nawhite, I like your thinking too!
Now here is where it gets a lot more interesting... "Moss: You best put seat belts on your ears, Roy, 'cause I'm going to take them for the ride of their life!" ~
IT CrowdTesla coils. Where do they get their Energy from? Isn't it just High Voltage, High Frequency, low amp wireless power transfer? Oh wait that's what the transformer is about, but then what are tesla coils about?
Part 1 of 2.
The inventions of Nikola Tesla are numerous. He invented radio, teleautomatics (remote control technology), poly-phase alternating current, the induction motor, and many other innovations that established the foundation for our modern civilization. However, the true significance of his greatest discovery - the "Tesla Coil" - goes mostly unrecognized. This tool provides a way for humanity to tap into the wheelwork of our universe--what many describe as the "aether." (Cosmic Ray Energy? )
There are many misconceptions about Tesla coils and their intended use. The light shows that can be produced by them are spectacular, but these stunning visual displays have little to do with their true function and capabilities. In addition, many people consider them as nothing more than high voltage transformers. But a Tesla coil is not a conventional transformer and does not utilize magnetic induction.
Tesla coils have capabilities beyond even the highest voltage transformers of our day, because they are something far different. Their emissions of longitudinal impulses can exceed the speed of light, can penetrate all known materials (including Faraday cages), travel great distances without their intensity diminishing, power remote devices, and allow for "overunity" gains of energy.
Radiant BlastsWhen an electrical switch in an electrical circuit is opened or closed, a spark of high voltage can be created. In Tesla's day, engineers and workmen had to be very careful of this phenomenon when working with high voltage DC generators. A sudden closure of a circuit being powered from a dynamo capable of generating a few thousand Watts, could produce electrical discharges of several hundred thousand volts. These discharges were often fatal to those who were exposed to them. This phenomenon interested Tesla, and he began to research what he called, "disruptive discharges."
In his lab, Tesla would utilize a dynamo to produce very quick pulses of high voltage direct current. He noticed these pulses could completely vaporize thin wires. In addition, these pulses could produce what seemed like pressure waves that would induce stinging sensations. At first he thought these blasts waves were composed of tiny particles of the vaporized metal. This possibility was ruled out when he noticed nothing could shield them, including glass or even copper sheets. If these were high speed particles of some sort the glass should have shielded him from them, and if they were purely electrical the metal should have blocked them. However, they penetrated any barrier!
He continued testing with larger wires, faster pulses, and with higher voltages. Before long, he started to gain an understanding of the variables that controlled the intensity of these disruptive discharges. Eventually, he did away with the wire and utilized a simple spark gap. By increasing the voltage from the dynamo and shortening the length of the pulses he could make these discharges much more powerful. He could feel them from all the way across the room!
Many more variables came into play. By adding one or more capacitors (he called them condensers) between the dynamo and spark gap, he could intensity the effect. Additionally, he was able to prevent a "back rush" of current across the spark gap with a variety of techniques. This was important because any flow of current reduced the maximum intensity of the disruptive discharge. As one example, he used a magnet to rapidly quench or magnetically "blow out" the arc across the electrodes to prevent such current flow. He could also use this system to increase the frequency of his discharges. In other setups, he put the spark gap in oil with a high dielectric value or had heated air flow through the spark gap. There were benefits and drawbacks to each method.
Decoupling Aether and Electron CurrentA very interesting effect was creating these powerful discharges. When the high voltage input jumped across the spark gap the conducting material's resistance created a delay that would prevent current (electron flow) from instantly flowing. With sufficiently rapid pulses, current could be completely prevented from flowing in the conductive material. This would produce a decoupling of the current and voltage. The pure voltage potential became untangled or unbounded from the current, and would produce a shock wave that would move out in all directions nominally perpendicular to the spark gap.
It is theorized by many that electrical voltage is in fact a form of "aether" bonded to the current flow in a conductive material. The aether was thought to be a gaseous atmosphere of tiny (potentially much smaller and less massive than the electron), energetic (traveling at speeds faster than the speed of light), and penetrating (capable of traveling through solid matter) that fills our universe. Tesla and other men of science considered the aether to be the medium in which electromagnetic waves flow. Some individuals theorized it could be the true source of gravity, what produces radioactive decay in elements, and the fundamental "stuff" of which all matter in the universe is composed.
Tesla's disruptive discharges produced longitudinal waves in the aether. Unlike transverse waves that vary in amplitude up and down, longitudinal waves only move in the direction of propagation. They could be described as a series of compressions and rarefactions in the atmosphere of aether. These longitudinal waves are sometimes called, "scalar waves." However, this is not a precisely correct description. Technically, the term "scalar" describes a constant value that does not change. A longitudinal wave is periodically expanding and contracting in the direction of propagation, so this term does not fit. Despite the inconsistency, the terms "scalar wave" and "longitudinal wave" are used interchangeably by many.
Safety EnhancementsOver the course of his investigations, Tesla realized that the duration and frequency of his pulses were of tremendous importance in terms of safety. Slower rates of these discharges would produce stinging and painful effects. Moderate rates of discharges eliminated the stinging, but could produce a thermal sensation. If properly controlled, this thermal sensation would not burn, but could actually be pleasant and therapeutic. At very high rates of discharges the stinging and thermal effect vanished. A physical "pressure" could still be felt from the area around the spark gap, but sensations of needles or heat were gone.
At these high rates of pulsing, the visual arcs and streamers of pure voltage from his device were actually safe to interact with (at least that is what he concluded). In many experiments and demonstrations, he allowed these pulses of purified aether to flow across his body. No detectable harm came to him when utilizing these high frequencies. This energy could flow through him and power light bulbs. If traditional current had been flowing he would have been killed, but this flow of energy was truly something unique.
Tesla was still utilizing high voltage dynamos and spark gaps which were an obvious safety concern. The electrical energy running through them could easily electrocute a person. He took great care during his testing and experiments to avoid accidents. Anyone trying to replicate Tesla's work or experiments should be aware of the dangerous electrical forces involved. Although at certain high pulse rates the radiant energy produced was relatively harmless, the setups to create the discharges were still potentially lethal.
Continual DevelopmentThese disruptive discharges emitting longitudinal waves in the aether could produce many unique effects. Tesla could power a light bulb by connecting it to his device with a single thin wire or sometimes in combination with a metal plate. In addition, when placing a plate of metal close to the discharges from the spark gap, he could see electrical arcs and streamers dancing on it. He could also hold a capacitor in proximity to the spark gap and charge it to a very high capacity. In fact, he could charge them until their capacity was exceeded and an explosion would occur. Considering all of these effects, he realized this technology would allow for the wireless transmission of power.
By this time, Tesla had already succeeded in developing conventional poly-phase alternating current transmission systems. They were being implemented in areas such as those near the Niagara Falls power station, where he designed the generators that converted the energy of the falling water into electricity. He felt that a wireless transmission system could exceed his previous accomplishment.
During interviews and in his writings, Tesla described how his new discoveries could be used to power the entire world. To accomplish this, he would need to improve his technology even further. There were still additional optimizations that could be made.
One of these improvements was the design of what we would today call a "Tesla Coil." He designed and patented a setup in which the "disruptive discharges" flowed across the surface of two bars of a conductor. This was the "primary" of the setup. These bars would wrap loosely (only a few turns) around a "secondary" coil that would be positioned inside the diameter of the primary. This "secondary" was composed of a flat "pancake" style core of many more turns than the primary. The wire used in the secondary was much thinner than in the primary. He matched the total weight of the primary and secondary windings so the two would be in a state of resonance. One end of the secondary could be grounded and the other end of the secondary would rise above the coil.
The impulses from his spark gap would flow over the surface of the primary and then across the windings of the secondary. In doing so, the voltage would climb tremendously. Huge discharges would appear at the end of the secondary wire. The already magnified voltage produced by the disruptive discharge was being increased even more! Somehow the longitudinal waves or impulses of "aether" were concentrating on the surface of the secondary windings and magnifying or focusing themselves.
Gerry Vassilatos, author of "Lost Science" and "Secrets of Cold War Technology" (both of which are excellent sources of information on Tesla's aether technology) stresses that although Tesla's system increased the output voltage, it was not in anyway a conventional transformer. He describes it as a system using electrostatic induction. Gerry and other researchers have made many valid distinctions between Tesla's system and a traditional transformer.
- There was no current flowing through his primary and secondary of his setup. Tesla made great efforts to prevent such electron flow. Traditional transformers absolutely require electron flow.
- Due to the fact there was no electron flow there was no magnetic induction, which is the principle by which transformers operate.
- The primary and secondary of his setup were loosely coupled, in that there was a significant space filled with air between his primary and secondary coils. The primary and secondaries in traditional transformers are usually tightly coupled for efficient operation.
- Tesla coils can be made of non-conductive materials. This eliminates the possibility of any conventional transformer effect utilizing magnetic induction.
- The flow of voltage or aether would not follow the path of least electrical resistance. This should be the case if current was actually in the circuit and electrons were moving. However, the radiant impulses of Tesla's system would ignore almost zero resistance shorts to flow across higher resistance paths across resistive elements such as light bulbs. An example of this is Tesla's "hairpin" circuit.
Getting Ready for BroadcastingTesla continued to prepare for his global power broadcasting system by further developing his technology. For example, he discovered by placing a round conductive sphere on the elevated end of the secondary winding the impulses were magnified and more evenly broadcast. Another improvement was made by adding additional coils to the secondary or changing the shape of the secondary coil. In one setup, above the "pancake" portion of the secondary was an additional coil in the shape of a solenoid. One of his most effective secondary shapes was that of the cone. It provided a tremendous increase in voltage.
The shapes of his coils were not the only improvements he tested. He would place the secondary of a system in liquified air which super-cooled the copper winding. For some reason, this amplified the voltage increasing effect without inducing an unwanted current (electron) flow. By utilizing combinations of these methods he was able to produce gigantic outputs of several million volts.
Of course to broadcast power it had to be received. He designed a variety of receivers. Some of these receivers were composed of metallic plates. When the longitudinal waves impacted them a current would be induced that could power lights or motors. Tesla actually discovered that he could focus the output of his device into a narrow beam utilizing a special tube. This allowed him to specifically direct the longitudinal waves in the aether at target plates. Interestingly, after such a beam had been active for an extended period of time, he could turn off his apparatus, but the flow of aether would remain. He could place another receiver in the path of the beam and power light bulbs without the device being turned on!
Apparently, the aether has a property that allows for a sort of momentum to accumulate. Once the aether is flowing or pulsing it starts to build up an inertia or a self sustaining effect. In many tests, his systems would continue transmitting power after his apparatus was cut off from input power. Additionally, sometimes an illuminating glow around his setups would continually grow and expand. This happened around his giant transmitter towers in Colorado and New York. The longer he left his transmitters on, the further the column of light would expand. In one experiment, he connected his transmitter to a balloon and allowed it to float in the sky. Over a period of time, the glow that originally followed the line to the balloon expanded and illuminated the entire area.
Tesla also realized if he built receivers composed of similarly designed coil setups, they could resonate with the broadcasting unit. This condition resulted in more power being "received" by these units from the transmitter and/or allowed them to collect the longitudinal waves and magnifying them once again. Hence, a gain of energy from "aether" may be experienced both in the transmitter and receiver coils. In the receiver, what would normally be the inner coil of thin wire becomes the primary. The longitudinal waves then flow out to the thicker copper windings, and then into loads connected across them. They could then power light bulbs, motors, or other devices.
He was able to transmit large amounts of power to receiver units over many miles of distance. In one experiment, he powered a small building full of one hundred watt light bulbs from a distance of over twenty seven miles. Motors and heating elements were also powered.