2010-08-22

Nikola Tesla continued....

High frequency current phenomena were new and exceedingly curious. A line of experimental research was conducted in order to evaluate new safe and possibly more efficient ways for transmitting power along long elevated lines. Tesla stated that the transmission of such safe currents across very long power line distances in the future would be a certainty, seeing their wonderful new qualities.

Tesla found that high frequency currents were harmless when contacted by the human body. Discharges from these generators traversed the outer surface of materials, never penetrating matter with depth. There was no dan­ger when working with high frequency currents. He also observed their very curious and beautiful spark effects. They hissed and fizzled all over wire conductors, could stimulate luminescence in low pressure gas bulbs, seemed to traverse insulative barriers with ease, and made little pinwheels spin like delicate little fireworks displays.

Though curious, the effects were weak and furtive. They seemed to inti­mate some future technology which he was yet unable to penetrate. Tesla learned that his intuitions and visions were infallible. What he guessed usu­ally proved true. This very personal revelation, he later claimed, was his great­est discovery.

As the safety of all personnel was his main concern, he was consumed with the idea of making his High Frequency Polyphase System completely safe for human operators and consumers alike. An extensive examination of each System component was undertaken with this aim in mind. Tesla was thorough and relentless in his quest for safety and efficiency.

But, his involvement with alternating currents would come to an abrupt and unexpected end. During a series of experiments which followed these high frequency tests, an amazing seldom-mentioned accident occurred in which Tesla observed a phenomenon which forever altered his view of electricity and technology.

Tesla was an avid and professional experimenter throughout his life. His curiosity was of such an intense nature that he was able to plumb the myster­ies of an electrical peculiarity with no regard for his own comfort. Whereas Edison would work and sleep for a few hours on the floor, Tesla would never sleep until he had achieved success in an experimental venture. This mara­thon could last for days. He was once observed to work through a seventy-two hour period without fatigue. His technicians were in awe of him.

The Victorian Era was flooding over with new electrical discoveries by the day. Keeping up with the sheer volume of strange electrical discoveries and curiosities was a task, which Tesla thoroughly enjoyed ... and preferred. His Polyphase System in perfect working order, the pleasurable occupation of studying new gazettes and scientific journals often fascinated his mind to the exclusion of all other responsibilities. A millionaire and world-heralded genius before the age of thirty, Tesla sought the pure kind of research he had so long craved.

Whenever he observed any intriguing electrical effect he immediately launched into experimental study with a hundred variations. Each study brought him such a wealth of new knowledge that, based on phenomena which he observed, he was immediately able to formulate new inventions and acquire new patents.

Tesla's New York laboratories had several sections. This complex was arranged as a multi-level gallery, providing a complete research and produc­tion facility. Tesla fabricated several of his large transformers and generators in the lower floors, where the machine shops of this building were housed. The upper floors contained his private research laboratories. He had attracted a loyal staff of technicians. Of all these, Kolman Czito was a trusted friend who would stand by Tesla for the remainder of his life. Czito was the ma­chine shop foreman in each of Tesla's New York laboratories.

Tesla observed that instantaneous applications of either direct or alternat­ing current to lines often caused explosive effects. While these had obvious practical applications in improvement and safety, Tesla was seized by certain peculiar aspects of the phenomenon. He had observed these powerful blasts when knife-switches were quickly closed and opened in his Polyphase Sys­tem. Switch terminals were often blasted to pieces when the speed of the switchman matched the current phase.

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