Graham guardian., 1900-08-10
INCREASING ENERGY.
Scientific Opinion Of the Earth's
Productive Possibilities.
The Noted Electrician, NikOla Tesla,
DIseasses the problem OF Fcr-
tniEntion by Means of Ma
ture's Forees.

"The Problem of Increasing Human
| Energy" with special reference TO the
Harvesting cf the suns energy, is dis
eussed in the Century, Ey Nikola Tesla.
"To increase materially the produc-
| tivlty Of the soil, it must be more effec-
lively fertili2ed by artificial means.
The question Of food production re-
solves ITSELF, then, into the question
how best to fertilize the soil What it
is that made the soil is still mystery.
Tu explain its origin is probably equiy-
aIcnt to explaining the origin OF life
itself The rocks, disintegrated by
moisture aud heat apGwind and wealth
er, were in themselves not capable of
maintaining life. Some unexplained
condition arose, and some new princi-
pie came into eject, and the first layer
capable os sustaining low organisms,
like moses, was formed. These, by
Their llfe and death, added more OF the
lifc-sus taining quality to the soil, and
higher organisms could then subsist,
and so on and on, until at last highly
developed plant and animal life could
flourish. But though the theories are,
even now. not III agreement as to how
fertilization is effected, tits q fact, only
800 We ascertaiued that the soil cam
not indefinitely sustain life, and that
some way must be found to supply it
with the substances which have been
distracted from itby the plants. The
chief and most valuable among
these substances are compounds Of nj
trogen, and the chief production Of
the4e is, therefore, the key for the So
luton Of the ail-iinportant food prob
lem, Our atmosphere contains an in
eXEaustibe supply Of nitrogen, and
could we but oXidize il and produce
these compounds, an inealculable benz
cit for mankind would follow.
Long ago this idea took powerful
hold on the imagination OF scientific
men, but an eflcient means for accom-
| plishing this result could not be de-
yised. The problem was rendered eS-
tremGiy difHcuit BY the extraordinary
iuertness Of the nitrogen, which re-
fuses 10 combine even with oxygen. But
here electricity comes to our aid; the
0ornqnt afilnities Of the elements are
awakened by an electric current of the
proper qualities
I'm the manufacture of nitrogen
eompounds hy this method, OF course,
every possible means beating upon the
intensity Of this action and the eff
cheney Of the process will be taken ad
vantage Of, and, besides, special ar
rungoments viii be provided for the
fXation Of the compounds formed, as
they are generally unstable, tie nitro
gen becoming again inert after little
lapse Of time. Steam IS simple andief-
fectiye means for fixing permanently
the compounds. The result Illustrated
makes it practicable to oXiGfze the at
mospher;c nitrogen in unlimited guam
titles, merely by the use of cheap me-
chanical power and simple electrical
apparatus. IN this manner many COM
pounds of nitrogen may be manufac-
tured all over the world at small
cost, and in any desired amount, and
by means Of these compounds the soil
can be fertilized and its productiveness
indefinitely increased. An abundance
of cheap and heaIthful food, not arti-
fetal, but such as we are accustomed
TO, may thus be obtained. This new
and inexhaustib,e source OF food sup
| ply viii be of incalculable benefit TO
mankind, for II viii enormously con
tribute to the increase Of the human
mass, and thus add immensely to hu-
man enertsv Snon I hone tba ,,CrlI
viii see the beginning Of an industry
which, in time to come, will, believe,
be in Importance next to that of iron"