Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-02-02
TESLA'S LAST INVENTION
TO TRANSMIT POWER GREAT DIS.
TANCES BY NATURAL MEDIA,
Earth and Air the Only Means of Trans
mission-Can Generate with Safety
and Ease Electrical Pressures Meas
urcd by Millions of Volts


and Ease Electrical Pressures Meas
urcd by Millions of Volts.
Nicola Tesla has pushed his investi-
cations of the possibilities of electri-
cal transmission through natural
media far into the realm of what even
in these days might also be called
fairyland since the public last heard
of his then latest discoveries, inven-
tions and visions. "Wireless telegra-
phy," luminous cylinders diAfusing
radiance throughout q room without
visible wires or familiar forms of ilu-
miners, seem like tame achievements
compared with what he now proposes,
the transmission Of great power, with
out other media than the earth and the
air, to distances of hundreds of miles,
over mountains, over sea-only little
less than launching thunderbolts in
the ether to distribute their energy
under mems guidance at remote
points. This latest advance of the
electrician in the possibilities of his
science, the Electrical Review, in
which he records it, says twill, if sue
cessful on q large scale, open up un-
limited sources of practic cally costless
power. The success of his efforts
means that power from such sources
as Niagara will become available in
any part Of the world, regardless of
distance"
His work in this field, the Review
says, has passed the stage of mere
laboratory experiment and is ready
for test on an industrial scale.
His last invention is, briefly, the
apparatus for the production of great
electric power and for the collection
and utilization of that power at a
point distant from the seat of its pro-
duction after the power, or the cleo
trio current in which it is comprised,
has traverse without wires the inter
vening atmosphere at an altitude such
| that the refact1on has made the air of
that stratum q conductor of the cleo
| trio fluid
The invention, he points out, was
based partly upon, or was in part the
outgrowth of the observations hereto
fore recorded and we'll known, that
the air in closed vessel, if rarefed,
suffered an impairment of its insuIa-
ting properties to such an extent as to
become true conductor of electricity
though one of high resistance. This
much known, with the fact of the rare
faction of the atmosphere high above
the earth, and the further fact, which
has before been demonstrated, "that
certain transverse waves or radiations
may be transmitted through the at
mosphere, and have been found capa-
BILE of affecting certain delicate receiv-
ing instruments at limited distance
from the source of the electrical dis
turbance," gave the groundwork upon
which Tesla built his hypothesis and
developed the invention that is its
| demonstration.
"I have devised means whereby I
am able to generate with safety and
ease electrical pressure measured by
hundreds of thousands and even mil
lions of volts,' he says, and adds that
with pressure of such magnitude and
character he has found that the ordin-
ary atmosphere becomes in measure
capable of serving as true conductor
for the transmission of the current.
A second highly important fact
which he came upon in pursuing his
investigation was "that the conduc-
tivity of the air increases so materially
with the increase of electrical pressure
and degree of rarefaction that it be-
comes possible to transmit through
even moderately rarefed strata of the
atmosphere electrical energy up to
practically any amount to any dis
tance."
With these facts he constructed his
apparatus, part to develop the cleo
trical energy. of very high pressure,
then to lead the current to earth and
also ''to a terminal at an altitude
where the rarefed atmosphere is capa-
BILE of conducting the particular cur
rent produced" and another part to
provide and maintain another terminal,
at or about the same elevation, at
distant point, ''to receive the current
and convey it to earth through suita
BILE means for Transforming and utiliz-
ing it"
The apparatus consists of ga trans
former comprising spiral conductor
with many turns, surrounded by
conductor with very few convolu-
tions," or, in other words, a coil of
fine wire wound in many layers, sur
rounded by lesser coil of heavier
wire, the former the secondary coil,
the latter the primary. In the circuit
of the primary is included the source
of the current.
! The outer terminal of the secondary
coil is connected with the earth, the
inner to conductor which carries the
current to terminal up in the air,
maintained there by such means as a
balloon" At the receiving point there
is similar contrivance, the high ter
minal there receiving the current that
has been conducted to it by the rare
fed air. The coils there perform re-
verse service, the long coil being the
primary and the short one the second
nry. In the circuit of the secondary
are nlace lampS or motors or such de-