Tesla gives 1st public demonstration of radio, March 1, 1893 - EDN

Tesla gives 1st public demonstration of radio, March 1, 1893
Nikola Tesla gave the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis on March 1, 1893, although he had presented his work prior to this behind closed doors. Tesla first demonstrated wireless transmissions during a lecture in 1891. Just days before the St. Louis presentation, Tesla addressed the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, on February 23, 1893, describing in detail the principles of early radio communication.
Tesla presented the fundamentals of radio in 1893 during his public presentation, “On Light and Other High Frequency Phenomena.” Afterward, the principle of radio communication–sending signals through space to receivers–was widely publicized from Tesla’s experiments and demonstrations.
Even before the development of the vacuum tube, Tesla’s descriptions contained all the elements that were later incorporated into radio systems. He initially experimented with magnetic receivers, unlike the coherers (detecting devices consisting of tubes filled with iron filings which had been invented by Temistocle Calzecchi-Onesti in 1884) used by Guglielmo Marconi and other early experimenters.
Radio offers another example of Tesla’s work receiving minimal or no long-term public acknowledgement. While Marconi is often credited with inventing the radio, this presentation by Tesla was recalled in courts several years later in invalidating Marconi patents.
Indeed, it, among other facts, pushed the United States Supreme Court in the 1943 case of Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America vs. the United States to state that “it is now held that in the important advance upon his basic patent Marconi did nothing that had not already been seen and disclosed.”
To be true, what Tesla demonstrated had more scientific interest than practical use, but he believed that by taking the “Tesla oscillator,” grounding one side of it, and connecting the other to an insulated body of a large surface, it would be possible to transmit electric oscillations a great distance and to communicate intelligence in this way to other oscillators.
In 1898 at the Electrical Exhibition in New York, Tesla would successfully demonstrate a radio-controlled boat. For that work, he was awarded US patent No. 613,809 for a “Method of and Apparatus for Controlling Mechanism of Moving Vessels or Vehicles.” Between 1895 and 1897, Tesla received wireless signals transmitted via short distances in his lectures. He transmitted over medium ranges during presentations made between 1897 and 1910.
18 comments on “Tesla gives 1st public demonstration of radio, March 1, 1893”
Guru of Grounding
March 2, 2013
I think we all need to remember that “invention” is a very incremental process. All of this could be said to arise from the work of Michael Faraday (for which Maxwell usually gets all the credit because it explained it in equations rather than concepts). But Tesla, like Nostradamus, has developed a cult following largely because he’s perceived as an “underdog” and “rebel” of sorts. He had a lot of good ideas, but he had a lot of utterly impractical ones, too. Personally, I think his fame has become a bit overblown.
Patent No. 649,621 is another important Tesla's patent related to this issue. It's worth reading too.
I would just like to comment that a lot of Tesla's work is covered very accurately in his patents, and that's where (scientific) part of his fame comes from. Unfounded claims surrounding Tesla’s work should not mask that fact.
“To be true, what Tesla demonstrated had more scientific interest than practical use.” Give your head a shake. Many useful things begin with 'scientific interest' and most things that your mark I university researcher cobbles together on a lab bench is more of scientific interest and seldom practical as is. That doesn’t make their research less important or less valuable down the road as practical applications of the science are developed. First there is nothing; then there is an idea that could have application; then there is a lot of sweat equity; then, sometimes there is a useful reduction to practice.
'”invention” is a very incremental process' based on patents, 77% of the time it is. 45% of the time it is purely incremental improvement. 32% of the time it is the application of existing technology to a new application. 18% of the time, it involves subst
“Its really interesting to me, because when EDN was a print magazine I worked at CMP, and there was no interest in articles like this at all, because they did not mention any advertisers. Now finally, I see some real benefit to the Web for editors, not that I would ask anyone to hire me now, because the revenue is so low. “
” Too many Tesla worshipers out there.nWhat about his “Death Ray” and communication with ET, He published articles that Quantum Mechanics and Relativity were nonsense. His obsession with resonance led to nonfunctional inventions such devices to produce earthquakes and destroy structures. \n In some cases he was the right man at the right time. Hertz demonstrated, not publicly, the properties of radio waves and his experiments before this time. Hertz also discovered the photoelectric effect. Which he gets little credit for. \n”
“”His obsession with resonance led to nonfunctional inventions such devices to produce earthquakes and destroy structures.”nnIndeed! Said obsession casts serious doubt on whether the great genius had even a nodding acquaintance with the basic concept of \”Q.\””
“Ms. Deffree, a question, please.nnWhat did Tesla's so-called “public demonstration” consist of, exactly? I've looked online, and find only assertions like yours that Tesla “demonstrated radio,” but nowhere is there anything like an actual description of what said \”demonstration\” comprised.\n\nHave you a reference?\n\nThanks in advance.”
Tesla’s genius was the polyphase induction motor, but that is too dull a subject for most writers. But it took a hunchback political refugee named Charles Steinmetz to make AC work, but nobody writes about him.
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