, Tesla also enlarges upon the ”gaseous” as-
ceilings. Moreover, the steel needles were housed in a vault        pects associated with the phenomena. He observed that the
in the cellar. How did the spark affect such a change through        abruptly charged wires in his experiments projected a strange
such a natural barrier? Dr. Henry believed that the spark had       gaseous stream when immersed in an oil bath. A phenomenon
released special ”light-like rays”, and these were the penetrat-    which he once thought due entirely to wire-adsorbed gases, he
ing agencies responsible for the magnetizations.                    found that the effect could be so continuously produced from
   A second such account (1872) occurred in a high school           a Single wire that no volume of ordinary adsorbed gas could
building in Philadelphia Elthu Thomson, a physics instructor,       supply the flow. Indeed, he was able to produce streams of this
sought to make the sparks of a large Ruhmkorrf Spark Cot!           kind in oil which so powerfully projected from charged wire
more visible for his next lecture. Attaching one pole of the        ends that they visibly depressed the oil into a hole, some two
cot! to a cold water pipe, and reactivating the coil, Thomson       inches in depth! Tesla began to realize the true nature of the
was thrilled to find that the nature of the spark had changed       fine issuing ”gas” which projected from wire ends immersed
from blue to white. Wishing to amplify this effect, Thomson          in oil. He now prepared an extensive series of tests in order
attached the other pole to a large metal tabletop. Again reac-      to determine the true cause and nature of these shocking air
tivating the coil produced a shrieking silver-white spark, en-      pulses. In his article, Tesla describes the shield-permeating
tirely visible to any who sat in the last row. Wishing to show      shocks as ”soundwaves of electrified air”. Nevertheless, he
this to a colleague, Edwin Houston, Thomson made for the            makes a remarkable statement concerning the sound, heat,
door and was abruptly stopped. Touching the brass knob on           light, pressure, and shock which he sensed passing directly
the otherwise insulated oak door, Thomson received an unex-         through copper plates. Collectively, they ”imply the presence
pected sizzling shock. Turning off the Ruhmkorrf Coil, Thom-         of a medium of gaseous structure, that is, one consisting of
son found it possible to stop the effect. Calling for Edwin, he      independent carriers capable of free motion”. Since air was
summarized what had occurred. Then turning the unit back            obviously not this ”medium”, to what then was he referring?
on again, the stinging charge effects returned. The two gen-         Further in the article he clearly states that ”besides the air, an-

7

other medium is present”.                                           circuits. The dynamos being used provided deadly voltages,
                                                                    capable of killing a man. The valve circuits were forcing a
                                                                    strange radiance of those deacUyfield energies. Somehow, the
                V. RADIANT ELECTRICITY                              dynamo energy was being expanded into space with danger-
                                                                    ous and painful force. But how? By what mysterious and
                                                                    provocative means was this condition established? The re-
   Through successive experimental arrangements, Tesla dis-
                                                                    sult of this experimental series fixed a new concept in Tesla’s
covered several facts concerning the production of his effect.
                                                                    mind. Tesla had of course realized the implications of his
First, the cause was undoubtedly found in the abruptness of
                                                                    mysterious shocking-field effect. This was radiant electric-
charging. It was tn the switch closure, the very instant of ”clo-
                                                                    ity. With this phenomenon, Tesla could develop a far better
sure and break”, which thrust the effect out into space. The
                                                                    world-changing technology than Polyphase. Moreover, this
effect was definitely related to time, IMPULSE time. Second,
                                                                    radiant electric effect could replace powerlines. The Tesla Re-
Tesla found that it was imperative that the charging process
                                                                    search Laboratory was a four story structure which stood at
occurred in a Singleimpulse. No reversal of current was per-
                                                                    33-35South Fifih Avenue in New York City. Buildings such
missible, else the effect would not manifest. In this, Tesla
                                                                    as the Tesla Laboratory may yet be found in the Soho section
made succinct remarks describing the role of capacity in the
                                                                    of Marthaltan. Each is large in size, amply supplied with sev-
spark-radiative circuit. He found that the effect was pow-
                                                                    eral floors of immense gallery halls and upper floor studios.
erfully strengthened by placing a capacitor between the dis-
                                                                    He was thus afforded the space to perform several critical
rupter and the dynamo. While providing a tremendous power
                                                                    experiments in broadcast electrical power techniques. Tesla
in the effect, the dielectric of the capacitor also served to pro-
                                                                    first conducted elaborate and extensive investigations in order
tect the dynamo windings. Not yet sure of the process at work
                                                                    to comprehend the exact nature of this new electrical effect.
in this phenomenon, Tesla sought the empirical understanding
                                                                    Tesla realized that this strange ”shocking field” actually radi-
required for its amplification and utilization. He had already
                                                                    ated through space from the impulse apparatus. If this was
realized the significance of this unexpected effect. The idea
                                                                    electrostatic energy, it was more intense and more penetrat-
of bringing this strange and wondrous new phenomenon to
                                                                    ing than any electrostatic field he had ever observed. If this
its full potential already suggested thrilling new possibilities
                                                                    was merely a ”stuttered” electrostatic field, why then was its
in his mind. He completely abandoned research and develop-
                                                                    strength so very intensified? Tesla began to believe that he had
ment of alternating current systems after this event, intimating
                                                                    discovered a new electrical force, not simply a treatment of an
that a new technology was about to unfold. The effect could
                                                                    existing force. It is for this reason that he often described the
also be greatly intensified to new and more powerful levels by
                                                                    effect as ”electrodynamic” or ”more electrostatic”.
raising the voltage, quickening the switch ”make-break” rate,
and shortening the actual time of switch closure. Thus far,            By properly adjusting the inherent circuit parameters, Tesla
Tesla employed rotating contact switches to produce his unidi-      learned how to produce an extremely rapid series of unidirec-
rectional impulses. When these mechanical impulse systems           tional impulses on demand. When the impulses were short,
failed to achieve the greatest possible effects, Tesla sought a      abrupt, and precise in their successions, Tesla found that the
more ”automatic” and powerful means. He found this ”auto-           shocking effect could permeate very large volumes of space
matic switch” in special electrical arc dischargers. The high       with apparently no loss of intensity. He also found that the
voltage output of a DC generator was applied to twin conduc-        shocking effect penetrated sizable metal shields and most in-
tors through his new arc mechanism, a very powerful perma-          sulators with ease. Developing a means for controlling the
nent magnet sitting crosswise to the discharge path. The dis-       number of impulses per second, as well as the intermittent
charge arc was automatically and continually ”blown out” by         time intervals between each successive impulse, he began dis-
this magnetic field. Imperative toward obtaining the desired        covering a new realm of effects. Each impulse duration gave
rare effect, the capacitor and its connected wire lines had to       its own peculiar effects. Able to feel the stinging shocks,
be so chosen as to receive and discharge the acquired elec-         though shielded at a distance of nearly fifty feet from his ap-
trostatlc charge in unidirectional staccato fashion. The true       paratus, Tesla recognized at once that a new potential for elec-
Tesla circuit very much resembles a pulse jet, where no back        trical power transmission had been revealed to him. Tesla was
pressure ever stops the onrushing flow. Electrostatic charge        first to understand that electrical shock waves represented a
rises to a maximum, and is discharged much more quickly.            new means for transforming the world.
The constant application of high voltage dynamo pressure to            Even as his Polyphase had done, Tesla fully intended to
the circuit insures that continual successions of ”charge-rapid     disclose his discoveries to the world at large. Radiant elec-
discharge” are obtained. It is then and only then that the Tesla    tricity had special characteristics of which the scientific world
Effect is observed. Pulses literally flow through the apparatus      had no knowledge. If released with sufficient power, radiant
from the dynamo. The capacitor, disrupter, and its attached         electrical broadcasts could kill. His initial experiments were
wire lines, behave as the flutter valve.                            sufficiently potent enough to cause severe and painful stings.
   The high voltage dynamo remains the true electrostatic           Here was a lethal system requiring control and development
source in the apparatus. This was a fact well appreciated           What was intended to be a great benefit to humanity could be
by Tesla, who disliked the painful radiant effects proceed-          misconstrued as the greatest detriment. Working with a sim-
ing into space. It was evident that the dynamo had some-            ple but powerful embodiment of his original apparatus, Tesla
how been modified by the addition of these ”pulsing valve”          found that radiant electricity could induce powerful electrical

8

effects at a distance. These effects were not alternations, not      ant field, exploded into vapor. Pain and physical movements
alternating waves. They were longitudinal waves, composed          ceased when impulses of 100 microseconds or less were pro-
of successive shocking waves. The advance of each shock-           duced. These latter features suggested weapon systems of
ing wave, followed by short neutral zones together comprised       frightful potentials.
the radiant field. Vectorial components of these shockwave            With impulses of 1.0 microsecond duration, strong physio-
successions were always unidirectional. The stuttering shock-      logical heat was sensed. Further decreases in impulse brought
waves were capable of forcing charges in the direction of their    spontaneous illuminations capable of filling rooms and vac-
propagation.                                                       uum globes with white light. At these impulse frequencies,
   Objects placed near this device became powerfully electri-      Tesla was able to stimulate the appearance of effects which
fied, retaining a Singular charge sign for many minutes after      are normally admixed among the electromagnetic energies in-
the magnetic discharger had been deactivated. Tesla found          herent in sunlight. Shorter impulses produced cool room pen-
it possible to amplify these Single charge effects by a Sim-        etrating breezes, with an accompanying uplift in mood and
ple asymmetrical alignment of the magnetic discharger. By          awareness. There were no limits in this progression toward
placing the magnetic discharger closer to one or the other side    impulses of diminished duration. None of these impulse en-
of the charging dynamo, either force positive or force neg-        ergies could be duplicated through the use of high frequency
ative vectors could be selected and projected, Thus, charge        harmonic alternations, those which Sir Oliver Lodge popu-
could be projected into or drawn from any object in the field      larized, and which later was embodied in Marconi Wave Ra-
space. Introducing objects into the radiant space gave spectac-    dio. Few could reproduce these effects because so few under-
ular effects, becoming surrounded by crowns of white sparks.        stood the absolute necessity of observing those parameters set
Objects charged by this apparatus evidenced a powerful and         by Tesla. These facts have been elucidated by Eric Dollard,
permeating charge action like no other seen before. This was       who also successfully obtained the strange and distinct effects
a new electrical force. Tesla realized more than ever that he      claimed by Tesla.
was in unknown territory. The fact that these radiant forces
travelled as light-like rays distinguished them from the elec-
tromagnetic waves of Maxwell. The waves were weak, but                                 VI.   TRANSFORMER
these rays were strong. Uncommonly strong Directional ef-
fects could obtained by shaping the wire lines which radiated         By 1890, after a period of intense experimentation and de-
the shocking waves. The condition which best radiated evenly       sign development, Tesla summarized the components neces-
in all directions required that each line be semi-circular, the    sary for the practical deployment of a radiant electrical power
entire apparatus being circularly disposed. How far did this       distribution system. Tesla had already discovered the wonder-
field extend, and what was the effect of distance on the inten-     ful fact that impulse durations of 100 microseconds or less
sity of the radiant field? Tesla found it impossible to measure    could not be sensed and would do no physiological harm.
a diminution in radiant force at several hundred yards. In com-    He planned to use these in his power broadcast. Further-
parison, he recalled that Hertz found it relatively easy to mea-   more, shocking waves of 100 microsecond duration passed
sure notable inverse square diminutions within the confines of     through all matter, a fitting form of electrical energy to broad-
his laboratory in Bonn. Tesla suspected that these effects were     cast throughout the stone, steel, and glass of a power-needy
coherent, not subject to inverse laws other than those due to      city. Tesla would not expect distortions with specially ad-
ray divergence. If he wished to broadcast power to a neighbor-     justed energy fields, vectors which permeated matter without
hood, it would be critical that all radiant energy be focussed     interactive effects. Tesla made a most startling discovery the
in receivable directions.                                          same year, when placing a long Single-turn copper helix near
   Also, Tesla wished to determine the effect of gradually de-      his magnetic disrupter. The coil, some two feet in length, did
creased impulse durations required greatest skill and precau-      not behave as did solid copper pipes and other objects. The
tion. Tesla knew that he would be exposing himself to mor-         thin- walled coil became ensheathed in an envelope of white
tal danger. Controlling the rapidity of current blowout in the     sparks, Undulating from the crown of this coil were very long
magnetic DC are, Tesla released a new spectrum of light-           and fluidic silvery white streamers, soft discharges which ap-
like energies throughout his large gallery space. These en-        peared to have been considerably raised in voltage, These ef-
ergetic species were like no other which the world has since       fects were greatly intensified when the helical coil was placed
seen. Tesla found that impulse duration alone defined the ef-      within the clisrupterwire circle, Inside this ”shockzone”, the
fect of each succinct spectrum. These effects were completely       helical coil was surrounded in a blast which hugged into its
distinctive, endowed with strange additional qualities never       surface, and rode up the coil to its open end, It seemed as
purely experienced in Nature. Moreover, Tesla observed dis-        though the shockwave actually pulled away from surrounding
tinct color changes in the discharge space when each impulse       space to cling to the coil surface, a strange attractive prefer-
range had been reached or crossed. Never before seen dis-          ence. The shockwave flowed over the coil at right angles to
charge colorations did not remain a mystery for long. Trains       the windings, an unbelievable effect. The sheer length of dis-
of impulses, each exceeding 0.1 millisecond duration, pro-         charges leaping from the helix crown was incomprehensible,
duced pain and mechanical pressures. In this radiant field, ob-    With the disrupter discharge jumping I inch in its magnetic
jects visibly vibrated and even moved as the force field drove     housing, the white llimmering discharges rose from the helix
them along. Thin wires, exposed to sudden bursts of the radi-      to a measured length of over two feet. This discharge equalled

9

the very length of the coil itself1 It was an unexpected and un-    mary”, and to the helical coil placed within the shockzone,
heard transformation.                                               as his special ”secondary”. But he never intended anyone
   Here was an action more nearly ”electrostatic” in nature,        to equate these terms with those referring to magnetoelectric
although he knew that academes would not comprehend this            transformers. This discovery was indeed completely different
term when used in this situation, Electrostatic energy did not      from magneto-induction. There was a real and measurable
fluctuate as did his shockwaves. The explosive shockwave            reason why he could make this outlandish statement There
had characteristics unlike any other electrical machine in ex-      was an attribute which completely baffled Tesla for a time.
istence, Yet Tesla stated that the shockwave, during the brief      Tesla measured a zero current condition in these long copper
instant in which it made its explosive appearance, more nearly      secondary coils. He determined that the current which should
resembled an electrostatic field than any other known electri-      have appeared was completely absent. Pure voltage was rising
cal manifestation, Just as in electrostatic friction machines,      with each inch of coil surface. Tesla constantly referred to his
where current and magnetism are negligible, a very energetic        ”electrostatic induction laws”, a principle which few compre-
field component fills space in radiating lines, This ”dielectric”   hended. Tesla called the combined disrupter and secondary
field normally launches through space in a slow growth as           helix a ”Transforrner”.
charges are gathered. Here was a case where a DC gener-                Tesla Transformers are not magnetoelectric devices, they
ator provided the high voltage. This voltage charged an in-         use radiant shockwaves, and produce pure voltage without
sulated hoop of copper, growing to its maximum value. If            current. No university High Frequency Coil must ever be
all values in the circuit were properly balanced, in the man-       called a ”Tesla Coil”, since the devices usually employed
ner prescribed by Tesla, a sudden charge collapse would then        in demonstration halls are the direct result of apparatus per-
occur, This collapse was necessarily very much shorter than         fected by Sir Oliver Lodge and not by Nikola Tesla. The
the interval required to charge the hoop, The collapse comes        Tesla Transformer is an impulse apparatus, and cannot be as
when the magnetic disrupter extinguishes the are, If the circuit    easily constructed except by strict conformity with parame-
is properly structured, no backrush alternations ever occur.        ters which Tesla enunciated. Tesla Transformers produce ex-
   This unidirectional succession of charge-d.ischarge im-          traordinary white impulse discharges of extreme length and
pulses causes a very strange field to expand outward, one           pressure, which exceed the alternating violet spark displays of
which vaguely resembles a ”stuttering” or ”staccato” electro-       Lodge Coils. This is illustrated by noting the manner in which
static field, But these terms did not satisfactorily describe the   Tesla Transformers are actually constructed. While looking
conditions actually measured around the apparatus, a power-         and seeming the same, each system actually performs very
ful radiant effect exceeding all expectable electrostatic val-       different functions. Lodge Coils are alternators. Tesla Trans-
ues, Actual calculation of these discharge ratios proved im-        formers are unidirectional impulses.
possible, Implementing the standard magneto-inductive trans-           The most efficient Tesla Transformations were obtained
former rule, Tesla was unable to account for the enormous           only when the disruptive radiating wire line equalled the mass
voltage multiplication effect. Conventional relationships fail-      of the helical coil. The empirical determination proved that
ing, Tesla hypothesized that the effect was due entirely to ra-      a mysterious and Simple mass-to-mass correspondence nec-
diant transformation rules, obviously requiring empirical de-       essarily existed between the disrupter apparatus and the sec-
termination, Subsequent measurements of discharge lengths           ondary coil. Tesla learned that a simple balance beam could
and helix attributes provided the necessary new mathematical        be used to best design his Transformers. Metal line or thick
relationship.                                                       metal strapping would be cut and placed on one side of the
   He had discovered a new induction law, one where radiant         balance. Thin copper wire would be unwound from a spool
shockwaves actually auto-intensified when encountering seg-         and hung on the other balance beam end. When the bal-
mented objects. The segmentation was the key to releasing the       ance was even, when the masses were identical, Tesla cut the
action. Radiant shockwaves encountered an helix and ”flashed        thin wire. Transformers made in this mass-to-mass ratio con-
over” the outer skin, from end to end. This shockwave did not       sistently provided the most powerful transformations. Each
pass through the windings of the coil at all, treating the coil     Transformer conducted a specific impulse duration with spe-
surface as an aerodynamic plane. The shockwave pulse auto-          cial force. Therefore each had to be ”tuned” by adjusting the
intensified exactly as gas pressures continually increase when      disrupter to that specific impulse duration. Adjustments of arc
passing through Venturi tuhes. A consistent increase in elec-       distance provided this control factor. Once each transformer
trical pressure was measured along the coil surface. Indeed,        was tuned to its own special response rate, impulses could
Tesla stated that voltages could often be increased at an amaz-     flow smoothly through the system like gas flowing in a pipe.
ing 10,000 volts per inch of axial coil surface. This meant that    Finding that gas-dynarnic analogies and applications indeed
a 24 inch coil could absorb radiant shockwaves which initially      provided him with a consistent record of successful assess-
measured 10,000 volts, with a subsequent maximum rise to            ments in these regards, Tesla began considering whether or
240,000 volts! Such transformations of voltage were unheard         not the white flame discharges, so different from anything he
with apparatus of this volume and simplicity. Tesla further         had ever seen, might not be a gaseous manifestation of elec-
discovered that the output voltages were mathematically re-         trostatic force. There were certainly abundant experimental
lated to the resistance of turns in the helix. Higher resistance    instances in which a purely gaseous nature, so unlike any-
meant higher voltage maxima.                                        thing electrical, was being clearly made manifest. The man-
   He began referring to his disrupter line as his special ”pri-    ner in which the radiant shockwave travelled over the wire