Editing Nikola Tesla (section)

== Wireless power ==

{{Further|Wireless power transfer#Tesla}}

[[File:Teslathinker.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Tesla sitting in front of a spiral coil used in his wireless power experiments at his East Houston St. laboratory]]

From the 1890s through 1906, Tesla spent a great deal of his time and fortune on a series of projects trying to develop [[Wireless power transfer|the transmission of electrical power without wires]]. It was an expansion of his idea of using coils to transmit power that he had been demonstrating in wireless lighting. He saw this as not only a way to transmit large amounts of power around the world but also, as he had pointed out in his earlier lectures, a way to transmit worldwide communications.

At the time Tesla was formulating his ideas, there was no feasible way to wirelessly transmit communication signals over long distances, let alone large amounts of power. Tesla had studied radio waves early on, and came to the conclusion that part of the existing study on them, by Hertz, was incorrect.{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=127}}<ref name="earlyradiohistory.us">{{cite web|url=https://earlyradiohistory.us/tesla.htm|title=Nikola Tesla: The Guy Who DIDN'T 'Invent Radio' | first = Thomas H. | last = White | date = 1 November 2012 |website=earlyradiohistory.us|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=15 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115150200/http://earlyradiohistory.us/tesla.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Tesla's own experiments led him to erroneously believe Hertz had misidentified a form of conduction instead of a new form of electromagnetic radiation, an incorrect assumption that Tesla held for a couple of decades.<ref name="earlyradiohistory.us"/>{{sfn|Carlson|2013|pp=127–128}}}} Also, this new form of radiation was widely considered at the time to be a short-distance phenomenon that seemed to die out in less than a mile.<ref>Brian Regal, Radio: The Life Story of a Technology, p. 22</ref> Tesla noted that, even if theories on radio waves were true, they were totally worthless for his intended purposes, since this form of "invisible light" would diminish over a distance just like any other radiation and would travel in straight lines right out into space, becoming "hopelessly lost".{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=209}}

By the mid-1890s, Tesla was working on the idea that he might be able to conduct electricity long distance through the Earth or the atmosphere, and began working on experiments to test this idea including setting up a large resonance transformer [[magnifying transmitter]] in his East Houston Street lab.<ref name="My Inventions"><u>My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla</u>, Hart Brothers, 1982, Ch. 5, {{ISBN|0-910077-00-2}}, originally appeared in ''[[The Electrical Experimenter]]'' magazine in 1919</ref><ref>"Tesla on Electricity Without Wires," <u>Electrical Engineer</u> – N.Y., 8 January 1896, p. 52. (Refers to letter by Tesla in the ''New York Herald'', 31 December 1895.)</ref><ref>''Mining & Scientific Press'', "Electrical Progress" Nikola Tesla Is Credited With Statement", 11 April 1896</ref> Seeming to borrow from a common idea at the time that the Earth's atmosphere was conductive,{{sfn|Seifer|2001|p=107}}{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=45}} he proposed a system composed of balloons suspending, transmitting, and receiving, electrodes in the air above {{convert|30,000|feet}} in altitude, where he thought the lower pressure would allow him to send high voltages (millions of volts) long distances.

=== Colorado Springs ===
{{See also|Tesla Experimental Station|Magnifying transmitter|Colorado Springs Notes, 1899–1900}}
[[File:Tesla Colorado.jpg|thumb|upright|Tesla's Colorado Springs laboratory]]

To further study the conductive nature of low-pressure air, Tesla set up an [[Tesla Experimental Station|experimental station]] at high altitude in Colorado Springs during 1899.{{sfn|Cheney|Uth|Glenn|1999|p=92}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_colspr.html|title=PBS: Tesla – Master of Lightning: Colorado Springs|website=[[pbs.org]]|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707120257/http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_colspr.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=264}}<ref name="Wireless Telegraphy 2002, p. 109">''Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power'', Leland I. Anderson, 21st Century Books, 2002, p. 109, {{ISBN|1-893817-01-6}}.</ref> <!--primarily because of the frequent thunderstorms, the high altitude (where the air, being at a lower pressure, had a lower dielectric breakdown strength, making it easier to ionize), and the dryness of the air (minimizing leakage of electric charge through insulators).--> There he could safely operate much larger coils than in the cramped confines of his New York lab, and an associate had made an arrangement for the El Paso Electric Light Company to supply alternating current free of charge.<ref name="Wireless Telegraphy 2002, p. 109" /> To fund his experiments, he convinced [[John Jacob Astor IV]] to invest $100,000 (${{Inflation|US|100000|1899|r=-2|fmt=c}} in today's dollars{{Inflation-fn|US}}) to become a majority shareholder in the Nikola Tesla Company. Astor thought he was primarily investing in the new wireless lighting system. Instead, Tesla used the money to fund his Colorado Springs experiments.{{sfn|Carlson|2013|pp=255–259}} Upon his arrival, he told reporters that he planned to conduct [[wireless telegraphy]] experiments, transmitting signals from [[Pikes Peak]] to Paris.{{sfn|Cheney|2001|p=173}}

[[File:Nikola Tesla, with his equipment Wellcome M0014782 - restoration2.jpg|thumb|left|A [[multiple exposure]] picture of Tesla sitting next to his "[[magnifying transmitter]]" generating millions of volts. The {{convert|7|m|adj=on}} long arcs were not part of the normal operation, but only produced for effect by rapidly cycling the power switch.{{sfn|Carlson|2013|pp=290–301}}]]

There, he conducted experiments with a large coil operating in the megavolts range, producing artificial lightning (and thunder) consisting of millions of volts and discharges of up to {{convert|135|ft|m|0}} in length,<ref>Gillispie, Charles Coulston, "''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'';" ''Tesla, Nikola''. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.</ref> and, at one point, inadvertently burned out the generator in El Paso, causing a power outage.<ref>{{cite journal |last=SECOR |first=H. WINFIELD |title=TESLA'S VIEWS ON ELECTRICITY AND THE WAR |journal=The Electrical Experimenter |date=August 1917 |url=http://www.tfcbooks.com/tesla/1917-08-00.htm |access-date=9 September 2012 |archive-date=10 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210071635/http://tfcbooks.com/tesla/1917-08-00.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The observations he made of the electronic noise of lightning strikes led him to (incorrectly) conclude{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=301}}{{sfn|Cooper|2015|p=165}} that he could use the entire globe of the Earth to conduct electrical energy.

During his time at his laboratory, Tesla observed unusual signals from his receiver which he speculated to be communications from another planet. He mentioned them in a letter to a reporter in December 1899<ref>Daniel Blair Stewart (1999). ''Tesla: The Modern Sorcerer'', Frog Book. p. 372</ref> and to the [[Red Cross Society]] in December 1900.{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=315}}{{sfn|Seifer|1998|pp=220–223}} Reporters treated it as a sensational story and jumped to the conclusion Tesla was hearing signals from [[Mars]].{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=315}} He expanded on the signals he heard in a 9 February 1901 ''Collier's Weekly'' article entitled "Talking With Planets", where he said it had not been immediately apparent to him that he was hearing "intelligently controlled signals" and that the signals could have come from Mars, [[Venus]], or other planets.{{sfn|Seifer|1998|pp=220–223}} It has been hypothesized that he may have intercepted [[Guglielmo Marconi]]'s European experiments in July 1899—Marconi may have transmitted the letter S (dot/dot/dot) in a naval demonstration, the same three impulses that Tesla hinted at hearing in Colorado{{sfn|Seifer|1998|pp=220–223}}—or signals from another experimenter in wireless transmission.<ref name="seifer2006">{{cite web |last=Seifer |first=Marc |title=Nikola Tesla: The Lost Wizard |url=http://teslatech.info/ttmagazine/v4n1/seifer.htm |publisher=ExtraOrdinary Technology (Volume 4, Issue 1; Jan/Feb/March 2006) |access-date=14 July 2012 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925090553/http://teslatech.info/ttmagazine/v4n1/seifer.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2014}}

Tesla had an agreement with the editor of ''[[The Century Magazine]]'' to produce an article on his findings. The magazine sent a photographer to Colorado to photograph the work being done there. The article, titled "The Problem of Increasing Human Energy", appeared in the June 1900 edition of the magazine. He explained the superiority of the wireless system he envisioned but the article was more of a lengthy philosophical treatise than an understandable scientific description of his work,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.teslamemorialsociety.org/info/Research%20of%20Nikola%20Tesla%20in%20Long%20Island%20Laboratory.htm|title=Research of Nikola Tesla in Long Island Laboratory|access-date=26 January 2017|archive-date=6 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506115345/http://www.teslamemorialsociety.org/info/Research%20of%20Nikola%20Tesla%20in%20Long%20Island%20Laboratory.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> illustrated with what were to become iconic images of Tesla and his Colorado Springs experiments.

=== Wardenclyffe ===
{{Main|Wardenclyffe Tower}}
[[File:Tesla Broadcast Tower 1904.jpeg|thumb|upright|Tesla's Wardenclyffe plant on Long Island in 1904. From this facility, Tesla hoped to demonstrate wireless transmission of electrical energy across the Atlantic.]]

Tesla made the rounds in New York trying to find investors for what he thought would be a viable system of wireless transmission, wining and dining them at the [[Waldorf-Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf-Astoria]]'s Palm Garden (the hotel where he was living at the time), [[The Players (New York City)|The Players Club]], and [[Delmonico's]].<ref name="teslascience.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.teslascience.org/pages/dream.htm|title=Tesla Wardenclyffe Project Update – An Introduction to the Issues|website=www.teslascience.org|date=22 June 2023|access-date=26 January 2017|archive-date=21 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121115706/http://www.teslascience.org/pages/dream.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 1901, he obtained $150,000 (${{Inflation|US|150000|1900|r=-2|fmt=c}} in today's dollars{{Inflation-fn|US}}) from [[J. P. Morgan]] in return for a 51% share of any generated wireless patents, and began planning the [[Wardenclyffe Tower]] facility to be built in [[Shoreham, New York]], {{convert|100|mi|km|0}} east of the city on the North Shore of Long Island.<ref name="broad1">{{cite news |last=Broad |first=William J |title=A Battle to Preserve a Visionary's Bold Failure |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/science/05tesla.html |access-date=20 May 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=4 May 2009 |archive-date=25 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725111710/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/science/05tesla.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

By July 1901, Tesla had expanded his plans to build a more powerful transmitter to leap ahead of [[Guglielmo Marconi|Marconi]]'s radio-based system, which Tesla thought was a copy of his own.{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=315}} He approached Morgan to ask for more money to build the larger system, but Morgan refused to supply any further funds.<ref name="seifer2006"/>{{unreliable source?|date=July 2014}} In December 1901, Marconi successfully transmitted the letter S from England to [[Newfoundland and Labrador#colony|Newfoundland]], defeating Tesla in the race to be first to complete such a transmission. A month after Marconi's success, Tesla tried to get Morgan to back an even larger plan to transmit messages and power by controlling "vibrations throughout the globe".{{sfn|Carlson|2013|p=315}} Over the next five years, Tesla wrote more than 50 letters to Morgan, pleading for and demanding additional funding to complete the construction of Wardenclyffe. Tesla continued the project for another nine months into 1902. The tower was erected to its full height of {{convert|187|ft|m|0}}.<ref name="seifer2006" />{{unreliable source?|date=July 2014}} In June 1902, Tesla moved his lab operations from Houston Street to Wardenclyffe.<ref name="broad1" />

Investors on [[Wall Street]] were putting their money into Marconi's system, and some in the press began turning against Tesla's project, claiming it was a hoax.<ref>Malanowski, Gregory, <u>The Race for Wireless</u>, AuthorHouse, p. 35</ref> The project came to a halt in 1905, and in 1906, the financial problems and other events may have led to what Tesla biographer [[Marc J. Seifer]] suspects was a nervous breakdown on Tesla's part.<ref>{{cite book|first=David Hatcher|last= Childress|date=1993|isbn=978-0-932813-19-0|title= The Fantastic Inventions of Nikola Tesla|page= 255|publisher= Adventures Unlimited}}</ref> Tesla mortgaged the Wardenclyffe property to cover his debts at the Waldorf-Astoria, which eventually amounted to $20,000 (${{Inflation|US|20000|1914|r=-2|fmt=c}} in today's dollars{{Inflation-fn|US}}).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRg9HWakBmQC&q=tesla+1908+Wardenclyffe+foreclosed&pg=PA185|title=Nikola Tesla on His Work with Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power: An Extended Interview|first=Nikola|last=Tesla|date=8 December 2017|publisher=21st Century Books|via=Google Books|isbn=978-1-893817-01-2|access-date=18 November 2020|archive-date=23 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323123554/https://books.google.com/books?id=KRg9HWakBmQC&q=tesla+1908+Wardenclyffe+foreclosed&pg=PA185#v=snippet&q=tesla%201908%20Wardenclyffe%20foreclosed&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> He lost the property in foreclosure in 1915, and in 1917 the Tower was demolished by the new owner to make the land a more viable real estate asset.