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Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2

Created by on 2003-11-25

 

 

 

 

This Month's Stiff: Nikola Tesla

Entered Mortal Coil: 10 July 1856

Assumed Room Temperature: 7 January 1943

 

0x01 graphic

 

Sparky in a thoughtful pose.

 

I present to you this month's Dead Electrical Dude No. 2, Mr. Nikola Tesla (i.e. Sparky, since he had an affinity for large electrical discharges) Mr. Tesla invented many of the electrical devices and systems in widespread use today. It is interesting to note that the man started out his professional career as an electrical engineer with Budapest's version of Ma Bell. Tesla's contraptions and wild ideas resulted in some amazing toys being thrust upon mankind. Note the following highly abbreviated list of just a small sampling of his innovations-

 

 

Alternating polyphase current distribution: Tesla's AC system won out over Thomas Edison's DC system. In retaliation against his former employee, Edison staged public demonstrations of the lethality of alternating current by electrocuting dogs. If Edison's DC system had won out, we'd in all likelihood still be in the dark...literally. Imagine huge storage batteries surrounded by fences every few city blocks. Tesla joined forces with Westinghouse and the rest is, as they say, history.

 

Induction motor: This item is considered to be one of the greatest inventions of all time.

 

Fluorescent light: Fluorescent lighting is now considered the standard for energy efficient illumination, relegating incandescent sources to secondary status.

 

Tesla coil: versions of this device are used in your television set's high voltage deflection coils. These coils are responsible for moving that little electron beam around ever so FAST. Really large Tesla coils can generate impressive artificial lightning bolts. Cool stuff.

 

Tesla held patents for elementary radio apparatus, in particular, the use of tuned circuits. Marconi built the first viable radio system using technology described by Tesla.

 

In all, Tesla held 700 U.S. patents for his devices. Note, however, that the inventor did have a weird side. Some of Tesla's quirks included the following-

 

Tesla claimed to have received signals from another planet using one of the devices in his laboratory.

 

Sparky never married. How many homely geeks do you know who fit this picture?

 

Tesla also claimed to have invented a death ray that could destroy 10,000 enemy aircraft from a distance of 250 miles. We may never know the veracity of this claim, since all of Tesla's papers were confiscated by the Feds at the time of his death during World War II.

 

Tesla lived the last 10 years of his life in a two room suite on the 33rd floor of the Hotel New Yorker, Room 3327. Edward Armstrong, the inventor of the superheterodyne receiver and FM, said of his colleague, The world will wait a long time for Nikola Tesla's equal in achievement and imagination. I agree with the late Mr. Armstrong. As a final tribute to the man and his achievements, the unit of magnetic flux density, the Tesla, was named in his honor.

 

Philip Neidlinger

KA4KOE

 

 

References:

 

The Nikola Tesla Memorial Website, http://www.teslasociety.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

W4SET2005-02-09
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
What I find most amazing about Tesla is that he visualized his inventions before he actually created them...he would tweak them in his mind's eye before giving specs to the engineers, and they would always work perfectly from the get go...just as he had visualized. I'd never known science to be so 'right brain' until reading about Niko (I always referred to him as Sparky, too)!!
Thanks for the DED articles.
KA4KOE2004-07-26
Copyright notice
Dead Electrical Dudes are
© 2004 Philip Neidlinger
Reply to a comment by : KA4KOE on 2004-07-18

Nope. Gotcha again Cal.
Reply to a comment by : K4JSR on 2004-01-15

Just saw on the History Channel today on their "Modern Marvels" series that Mr. Tesla also invented the remote control. Seems like the man may be gone, but his contributions shall continue forever. 73, Cal K4JSR
Reply to a comment by : KAKP4352 on 2003-12-04

Got a 'new-be' here. Like the others have said, great article. If you want some more humor, when it comes to electronics, have I got a deal for you. Back in the days of 'Wayne Green' of '73 magazine when it was in the smaller format he had a guy writing for him that literally brought tears to your eyes. I couldn't wait for the next issue to come. His name... drum roll please, Bob Manning, K1SYD. I've saved many of his articles but at the moment can only lay my hands on one. Seems 'Bob' was always having trouble with his neighbors when it came to Amateur Radio. They constantly complained about interference from his 'shak'. That's the lead, track it down for yourselves and enjoy.
Reply to a comment by : WA2JJH on 2003-11-26

Philip, as you know many of our great electrical pioneers got their idea's ripped off. The biggest dead dude crooks in electronics in my book of life are. 1)Sarnoff-ripped off Armstrong 2)Alexander Graham Bell, ripped off Deforest. 3)Edison, also tried to sell everybody on DC power distribution. His big claim was, the the electric chair uses AC, so AC must be more dangerous than DC. Maybe a dead dude patent rip off artist section, might really put history in context! Keep up the excellent work! Maybe you should write a high school electronics/history book. A sense of humor keeps the kids interested long enough to learn. Just a thought! 73 DE MIKE
KA4KOE2004-07-18
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Nope. Gotcha again Cal.
Reply to a comment by : K4JSR on 2004-01-15

Just saw on the History Channel today on their "Modern Marvels" series that Mr. Tesla also invented the remote control. Seems like the man may be gone, but his contributions shall continue forever. 73, Cal K4JSR
Reply to a comment by : KAKP4352 on 2003-12-04

Got a 'new-be' here. Like the others have said, great article. If you want some more humor, when it comes to electronics, have I got a deal for you. Back in the days of 'Wayne Green' of '73 magazine when it was in the smaller format he had a guy writing for him that literally brought tears to your eyes. I couldn't wait for the next issue to come. His name... drum roll please, Bob Manning, K1SYD. I've saved many of his articles but at the moment can only lay my hands on one. Seems 'Bob' was always having trouble with his neighbors when it came to Amateur Radio. They constantly complained about interference from his 'shak'. That's the lead, track it down for yourselves and enjoy.
Reply to a comment by : WA2JJH on 2003-11-26

Philip, as you know many of our great electrical pioneers got their idea's ripped off. The biggest dead dude crooks in electronics in my book of life are. 1)Sarnoff-ripped off Armstrong 2)Alexander Graham Bell, ripped off Deforest. 3)Edison, also tried to sell everybody on DC power distribution. His big claim was, the the electric chair uses AC, so AC must be more dangerous than DC. Maybe a dead dude patent rip off artist section, might really put history in context! Keep up the excellent work! Maybe you should write a high school electronics/history book. A sense of humor keeps the kids interested long enough to learn. Just a thought! 73 DE MIKE
K4JSR2004-01-15
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Just saw on the History Channel today on their "Modern
Marvels" series that Mr. Tesla also invented the
remote control. Seems like the man may be gone,
but his contributions shall continue forever.
73, Cal K4JSR
Reply to a comment by : KAKP4352 on 2003-12-04

Got a 'new-be' here. Like the others have said, great article. If you want some more humor, when it comes to electronics, have I got a deal for you. Back in the days of 'Wayne Green' of '73 magazine when it was in the smaller format he had a guy writing for him that literally brought tears to your eyes. I couldn't wait for the next issue to come. His name... drum roll please, Bob Manning, K1SYD. I've saved many of his articles but at the moment can only lay my hands on one. Seems 'Bob' was always having trouble with his neighbors when it came to Amateur Radio. They constantly complained about interference from his 'shak'. That's the lead, track it down for yourselves and enjoy.
Reply to a comment by : WA2JJH on 2003-11-26

Philip, as you know many of our great electrical pioneers got their idea's ripped off. The biggest dead dude crooks in electronics in my book of life are. 1)Sarnoff-ripped off Armstrong 2)Alexander Graham Bell, ripped off Deforest. 3)Edison, also tried to sell everybody on DC power distribution. His big claim was, the the electric chair uses AC, so AC must be more dangerous than DC. Maybe a dead dude patent rip off artist section, might really put history in context! Keep up the excellent work! Maybe you should write a high school electronics/history book. A sense of humor keeps the kids interested long enough to learn. Just a thought! 73 DE MIKE
KAKP43522003-12-04
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Got a 'new-be' here. Like the others have said, great article. If you want some more humor, when it comes to electronics, have I got a deal for you.

Back in the days of 'Wayne Green' of '73 magazine when it was in the smaller format he had a guy writing for him that literally brought tears to your eyes. I couldn't wait for the next issue to come. His name... drum roll please, Bob Manning, K1SYD. I've saved many of his articles but at the moment can only lay my hands on one.

Seems 'Bob' was always having trouble with his neighbors when it came to Amateur Radio. They constantly complained about interference from his 'shak'. That's the lead, track it down for yourselves and enjoy.




Reply to a comment by : WA2JJH on 2003-11-26

Philip, as you know many of our great electrical pioneers got their idea's ripped off. The biggest dead dude crooks in electronics in my book of life are. 1)Sarnoff-ripped off Armstrong 2)Alexander Graham Bell, ripped off Deforest. 3)Edison, also tried to sell everybody on DC power distribution. His big claim was, the the electric chair uses AC, so AC must be more dangerous than DC. Maybe a dead dude patent rip off artist section, might really put history in context! Keep up the excellent work! Maybe you should write a high school electronics/history book. A sense of humor keeps the kids interested long enough to learn. Just a thought! 73 DE MIKE
W6RMK2003-12-03
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Re: Sparky never married. How many homely geeks do you know who fit this picture?

Actually, Tesla was considered good looking, a great conversationalist, etc. and was a prized dinner guest. That whole "tall, dark, European" thing... I suspect he never lacked for female companionship, and saw no reason to "buy the cow, etc."
KG4PJF2003-12-03
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
The reason you were never taught anything about Tesla is that the U.S. government suppressed a lot of the information, and didn't want anyone knowing about Tesla, or the things he was involved in. They confiscated a lot of it, photocopied all of of it, and shipped back some of it to Belgrade. Also, don't forget, he worked with Einstein on the Philadelphia Experiment - as an advisor I believe; but pulled out later when he realized how the technology was being used.

And there's more........Stay Tuned!
Reply to a comment by : WR8Y on 2003-11-25

"Assumed room temperature" ... Rush fan, right? ;-) Very enjoyable contribution. I too think 'ole Nick has been cheated of the recognition due him - in school I was NEVER taught anything about him.
KA4KOE2003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I remember that one, Mike. The first electrocution execution. Edison had to get an AC Dynamo in South America to provide the power to fry the condemned, as it was impossible to buy one stateside (for obvious reasons).

If memory serves, the prison of course didn't have any previous experience in frying people. The corpse was not in good shape at the end of the barbaric procedure.

I believe this was a special on the history channel or something.

PAN
Reply to a comment by : WA2JJH on 2003-12-02

What Edisons role with Tesla was horrible. The unit TESLA or T,is used in science today. T replaces the unit guass for large amounts of magnetic field strength. Your standard MRI used in hospitals run about 6-10 T. That will rip a stainless steel watch off your wrist from a few feet away! Edison was a crook. He did make 3 stupid mistakes. He tried to push for D.C. power distribution. His claim was well the electric chair at SING-SING use's AC. So D.C. power distribution is safer. Ironicly the EDISON 3 wire system for AC IS THE STANDARD TODAY. Actually a few buildings in NYC use D.C. for elevators. These building pay an ultra premium to our power company known as CON-Ed! Old NYC saying about our power company. You cannot CON, ED! CON-ED did try to con 3 off the boat immigrants. CON-ED saw no future in his motion picture machine. CON-ED sold the motion picture machine to 3 dead dudes for next to nothing! I know two of the dead dudes were MEYER and GOLDEN. I do not think the third dead dudes name was METRO! Keep em coming PHILIP! 73 and chuckles MIKE
KA4KOE2003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I remember that one, Mike. The first electrocution execution. Edison had to get an AC Dynamo in South America to provide the power to fry the condemned, as it was impossible to buy one stateside (for obvious reasons).

If memory serves, the prison of course didn't have any previous experience in frying people. The corpse was not in good shape at the end of the barbaric procedure.

I believe this was a special on the history channel or something.

PAN
Reply to a comment by : WA2JJH on 2003-12-02

What Edisons role with Tesla was horrible. The unit TESLA or T,is used in science today. T replaces the unit guass for large amounts of magnetic field strength. Your standard MRI used in hospitals run about 6-10 T. That will rip a stainless steel watch off your wrist from a few feet away! Edison was a crook. He did make 3 stupid mistakes. He tried to push for D.C. power distribution. His claim was well the electric chair at SING-SING use's AC. So D.C. power distribution is safer. Ironicly the EDISON 3 wire system for AC IS THE STANDARD TODAY. Actually a few buildings in NYC use D.C. for elevators. These building pay an ultra premium to our power company known as CON-Ed! Old NYC saying about our power company. You cannot CON, ED! CON-ED did try to con 3 off the boat immigrants. CON-ED saw no future in his motion picture machine. CON-ED sold the motion picture machine to 3 dead dudes for next to nothing! I know two of the dead dudes were MEYER and GOLDEN. I do not think the third dead dudes name was METRO! Keep em coming PHILIP! 73 and chuckles MIKE
WA2JJH2003-12-02
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
What Edisons role with Tesla was horrible. The unit TESLA or T,is used in science today. T replaces the unit guass for large amounts of magnetic field strength. Your standard MRI used in hospitals run about 6-10 T. That will rip a stainless steel watch off your wrist from a few feet away!


Edison was a crook. He did make 3 stupid mistakes.
He tried to push for D.C. power distribution. His claim was well the electric chair at SING-SING use's AC. So D.C. power distribution is safer. Ironicly the EDISON 3 wire system for AC IS THE STANDARD TODAY.

Actually a few buildings in NYC use D.C. for elevators. These building pay an ultra premium to our power company known as CON-Ed!

Old NYC saying about our power company. You cannot CON, ED!


CON-ED did try to con 3 off the boat immigrants.
CON-ED saw no future in his motion picture machine.
CON-ED sold the motion picture machine to 3 dead dudes for next to nothing!

I know two of the dead dudes were MEYER and GOLDEN.
I do not think the third dead dudes name was METRO!

Keep em coming PHILIP! 73 and chuckles MIKE
KC8VWM2003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
my pleasure, love your aticles on here... keep them coming!

Reply to a comment by : KA4KOE on 2003-12-02

Thank you very much for the cogent post Charles. A colleague brought up the point that Tesla may have actually received signals from another planet. Research indicates a good possibility that what Tesla heard was in fact Jupiter, which is a strong radiator at certain wavelengths. Papers have been written on this very question. Very few people realize that Jupiter emits more energy than it receives from the sun. I much prefer intellectual discussion to half hearted attempts to take over this forum with juvenile comments about this or that. Again, tnx. PAN
Reply to a comment by : KC8VWM on 2003-12-02

>>>>Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too. <<<< I found it rather odd that Tesla died literally penniless. A man who gave the world so much, received so little for his efforts. History books have been unkind as well. Even today, many texts still credit Marconi with the invention of radio, despite the Supreme Court decision which overruled the Marconi patent, awarding it to Tesla. In many parts of this country, people still refer to the electric utility as the 'Edison Company', even though they use the Tesla-Westinghouse alternating current system, NOT Edison's direct current. Tesla was also responsible for a great many other inventions and devices that we take for granted today. I believe he also developed many technologies we have not yet seen as much of his research was impounded after his death. Trunks, which held many of his papers, his diplomas and other honours, his letters, as well as many other laboratory notes may have been ommitted from public records. These documents were given to his family and later placed on dispay in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade. Tesla experimented with terrestrial stationary waves. By this discovery he proved that the Earth could be used as a conductor and would be as responsive as a tuning fork to electrical vibrations of a certain frequency. Tesla later lighted 200 lamps without wires from a distance of 25 miles. Tesla also gave exhibitions in his laboratory in which he lighted lamps without wires by allowing electricity to flow through his body. Many of his other discoveries were discredited and met with much skepticism for example, At one time he was certain he had received signals from another planet in his Colorado laboratory. In 1898 Tesla announced his invention of what was considered a controversial teleautomatic boat guided by remote control. Tesla experimented with "shadowgraphs" which are similar to what is known as modern day X-rays. It is also interesting to note that modern day MRI technology seem quite a bit similar to experiments carried out by Tesla in earlier days in Budapest, when he visualized the principle of a rotating magnetic field and developed plans for an induction motor at that time. Tesla allowed himself only a few close friends,was very eccentric and was quite impractical in financial matters. I believe Tesla held many hidden scientific secrets that have remained unpublished in modern day science as many of his original notes are still hidden. I think these notes are hidden because of the controversial nature of these experiments and his family did not want him viewed as a "kook" as his many futuristic prophecies were often regarded at that time. Interesting is the fact that many of these futuristic projections are not too far from what we know as reality today. 73 Charles - KC8VWM
Reply to a comment by : N9ESH on 2003-11-29

Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too.
KA4KOE2003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Thank you very much for the cogent post Charles. A colleague brought up the point that Tesla may have actually received signals from another planet. Research indicates a good possibility that what Tesla heard was in fact Jupiter, which is a strong radiator at certain wavelengths. Papers have been written on this very question. Very few people realize that Jupiter emits more energy than it receives from the sun.

I much prefer intellectual discussion to half hearted attempts to take over this forum with juvenile comments about this or that.

Again, tnx.

PAN
Reply to a comment by : KC8VWM on 2003-12-02

>>>>Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too. <<<< I found it rather odd that Tesla died literally penniless. A man who gave the world so much, received so little for his efforts. History books have been unkind as well. Even today, many texts still credit Marconi with the invention of radio, despite the Supreme Court decision which overruled the Marconi patent, awarding it to Tesla. In many parts of this country, people still refer to the electric utility as the 'Edison Company', even though they use the Tesla-Westinghouse alternating current system, NOT Edison's direct current. Tesla was also responsible for a great many other inventions and devices that we take for granted today. I believe he also developed many technologies we have not yet seen as much of his research was impounded after his death. Trunks, which held many of his papers, his diplomas and other honours, his letters, as well as many other laboratory notes may have been ommitted from public records. These documents were given to his family and later placed on dispay in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade. Tesla experimented with terrestrial stationary waves. By this discovery he proved that the Earth could be used as a conductor and would be as responsive as a tuning fork to electrical vibrations of a certain frequency. Tesla later lighted 200 lamps without wires from a distance of 25 miles. Tesla also gave exhibitions in his laboratory in which he lighted lamps without wires by allowing electricity to flow through his body. Many of his other discoveries were discredited and met with much skepticism for example, At one time he was certain he had received signals from another planet in his Colorado laboratory. In 1898 Tesla announced his invention of what was considered a controversial teleautomatic boat guided by remote control. Tesla experimented with "shadowgraphs" which are similar to what is known as modern day X-rays. It is also interesting to note that modern day MRI technology seem quite a bit similar to experiments carried out by Tesla in earlier days in Budapest, when he visualized the principle of a rotating magnetic field and developed plans for an induction motor at that time. Tesla allowed himself only a few close friends,was very eccentric and was quite impractical in financial matters. I believe Tesla held many hidden scientific secrets that have remained unpublished in modern day science as many of his original notes are still hidden. I think these notes are hidden because of the controversial nature of these experiments and his family did not want him viewed as a "kook" as his many futuristic prophecies were often regarded at that time. Interesting is the fact that many of these futuristic projections are not too far from what we know as reality today. 73 Charles - KC8VWM
Reply to a comment by : N9ESH on 2003-11-29

Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too.
KC8VWM2003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2

>>>>Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too. <<<<

I found it rather odd that Tesla died literally penniless.

A man who gave the world so much, received so little for his efforts. History books have been unkind as well.

Even today, many texts still credit Marconi with the invention of radio, despite the Supreme Court decision which overruled the Marconi patent, awarding it to Tesla.

In many parts of this country, people still refer to the electric utility as the 'Edison Company', even though they use the Tesla-Westinghouse alternating current system, NOT Edison's direct current.

Tesla was also responsible for a great many other inventions and devices that we take for granted today.

I believe he also developed many technologies we have not yet seen as much of his research was impounded after his death.

Trunks, which held many of his papers, his diplomas and other honours, his letters, as well as many other laboratory notes may have been ommitted from public records.

These documents were given to his family and later placed on dispay in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade.

Tesla experimented with terrestrial stationary waves. By this discovery he proved that the Earth could be used as a conductor and would be as responsive as a tuning fork to electrical vibrations of a certain frequency.

Tesla later lighted 200 lamps without wires from a distance of 25 miles. Tesla also gave exhibitions in his laboratory in which he lighted lamps without wires by allowing electricity to flow through his body.

Many of his other discoveries were discredited and met with much skepticism for example, At one time he was certain he had received signals from another planet in his Colorado laboratory. In 1898 Tesla announced his invention of what was considered a controversial teleautomatic boat guided by remote control.

Tesla experimented with "shadowgraphs" which are similar to what is known as modern day X-rays. It is also interesting to note that modern day MRI technology seem quite a bit similar to experiments carried out by Tesla in earlier days in Budapest, when he visualized the principle of a rotating magnetic field and developed plans for an induction motor at that time.

Tesla allowed himself only a few close friends,was very eccentric and was quite impractical in financial matters. I believe Tesla held many hidden scientific secrets that have remained unpublished in modern day science as many of his original notes are still hidden.

I think these notes are hidden because of the controversial nature of these experiments and his family did not want him viewed as a "kook" as his many futuristic prophecies were often regarded at that time.

Interesting is the fact that many of these futuristic projections are not too far from what we know as reality today.


73

Charles - KC8VWM
Reply to a comment by : N9ESH on 2003-11-29

Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too.
KC8VWM2003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Tesla never used CW but in 1900, Tesla began construction on Long Island of a wireless world broadcasting tower, with $150,000 capital from the American financier J. Pierpont Morgan.

Tesla claimed he secured the loan by assigning 51 percent of his patent rights of telephony and telegraphy to Morgan. He expected to provide worldwide communication and to furnish facilities for sending pictures, messages, weather warnings, and stock reports.

The project was abandoned because of a financial panic, labour troubles, and Morgan's withdrawal of support. It was Tesla's greatest defeat.

73

Charles - KC8VWM
Reply to a comment by : TECH2003 on 2003-12-02

It's a known fact that Tesla never used CW. NCI #3069
Reply to a comment by : W8LV on 2003-12-01

Here is a link to the Nikola Tesla museum: (This is a link that actually works--there is reference on the web to a link that takes you to an outdated page) http://www.tesla-museum.org/en_meni/menis.htm and here is a link to 21st century books, a publishing company that has reprints many of Tesla's papers for sale. http://www.tfcbooks.com/writings/contents.htm Tesla's Famous Paper, "The Problem With Increasing Human Energy, with Special Reference To The Harnessing of the Sun's Energy" Printed in Century Magazine in 1900 gives a fascinating insight to Tesla's ideas on the future. This is a VERY INTERESTING paper, especially considering that it is now over 100 years old! Here is the link for that specific paper, including illustrations: http://www.tfcbooks.com/tesla/energy.htm
TECH20032003-12-02
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
It's a known fact that Tesla never used CW.

NCI #3069
Reply to a comment by : W8LV on 2003-12-01

Here is a link to the Nikola Tesla museum: (This is a link that actually works--there is reference on the web to a link that takes you to an outdated page) http://www.tesla-museum.org/en_meni/menis.htm and here is a link to 21st century books, a publishing company that has reprints many of Tesla's papers for sale. http://www.tfcbooks.com/writings/contents.htm Tesla's Famous Paper, "The Problem With Increasing Human Energy, with Special Reference To The Harnessing of the Sun's Energy" Printed in Century Magazine in 1900 gives a fascinating insight to Tesla's ideas on the future. This is a VERY INTERESTING paper, especially considering that it is now over 100 years old! Here is the link for that specific paper, including illustrations: http://www.tfcbooks.com/tesla/energy.htm
W8LV2003-12-01
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Here is a link to the Nikola Tesla museum:
(This is a link that actually works--there is reference on the web to a link that takes you to an outdated page)
http://www.tesla-museum.org/en_meni/menis.htm

and here is a link to 21st century books, a publishing company that has reprints many of Tesla's papers for sale.

http://www.tfcbooks.com/writings/contents.htm

Tesla's Famous Paper, "The Problem With Increasing Human Energy, with Special Reference To The Harnessing of the Sun's Energy" Printed in Century Magazine in 1900 gives a fascinating insight to Tesla's ideas on the future. This is a VERY INTERESTING paper, especially considering that it is now over 100 years old!
Here is the link for that specific paper, including illustrations:
http://www.tfcbooks.com/tesla/energy.htm
KC8VWM2003-11-30
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Hey! Who gave you permission to put my photo on here ?!?!

KC8VWM
Reply to a comment by : KC0LPV on 2003-11-25

Another cool article. I like your style! Advance the level a little bit, and it might make for a neat submission to something like the student society journals (SPS Observer, similar engineering pubs). Jim
W1SSN2003-11-30
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Tesla was one of a kind. Some things I have heard/read over the years:

He died poor mostly due to sinking all of his money into a lab that burned (suprise) shortly after it was completed. It was in the fire that he lost most of his papers. It should be noted that he kept very few notes . . . after many legal battles he thought it better to keep it in his head rather than on paper for others to steal.

He was well paid by Westinghouse and others. Tesla was named the father of radio by the US Supreme court so that RCA could have the patents that Marconi held in the US. With Tesla holding the trump card given by the court RCA could surplant Marconi in the US.

His grond wave work was the basis of a communications system tried by the US Navy some years ago. (60 minutes did a show on the upper pennsula of MI) ELF shaking the bedrock works great but rotten bandwith.

Lots of Tesla links on the www but great for the DED. I love it.

DED of the future: Fressenden (the valve), If you do General Sarnoff try to cover his work on D day.

73 and keep up the good work

W1SS(N) Scott
KD7DCR2003-11-30
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I really enjoyed reading this...keep them coming!

Maybe someone on here can clear this up for me:

Reference that "reported" Colorado Springs Museum about Tesla...I tried to find it last year, while going to the IRL race. Found only a short reference article about it burning down in the late 90's...

Can anyone confirm that this fire is the true case and this source for Tesla info is no more?

AND:
Have you ever considered writing a small book or booklet about ham radio in general for use during school presentations? Your style and humor might just carry the interest level and gather in some new hams.

I must say, after all the threads about code/no code, this one is refreshing to the max.

73,
KD7DCR - Mel
KA4KOE2003-11-29
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
OK, boys and girls, No. 5 is in the can and queued up. ITS OHM!!!!
Reply to a comment by : N9ESH on 2003-11-29

Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too.
N9ESH2003-11-29
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Ol’ Nick was THE GREATEST INVENTOR of modern times. Too bad a greedy patent thief called Edison stole that title, too.
WA2JJH2003-11-27
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Yup PHILIP, keep on truckin with the the """DEAD DUDE""
series.

The historical facts with your original 13 herbs and spices humor, is refreshing. Also makes for an easy read.

Many of the D.E.D's, were not thought of well when they were alive. Many of the D.E.D.'S where very colorfull characters indeed. I guess many of them invented ''bad hair "" days too.

Looking foward to the next D.E.D's, or DEDS for short.

I often wonder what the DEDS take would be on modern inventions.

I guess TESTLA would be shocked to find out that his work is only remembered by a science fair project!

Perhaps Major Armstrong would not have pulled the plug on himself, if he knew he would cash in on all of his patents. He could have invented much more RF technology.

Armstrong was a ham. He could have blown Collins and R.L. Drake away with his Ham radio line.

TESTLA's idea for power distribution would hsve made
BPL look good by comparison!

Keep em rollin.....73 and laughs DE MIKE
K7QE2003-11-27
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
If my Westinhouse history is correct (I worked for them 18 years) George Westinghouse paid Tesla millions in royalties for both motors and transformers. Back in the early 1900's the royalty fees were something like 25 cents per horsepower for motors and 10 cents per kva for transformers. I don't know what happened to the money. George always gave credit to Tesla for making it all possible.
KD5ING2003-11-27
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Another great one in the series! I also agree with another poster that the technical level could be increased considering the reading audience.

Tesla was an interesting person alright. Sort of a combination of Ben Franklin and the X-files.

Take care,

Tim Lewallen, KD5ING
KD5UJX2003-11-26
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Just think, if Tesla had gotten his way and we had power transmition by air, Ham radio would not exsist today. You couldn't hear anything.
Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
W4ROT2003-11-26
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Man...This is as good as the Ken Burns stuff...
Good Read!!!
w4rot
Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
N0RTU2003-11-26
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Another Great Article!

Enjoyed every word!
Keep'm coming Phil.

73
Mike
N0RTU
K7AAF2003-11-26
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
What fun! Thanks....
W1RG2003-11-26
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Later you may want to look at Karl Steinmetz.. He too played with lightning..

Keep 'em coming.. They're great...

Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
WA2JJH2003-11-26
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Philip, as you know many of our great electrical pioneers got their idea's ripped off.

The biggest dead dude crooks in electronics in my book of life are.

1)Sarnoff-ripped off Armstrong
2)Alexander Graham Bell, ripped off Deforest.
3)Edison, also tried to sell everybody on DC power distribution. His big claim was, the the electric chair
uses AC, so AC must be more dangerous than DC.

Maybe a dead dude patent rip off artist section, might really put history in context!

Keep up the excellent work! Maybe you should write a high school electronics/history book.

A sense of humor keeps the kids interested long enough to learn. Just a thought!

73 DE MIKE
AE4NR2003-11-26
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Thanks for the info on Telsa nice article
Keep up the good work looking forward to number 3
DED
AE4NR
WA2JJH2003-11-26
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Hmmmm. Anybody see that Tesla has a striking resemblance to that dead dude a walking actor Sean Penn!

The Sean Penn school of press and media relations is a Video I once produced.
VE6REF2003-11-26
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I just wonder what things would be like, if his notes were public domain, and who was the one or group that took them, and who has them, and how much money are they makeing?
Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
KA4KOE2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
CXG:

Next is Armstrong, Marconi, and Ohm, in that order. I'm trying to get ones who units are named after...such as Faraday - Farad, Volta - Volt, Tesla - Tesla (hmm sounds familiar), etc. Any suggestions for #6 would be appreciated since good old Ohm is next after Marconi.

PAN
Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
VE7NEP2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I think you'll find that he was ripped off by Westinghouse and that's why he died poor and forgotten.
TDA19632003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
The best stuff I have read in a year here!
Who can Argue about real History.
Neat Thread.
Tracy
TDA19632003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
The best stuff I have read in a year here!
Who can Argue about real History.
Neat Thread.
Tracy
N2WEC2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Much better than the first. Keep up the good work. This kind of thing is both informative and interesting; not to mention fun. Thanks

Bill - N2WEC
Reply to a comment by : KC0LPV on 2003-11-25

Another cool article. I like your style! Advance the level a little bit, and it might make for a neat submission to something like the student society journals (SPS Observer, similar engineering pubs). Jim
AD7DB2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Tesla investigated resonance, mechanical as well as electromagnetic. He once built a gizmo and attached it to a girder in a building. The device was powered by compressed air and started tapping the girder. Soon it began to settle into the natural frequency of the building. The police started getting calls from people in the area who thought there was an earthquake! When they looked at a map they realized Tesla's lab was right in the middle and they headed straight over there (because he had a reputation by then). They entered his lab and found him smashing his device with a sledgehammer. He said if he'd left it running it would have brought down the building.

Tesla wanted to give the world free electricity. He built this mushroom shaped all wooden tower on Long Island. The thing was never completed because his backers, among them J.P. Morgan, backed out. Needless to say, Edison and Westinghouse didn't like that area too much.

It's really sad to see all that remains of this great man's work. When you mention the name Tesla to someone, they usually say, "Oh yeah. The city planetarium at the science museum has one of those Tesla Coil machines. It makes lots of sparks."
W0FM2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Another great article, Phil. It just dawned on me that EVERYDAY was a "bad hair day" for Nik....And my XYL has the nerve to complain!

Terry, WØFM
Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
W3DCG2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Thanks, Philip.
Tesla is also my 1# most excellent Dead Electrical Dude!

M6IXP2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
http://www.johndyer.com/coils.html

Have a look at this its real cool ;->

Tesla was one hell of a dude in my mind.
ALTKA4KOE2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Edwin? Edward? Yep, should've known better. Especially since EHA is DED #3. AND since I just typed up my daughter's school report on Armstrong. Its amazing what these kids can understand. She's turning into a radio geek just like her dad.


PAN
Reply to a comment by : K8EMO on 2003-11-25

Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now: "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
K8EMO2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Another very entertaining article in this series. Thanks! For those who, like me, enjoy reading about this stuff, there is a great book currently in bookstores now:
"Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World," by Jill Jonnes, published by Random House. Look for it in your local bookstore or ask your library to get it. Read about the rivalry with Edison, the dead dogs, all the great stories that make history interesting as well as instructive.
KC0LPV2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Another cool article. I like your style!

Advance the level a little bit, and it might make for a neat submission to something like the student society journals (SPS Observer, similar engineering pubs).

Jim
AF4RF2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Phillip,

Thanks again for another DED report! Again, I say that this is the kind of thing that should be posted on eham. I'm rather fond of your concise and whitty descriptions of thes bygone geniouses. Let me apologize for anyone who would rather spend their time critisizing than learning and investigating. They are the ones who must have truely boring lives.
Thanks for taking the time to share your unique perspective on these great historical figures! As otheres have said: "Keep em' coming!"

Vince
kf4lvc
WPE9JRL2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Tesla, another poor genius that failed to cash in on the commercial applications of his many patents.

What was he doing all those years while living alone, penniless in that rancid apartment slum?

He probably appeared toothless and dressed in bib overalls, unrecognized, at many a Hamfest.

Pat WPE9JRL
ALTKA4KOE2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
My regular arrl.net forwarding has problems. Just commenting to receive posts. Have at it kids.
Reply to a comment by : AH6RR on 2003-11-25

I also remember reading that he also was working on sending electricity via radio waves and could do it. People thought he was nuts and it could not be done. He got mad and took his secret to his grave. Maybe that was a good thing for us who like HF. But the man is still my hero as nobody has come close to his Genius period. But could you imagine No Power Lines? = no BPL? Just something to ponder. Thanks Philip for a great post. And Thanks Nikola Tesla for all the wounderful things you have given us. 73 Roland AH6RR
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
K3CXG2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Philip:

Dude, your dissertation on DED #2 was most excellent! For a future DED, you might consider Dr. Mahlon Loomis, inventor of radiotelegraphy. Really!

73, Mike
KC0NYK2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I sometimes wonder about Nikki Tesla....I wonder if he wasn't just trying to phone home for the taxi! Philip neglected to mention his 'light show' for Admiral Byrd and the resultant demise of a small town in Siberia.

Can't wait for DED#3.

Keep up the good work Philip...I am printing these off to use as teaching tools.
N0CTI2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Great article.

Tesla also invented a number of remarkable non-electrical items. One is a multidisk turbine or pump(depending upon how you run it)that is just now being commercialized.

There is a weird little Tesla museum in Colorado Springs that is crammed with Tesla-related stuff. It is worth the side trip if you are in the neighborhood. Tesla had a lab in Colorado Springs and conducted some wireless power transmission experiments there until (as noted by another commenter) he created an unfortunate situation in the local power plant.

Dave
WR8Y2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
"Assumed room temperature"

... Rush fan, right? ;-)

Very enjoyable contribution. I too think 'ole Nick has been cheated of the recognition due him - in school I was NEVER taught anything about him.

K3ESE2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
KUDOS!!! Thanks! MORE!!!
Reply to a comment by : AH6RR on 2003-11-25

I also remember reading that he also was working on sending electricity via radio waves and could do it. People thought he was nuts and it could not be done. He got mad and took his secret to his grave. Maybe that was a good thing for us who like HF. But the man is still my hero as nobody has come close to his Genius period. But could you imagine No Power Lines? = no BPL? Just something to ponder. Thanks Philip for a great post. And Thanks Nikola Tesla for all the wounderful things you have given us. 73 Roland AH6RR
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
KE4MOB2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
It must have been fun to be around Nikola!

Even after all these years, some of the stuff he thought up still has the air of "hey guys, watch THIS...KAAA-POW!! As a result Nikola is standing there, clothes blackened and hair smoldering...

And then there's the government confiscation of his papers after his death...a real-life Twilight Zone.

They don't make people like this anymore...
WA2JJH2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
nice job philip.I and using voice recognition to reply to dead electrical dudes.part 2.
sell my spelling and grammar maybe really off.

It sure beats typing . I am looking forward to your biography of major Armstrong .

That dead dude,did not give any credit for all of these inventions.

super heterodyne.mil F. M.,and f. M. stereo!

I have found that the voice recognition works directly on the eham page.

key of the good work . I have to do more training with this week's recognition system built in to windows XP.

it is much better then typing . For those that are going to crit.the spelling and grammar , you cannot blame me!

the voice recognition system needs many more hours of training .

73 Mike W. A. two J. J. H.
KT3K2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I've been waiting for "Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2"
since I read "Dead Electrical Dudes No. 1".
Great idea on these presentations, and nicely done.
I'll be looking for the next one too..

John
Reply to a comment by : JAMES_BENEDICT_EX_N8FVJ on 2003-11-25

Response to AA6HR. I remember reading the system of sending power without lines used an odd earth ground matching system as a return to complete the circuit. The experiment was a failure, however this 'ground matching system' was used by the US gov't to send radio waves overseas sometime around WWI or perhaps a few years after WWI. It was reported to generate a much stronger signal than the normal antenna system using air vs ground waves. After reading that, I never heard another word about it. Perhaps just someones wild imagination?
Reply to a comment by : AH6RR on 2003-11-25

I also remember reading that he also was working on sending electricity via radio waves and could do it. People thought he was nuts and it could not be done. He got mad and took his secret to his grave. Maybe that was a good thing for us who like HF. But the man is still my hero as nobody has come close to his Genius period. But could you imagine No Power Lines? = no BPL? Just something to ponder. Thanks Philip for a great post. And Thanks Nikola Tesla for all the wounderful things you have given us. 73 Roland AH6RR
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
JAMES_BENEDICT_EX_N8FVJ2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Response to AA6HR.

I remember reading the system of sending power without lines used an odd earth ground matching system as a return to complete the circuit. The experiment was a failure, however this 'ground matching system' was used by the US gov't to send radio waves overseas sometime around WWI or perhaps a few years after WWI. It was reported to generate a much stronger signal than the normal antenna system using air vs ground waves. After reading that, I never heard another word about it. Perhaps just someones wild imagination?
Reply to a comment by : AH6RR on 2003-11-25

I also remember reading that he also was working on sending electricity via radio waves and could do it. People thought he was nuts and it could not be done. He got mad and took his secret to his grave. Maybe that was a good thing for us who like HF. But the man is still my hero as nobody has come close to his Genius period. But could you imagine No Power Lines? = no BPL? Just something to ponder. Thanks Philip for a great post. And Thanks Nikola Tesla for all the wounderful things you have given us. 73 Roland AH6RR
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
JAMES_BENEDICT_EX_N8FVJ2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Tesla was interesting. I read he used a huge tesla coil that connected directly to the new city generator in Colorado Springs. It overloaded the generator, caused a failure & the towns persons wanted to kill him. He left town in a hurry.

The Edison vs Tesla/Westinghouse debate was a sad one. Thomas Edison just would not admit AC distribution was far superior despite so many great inventions.

The most aggressive almost 'robber baron' stereotypes was RCA in the early days of radio. Write an article of some of the RCA early stories.
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
VK4JAM2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Nikola Tesla would be guy who has had the most impact on our current lifestyle .... yet most people know very little about him. Without AC electricity and AC transformers we would all be sitting in the dark!

He had many patents .... including those concerning radio. Tesla is the "father" of radio communications. Marconi and other radio pioneers applied the patients held by Tesla.

One very important "dead dude" who should not be forgotten.
AH6RR2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
I also remember reading that he also was working on sending electricity via radio waves and could do it. People thought he was nuts and it could not be done. He got mad and took his secret to his grave. Maybe that was a good thing for us who like HF. But the man is still my hero as nobody has come close to his Genius period. But could you imagine No Power Lines? = no BPL? Just something to ponder.

Thanks Philip for a great post. And Thanks Nikola Tesla for all the wounderful things you have given us.

73
Roland AH6RR
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
G5FSD2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
It's supposed to be 'shuffled off this mortal coil', so you've got it the wrong way around - still, what should I expect from someone so disrespectful.

BTW 'assumed ground potential' would be better than room temperature (as someone else pointed out in the earlier thread).
W8BBS2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
You incorrectly give Edward Armstrong credif for inventing the superheterodyne receiver and FM, I'm sure you meant Edwin Armstrong.
KZ9G2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Tesla also predicted the general concept of RADAR in a sweeping article in the June, 1900 edition of the Century magazine.

An excerpt: "Stationary waves... mean something more than telegraphy without wires to any distance... For instance, by their use we may produce at will, from a sending station, an electrical effect in any particular region of the globe; we may determine the relative position or course of a moving object, such as a vessel at sea, the distance travered by the same, or its speed."

He also mentioned many features of a modern RADAR in another article printed in August, 1917 edition of "The Electrical Experimenter." A true genious, he was an abberation, and seems to have been displaced along our chronological time line. He was ahead of his time.

Credit given to:

Tesla: A man out of time, by Margaret Cheney, copyright 1981.

73.
ZS1DX2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Thanks Philip! For me, Tesla is the NO.1 electrical dude.
N6AJR2003-11-25
RE: Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
a shocking disclosure...
Reply to a comment by : KC7MM on 2003-11-25

Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming! Dale KC7MM
KC7MM2003-11-25
Dead Electrical Dudes No. 2
Entertaining and educational, keep 'em coming!

Dale KC7MM