The record-union., 1898-11-09

NEW YORK. Nov. S.-Nikola Tesla,
the electrical expert, in newspaper
interview describes an application OF
electricity whereby, without the inter-
position of any artful means OF COM
munication, one man can control anu
direct with absolute exactltude the
movements of any type Of vessel, bat-
loon or land vehicle at any distance
that may be desired. From station
on shore, or from the deck OF vessel
under way a torpedo boat equipped
with Mr. Tesla's controlling device may
be propelled either on or below the sur
face, maneuvered at will in any dlrec-
tion and finally brought into contact
and exploded against the side OF nos
tile vessel at any point within the
range of the vision Of the operator.
More than this, assuming that it We're
possible to accurately locate the po-
sition of the vessel which 1T is desired
to destroy, the torpedo boat could be
directed to it, even If the ship lay IN
the harbor of Southampton and the
operator was stationed at Sandy HOOK.
Mr. Tesla said that some months had
elapsed since he had fully developed his
device, for which he has applied for a
patent When it was learned that Ad-
miral Cervera was bottled up at San
tiago II was his intention to apply his
mechanism to several launches and
similar craft loaded with high expio-
sives and annihilate the fleet at anchor
Admiral Cervera however came out
and met his fate under the guns of the
American fleet before the necessary ar
rangements could be made. Then Mr.
Tesla planned a raid on the Spanish
vessels in Havana harbor, only to be
thwarted by the proclamation of the
suspension of hostilities.
Hitherto said Mr.. Tesla, "the only
means of controlling the movements of
a vessel from a distance have been sup
piled through the medium Of a flexible
conductor such as an electric cable, but
this system is subject to obvious limi-
tations such as are imposed by the
length, weight and strength of the con-
ductor which can be practically used;
by the difficulty of maintaining with
safety the high speed of the vessel or
changing the direction of her move
ments with rapidity; the necessity of
effecting the control from a point
which is practically fixed, and from
many other drawbacks which are in
separately connected with such a sys-
tenn.
The plan which I have perfected IN
wolves none of these objections, for
am enabled by the use of my invention
to employ any means of propulsion, to
impart to the moving body or vessel
the highest possible speed, to control
the operation of it's machinery and to
direct it's movements from either
fixed point or from a body moving and
changing it's direction, however, rapid
ly, and to maintain this control over
great distances, without any artificial
connections between the vessel and the
apparatus governing its movements,
and without such restrictions as these
must necessarily impose.
I'm a broad sense, then, my inven-
tion differs from all of these systems
which provide for the control of the
mechanism carried by a moving OBJ
ject and governing its motion, in that
I require no intermediate wires, cables
or other form of electrical or mechan
ical connections with the object save
the natural media of space. / accom-
plish, nevertheless, similar results and
in much more practical manner by
producing waves, impulses or radia-
tions which are received through the