Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!dlb!netcom!onymouse
From: onymouse@netcom.UUCP (John DeBert)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: wireless electricity
Message-ID: <652@netcom.UUCP>
Date: 29 Apr 89 21:53:23 GMT
References: <913@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM>
Organization: NetCom Services - Public Access Unix System (408) 997-9175 guest
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in article <913@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM>, greg@bilbo (Greg Wageman) says:
> 
[... stuff deleted to placate inews]
> 
> Having one, centralized broadcast station is inefficient.  Hell, we
> don't even do that with wires.  The power grids I'm familiar with are
> fed by multiple generating stations, with multiple local substations.
> 
> A more efficient tesla system might have a radiator on each block, or
> in each house.  In the former case, you wouldn't need local
> distribution wires to each house; in the latter you wouldn't need
> wiring in the house itself.
> 
 Tesla worked on a plan to use one or two huge Tesla coils to generate RF
power at the resonant frequency of the planet, which, if I recall is about
140KHz (I may be in error about the frequency. It's been some years since I
read about it). The idea was to provide "free power" for the world. I
recall that he had developed receiving converters that would pick up the 
RF energy and convert it to a usable form for lighting, et cetera. Small
scale devices in his experiments worked very well.

His ideas upset Edison and Westinghouse considerably and he faced considerable
opposition. (One might recall that he had made bitter enemies in the Edison
camp by disproving Edison's claims that alternating current was too danger-
ous to use and further proving that Edison's DC power system was too 
inefficient over long distances.)


> However, since this is radiated power and would have a particular
> frequency, and a harmonic series, it would wreak havoc with radio
> reception on those and nearby frequencies.

Actually, if Tesla's system had been put to use, we would have already found
effective means of preventing such interference. Besides, the power grids
already in use cause quite a bit of interference.

> 
>>In any case, ever wondered why
>>you have to have to amplify a radio signal when the radio stations use far
>>far far more power then you ever would need to run your radio?  It's because
>>by the time the signal gets to you, there isn't all that much power left.

In Tesla's design, the power actually increased, since it was tuned to the
resonant frequency of the planet - the oscillations, that is. He was
allegedly surprised to find that he was getting more power out of his system
than he was putting in and realized that it was due to the effects of
resonance. It seems that he was actually tapping the natural energy in the
planet, using his device to manipulate it.

> 
> Hmm, I guess you must be too young to remember crystal radios?  These
> were radios that used a diode (originally, a germanium crystal and a
> "cat whisker" contact you had to manually position to find an active
> [semiconductive] spot on the crystal), a coil, a capacitor and a
> sensitive headphone.  With an earth ground and a straight-wire
> antenna, it is possible to receive enough signal to drive the
> headphone without additional power.
> 

Some place also sells crystal sets that are powerful enough to drive a
speaker. I do not recall the name but I have seen at least one advert.

> However, you aren't wrong in that you receive microwatts of the
> station's kilowatt broadcast power.
> 
> Greg Wageman	

There are a few good books about Telsa and his work. Unfortunately, I do
not have the info on them at hand. There are also quite a few patents that
you can get copies of. Be forewarned, however, that Tesla has literally
hundreds of patents in his name

If anyone wants the info on the books, please send email to me and I'll 
return the info when I can find the books.

J DeBert   onymouse@netcom.UUCP    [...!ubvax!sun!amdahl!dlb!netcom!onymouse]
          CI$: 75530,347 | GEnie: A.N.Onymouse | telex: 6502636614
 Box 51067, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
"Anything you say can and will offend someone..." (Lazarus Long)