The Problem of Increasing Human Energyenergythic.com/...The_Problem_Of_Increasing_Human_Energy_2.pdf · THE PROBLEM OF INCREASING HUMAN ENERGY ... which govern throughout the physical

Reprint form Century Magazine, June 1900

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THE PROBLEM OF INCREASING HUMAN ENERGYWITH SPECIAL REFERENCES TO THE HARNESSING OF THE SUN'S ENERGY.

BY NIKOLA TESLA

THE ONWARD MOVEMENT OF MAN – THEENERGY OF THE MOVEMENT – THE THREEWAYS OF INCREASING HUMAN ENERGY.

Of all the endless variety of phenomena whichnature presents to our senses, there is none that fillsour minds with greater wonder than that incon-ceivably complex movement which, in its entirety,we designate as human life; Its mysterious origin isveiled in the forever impenetrable mist of the past,its character is rendered incomprehensible by itsinfinite intricacy, and its destination is hidden inthe unfathomable depths of the future. Whencedoes it come? What is it? Whither does it tend? arethe great questions which the sages of all timeshave endeavored to answer.

Modern science says: The sun is the past, theearth is the present, the moon is the future. Froman incandescent mass we have originated, and intoa frozen mass we shall turn. Merciless is the law ofnature, and rapidly and irresistibly we are drawn toour doom. Lord Kelvin, in his profound medita-tions, allows us only a short span of life, something

like six million years, after which time the sunsbright light will have ceased to shine, and its lifegiving heat will have ebbed away, and our ownearth will be a lump of ice, hurrying on through theeternal night. But do not let us despair. There willstill be left upon it a glimmering spark of life, andthere will be a chance to kindle a new fire on somedistant star. This wonderful possibility seems,indeed, to exist, judging from Professor Dewar'sbeautiful experiments with liquid air, which showthat germs of organic life are not destroyed bycold, no matter how intense; consequently theymay be transmitted through the interstellar space.Meanwhile the cheering lights of science and art,ever increasing in intensity, illuminate our path,and marvels they disclose, and the enjoyments theyoffer, make us measurably forgetful of the gloomyfuture.

Though we may never be able to comprehendhuman life, we know certainly that it is a move-ment, of whatever nature it be. The existence ofmovement unavoidably implies a body which isbeing moved and a force which is moving it.

Fig. 1: Burning the Nitrogen of the atmosphere


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Hence, wherever there is life, there is a massmoved by a force. All mass possesses inertia, allforce tends to persist. Owing to this universalproperty and condition, a body, be it at rest or inmotion, tends to remain in the same state, and aforce, manifesting itself anywhere and throughwhatever cause, produces an equivalent opposingforce, and as an absolute necessity of this it followsthat every movement in nature must be rhythmical.Long ago this simple truth was clearly pointed outby Herbert Spencer, who arrived at it through asomewhat different process of reasoning. It isborne out in everything we perceive--in the move-ment of a planet, in the surging and ebbing of thetide, in the reverberations of the air, the swingingof a pendulum, the oscillations of an electric cur-rent, and in the infinitely varied phenomena oforganic life. Does not the whole of human lifeattest to it? Birth, growth, old age, and death of anindividual, family, race, or nation, what is it all buta rhythm? All life-manifestation, then, even in itsmost intricate form, as exemplified in man, how-ever involved and inscrutable, is only a movement,to which the same general laws of movementwhich govern throughout the physical universemust be applicable.

Note to Fig. 1.--This result is produced by thedischarge of an electrical oscillator giving twelvemillion volts. The electrical pressure, alternatingone hundred thousand times per second, excites thenormally inert nitrogen, causing it to combine withthe oxygen. The flame-like discharge shown in thephotograph measures sixty-five feet across.

When we speak of man, we have a conceptionof humanity as a whole, and before applying scien-tific methods to, the investigation of his movementwe must accept this as a physical fact. But cananyone doubt to-day that all the millions of indi-viduals and all the innumerable types and cha-racters constitute an entity, a unit? Though free tothink and act, we are held together, like the stars inthe firmament, with ties inseparable. These tiescannot be seen, but we can feel them. I cut myselfin the finger, and it pains me: this finger is part ofmy. I see a friend hurt, and it hurts me, too: myfriend and I are one. And now I see stricken downan enemy, a lump of matter which, of all the lumpsof matter in the universe, I care least for, and it stillgrieves me. Does this not prove that each of us isonly part of a whole?

For ages this idea has been proclaimed in theconsummately wise teachings of religion, probablynot alone as a means of insuring peace and har-mony among men, but as a deeply founded truth.The Buddhist expresses it in one way, the Christianin another, but both say the same: We are all one.Metaphysical proofs are, however, not the only

ones which we are able to bring forth in support ofthis idea. Science, too, recognizes this connected-ness of separate individuals, though not quite in thesame sense as it admits that the suns, planets, andmoons of a constellation are one body, and therecan be no doubt that it will be experimentallyconfirmed in times to come, when our means andmethods for investigating psychical and otherstates and phenomena shall have been brought togreat perfection. Still more: this one human beinglives on and on. The individual is ephemeral, racesand nations come and pass away, but man remains.Therein lies the profound difference between theindividual and the whole. Therein, too, is to befound the partial explanation of many of thosemarvelous phenomena of heredity which are theresult of countless centuries of feeble but persistentinfluence.

Conceive, then, man as a mass urged on by aforce. Though this movement is not of a translatorycharacter, implying change of place, yet the gene-ral laws of mechanical movement are applicable toit, and the energy associated with this mass can bemeasured, in accordance with well-known prin-ciples, by half the product of the mass with thesquare of a certain velocity. So, for instance, a can-non-ball which is at rest possesses a certain amountof energy in the form of heat, which we measure ina similar way. We imagine the ball to consist ofinnumerable minute particles, called atoms or mo-lecules, which vibrate or whirl around one another.We determine their masses and velocities, andfrom them the energy of each of these minute sys-tems, and adding them all together, we get an ideaof the total heat-energy contained in the ball,which is only seemingly at rest. In this purely theo-retical estimate this energy may then be calculatedby multiplying half of the total mass--that is half ofthe sum of all the small masses--with the square ofa velocity which is determined from the velocitiesof the separate particles. In like manner we mayconceive of human energy being measured by halfthe human mass multiplied with the square of thevelocity which we are not yet able to compute. Butour deficiency in this knowledge will not vitiatethe truth of the deductions I shall draw, which reston the firm basis that the same laws of mass andforce govern throughout nature.

Man, however, is not an ordinary mass, con-sisting of spinning atoms and molecules, andcontaining merely heat-energy. He is a mass pos-sessed of certain higher qualities by reason of thecreative principle of life with which he is endowed.His mass, as the water in an ocean wave, is beingcontinuously exchanged, new taking the place ofthe old. Not only this, but he grows propagates,and dies, thus altering his mass independently,


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both in bulk and density. What is most wonderfulof all, he is capable of increasing or diminishinghis velocity of movement by the mysterious powerhe possesses by appropriating more or less energyfrom other substance, and turning it into motiveenergy. But in any given moment we may ignorethese slow changes and assume that human energyis measured by half the product of man's mass withthe square of a certain hypothetical velocity. How-ever we may compute this velocity, and whateverwe may take as the standard of its measure, wemust, in harmony with this conception, come to theconclusion that the great problem of science is, andalways will be, to increase the energy thus defined.

Many years ago, stimulated by the perusal of thatdeeply interesting work, Draper's "History of theIntellectual Development of Europe," depicting sovividly human movement, I recognized that tosolve this eternal problem must ever be the chieftask of the man of science. Some results of myown efforts to this end I shall endeavor briefly todescribe here.

Let, then, in diagram a, M represent the massof man. This mass is impelled in one direction by aforce f, which is resisted by another partly fric-tional and partly negative force R, acting in adirection exactly opposite, and retarding themovement of the mass. Such an antagonistic forceis present in every movement and must be takeninto consideration. The difference between thesetwo forces is the effective force which imparts avelocity V to the mass M in the direction of thearrow on the line representing the force f. In accor-

dance with the preceding, the human energy willthen be given by the product ½ MV2 = ½ MV x V,in which M is the total mass of man in the ordinaryinterpretation of the term "mass," and V is a certainhypothetical velocity, which, in the present state ofscience, we are unable exactly to define and de-termine. To increase the human energy is, there-fore, equivalent to increasing this product, andthere are, as will readily be seen, only three wayspossible to attain this result, which are illustratedin the above diagram. The first way shown in thetop figure, is to increase the mass (as indicated bythe dotted circle), leaving the two opposing forcesthe same. The second way is to reduce the retard-

ing force R to a smallervalue r, leaving the massand the impelling force thesame, as diagrammaticallyshown in the middle figure.The third way, which isillustrated in the last figure,is to increase the impellingforce f to a higher value F,while the mass and the re-tarding force R remainunaltered. Evidently fixedlimits exist as regardsincrease of mass andreduction of retardingforce, but the impelling for-ce can be increased inde-finitely. Each of these threepossible solutions presentsa different aspect of themain problem of increasinghuman energy, which isthus divided into three dis-tinct problems, to be suc-cessively considered.

THE FIRST PROBLEM: HOW TO INCREASETHE HUMAN MASS – THE BURNING OF

ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN.

Viewed generally, there are obviously twoways of increasing the mass of mankind: first, byaiding and maintaining those forces and conditionswhich tend to increase it; and, second, by opposingand reducing those which tend to diminish it. Themass will be increased by careful attention tohealth, by substantial food, by moderation, byregularity of habits, by promotion of marriage, byconscientious attention to children, and, generallystated, by the observance of all the many preceptsand laws of religion and hygiene. But in addingnew mass to the old, three cases again presentthemselves. Either the mass added is of the same

DIAGRAM a: The three ways of increasinghuman energy.


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velocity as the old, or it is of a smaller or of ahigher velocity. To gain an idea of the relativeimportance of these cases, imagine a train com-posed of, say, one hundred locomotives running ona track, and suppose that, to increase the energy ofthe moving mass, four more locomotives are addedto the train. If these four move at the same velocityat which the train is going, the total energy will beincreased four per cent.; if they are moving at onlyone half of that velocity, the increase will amountto only one per cent.; if they are moving at twicethat velocity, the increase of energy will be sixteenper cent. This simple illustration shows that it is ofgreatest importance to add mass of a higher veloc-ity. Stated more to the point, if, for example, thechildren be of the same degree of enlightenment asthe parents,--that is, mass of the "same velocity,"--the energy will simply increase proportionately tothe number added. If they are less intelligent oradvanced, or mass of "smaller velocity," there willbe a very slight gain in the energy; but if they arefurther advanced, or mass of "higher velocity,"then the new generation will add very considerablyto the sum total of human energy. any addition ofmass of "smaller velocity," beyond that indispen-sable amount required by the law expressed in theproverb, "Mens sana in corpore sano," should bestrenuously opposed. For instance, the mere devel-opment of muscle, as aimed at in some of ourcolleges, I consider equivalent to adding mass of"smaller velocity," and I would not commend it,although my views were different when I was astudent myself. Moderate exercise, insuring theright balance between mind and body, and thehighest efficiency of performance, is, of course, aprime requirement. The above example shows thatthe most important result to be attained is theeducation, or the increase of the "velocity," of themass newly added.

Conversely, it scarcely need be stated thateverything that is against the teachings of religionand the laws of hygiene is tending to decrease themass. Whisky, wine, tea coffee, tobacco, and othersuch stimulants are responsible for the shorteningof the lives of many, and ought to be used withmoderation. But I do not think that rigorous meas-ures of suppression of habits followed throughmany generations are commendable. It is wiser topreach moderation than abstinence. We havebecome accustomed to these stimulants, and ifsuch reforms are to be effected, they must be slowand gradual. Those who are devoting their energiesto such ends could make themselves far moreuseful by turning their efforts in other directions,as, for instance, toward providing pure water.

For every person who perishes from the ef-fects of a stimulant, at least a thousand die from

the consequences of drinking impure water. Thisprecious fluid, which daily infuses new life into us,is likewise the chief vehicle through which diseaseand death enter our bodies. The germs of destruc-tion it conveys are enemies all the more terrible asthey perform their fatal work unperceived. Theyseal our doom while we live and enjoy. The ma-jority of people are so ignorant or careless indrinking water, and the consequences of this are sodisastrous, that a philanthropist can scarcely usehis efforts better than by endeavoring to enlightenthose who are thus injuring themselves. By sys-tematic purification and sterilization of the drink-ing water the human mass would be very consid-erably increased. It should be made a rigid rule--which might be enforced by law--to boil or tosterilize otherwise the drinking water in everyhousehold and public place. The mere filteringdoes not afford sufficient security against infec-tion. All ice for internal uses should be artificiallyprepared from water thoroughly sterilized. Theimportance of eliminating germs of disease fromthe city water is generally recognized, but little isbeing done to improve the existing conditions, asno satisfactory method of sterilizing great quanti-ties of water has yet been brought forward. Byimproved electrical appliances we are now enabledto produce ozone cheaply and in large amounts,and this ideal disinfectant seems to offer a happysolution of the important question.

Gambling, business rush, and excitement,particularly on the exchanges, are causes of muchmass reduction, all the more so because the indi-viduals concerned represent units of higher value.Incapacity of observing the first symptoms of anillness, and careless neglect of the same, are im-portant factors of mortality. In noting carefullyevery new sign of approaching danger, and makingconscientiously every possible effort to avert it, weare not only following wise laws of hygiene in theinterest of our well-being and the success of ourlabors, but we are also complying with a highermoral duty. Everyone should consider his body asa priceless gift from one whom he loves above all,as a marvelous work of art, of indescribable beautyand mastery beyond human conception, and sodelicate and frail that a word, a breath, a look, nay,a thought, may injure it. Uncleanness, whichbreeds disease and death, is not only a self de-structive but highly immoral habit. In keeping ourbodies free from infection, healthful, and pure, weare expressing our reverence for the high principlewith which they are endowed. He who follows theprecepts of hygiene in this spirit is proving him-self, so far, truly religious. Laxity of morals is aterrible evil, which poisons both mind and body,and which is responsible for a great reduction of


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the human mass in some countries. Many of thepresent customs and tendencies are productive ofsimilar hurtful results. For example, the societylife, modern education and pursuits of women,tending to draw them away from their householdduties and make men out of them, must needsdetract from the elevating ideal they represent,diminish the artistic creative power, and causesterility and a general weakening of the race. Athousand other evils might be mentioned, but allput together, in their bearing upon the problemunder discussion, they could not equal a single one,the want of food, brought on by poverty, destitu-tion, and famine. Millions of individuals die yearlyfor want of food, thus keeping down the mass.Even in our enlightened communities, and notwithstanding the many charitable efforts, this isstill, in all probability, the chief evil. I do not meanhere absolute want of food, but want of healthfulnutriment.

How to provide good and plentiful food is,therefore, a most important question of the day. Onthe general principles the raising of cattle as ameans of providing food is objectionable, because,in the sense interpreted above, it must undoubtedlytend to the addition of mass of a "smaller velocity."It is certainly preferable to raise vegetables, and Ithink, therefore, that vegetarianism is a commend-able departure from the established barbaroushabit. That we can subsist on plant food and per-form our work even to advantage is not a theory,but a well-demonstrated fact. Many races livingalmost exclusively on vegetables are of superiorphysique and strength. There is no doubt that someplant food, such as oatmeal, is more economicalthan meat, and superior to it in regard to bothmechanical and mental performance. Such food,moreover, taxes our digestive organs decidedlyless, and, in making us more contented and socia-ble, produces an amount of good difficult to esti-mate. In view of these facts every effort should bemade to stop the wanton and cruel slaughter ofanimals, which must be destructive to our morals.To free ourselves from animal instincts and appe-tites, which keep us down, we should begin at thevery root from which we spring: we should effect aradical reform in the character of the food.

There seems to be no philosophical necessityfor food. We can conceive of organized beingsliving without nourishment, and deriving all theenergy they need for the performance of their lifefunctions from the ambient medium. In a crystalwe have the clear evidence of the existence of aformative life-principle, and though we cannotunderstand the life of a crystal, it is none the less aliving being. There may be, besides crystals, othersuch individualized, material systems of beings,

perhaps of gaseous constitution, or composed ofsubstance still more tenuous. In view of this possi-bility,--nay, probability, we cannot apodicticallydeny the existence of organized beings on a planetmerely because the conditions on the same areunsuitable for the existence of life as we conceiveit. We cannot even, with positive assurance, assertthat some of them might not be present here, in thisour world, in the very midst of us, for their consti-tution and life-manifestation may be such that weare unable to perceive them.

The production of artificial food as a meansfor causing an increase of the human mass natu-rally suggests itself, but a direct attempt of thiskind to provide nourishment does not appear to merational, at least not for the present. Whether wecould thrive on such food is very doubtful. We arethe result of ages of continuous adaptation, and wecannot radically change without unforeseen and, inall probability, disastrous consequences. So un-certain an experiment should not be tried. By farthe best way, it seems to me, to meet the ravages ofthe evil, would be to find ways of increasing theproductivity of the soil. With this object the pres-ervation of forests is of an importance whichcannot be overestimated, and in this connection,also, the utilization of water-power for purposes ofelectrical transmission, dispensing in many wayswith the necessity of burning wood, and tendingthereby to forest preservation, is to be stronglyadvocated. But there are limits in the improvementto be effected in this and similar ways.

To increase materially the productivity of thesoil, it must be more effectively fertilized byartificial means. The question of food-productionresolves itself, then, into the question how best tofertilize the soil. What it is that made the soil isstill a mystery. To explain its origin is probablyequivalent to explaining the origin of life itself.The rocks, disintegrated by moisture and heat andwind and weather, were in themselves not capableof maintaining life. Some unexplained conditionarose, and some new principle came into effect,and the first layer capable of sustaining low or-ganisms, like mosses was formed. These, by theirlife and death, added more of the life sustainingquality to the soil, and higher organisms could thensubsist, and so on and on, until at last highly de-veloped plant and animal life could flourish. Butthough the theories are, even now, not in agree-ment as to how fertilization is effected, it is a fact,only too well ascertained, that the soil cannotindefinitely sustain life, and some way must befound to supply it with the substances which havebeen abstracted from it by the plants. The chief andmost valuable among these substances are com-pounds of nitrogen, and the cheap production of


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these is, therefore, the key for the solution of theall-important food problem. Our atmosphere con-tains an inexhaustible amount of nitrogen, andcould we but oxidize it and produce these com-pounds, an incalculable benefit for mankind wouldfollow.

Long ago this idea took a powerful hold onthe imagination of scientific men, but an efficientmeans for accomplishing this result could not bedevised. The problem was rendered extremelydifficult by the extraordinary inertness of the nitro-gen, which refuses to combine even with oxygen.But here electricity comes to our aid: the dormantaffinities of the element are awakened by anelectric current of the proper quality. As a lump ofcoal which has been in contact with oxygen forcenturies without burning will combine with itwhen once ignited, so nitrogen, excited by elec-tricity, will burn. I did not succeed, however, inproducing electrical discharges exciting veryeffectively the atmospheric nitrogen until a com-paratively recent date, although I showed, in May,1891, in a scientific lecture, a novel form of dis-charge or electrical flame named "St. Elmo'shotfire," which, besides being capable of generat-ing ozone in abundance, also possessed, as Ipointed out on that occasion, distinctly the qualityof exciting chemical affinities. This discharge orflame was then only three or four inches long, itschemical action was likewise very feeble, andconsequently the process of oxidation of nitrogenwas wasteful. How to intensify this action was thequestion. Evidently electric currents of a peculiarkind had to be produced in order to render theprocess of nitrogen combustion more efficient.

The first advance was made in ascertainingthat the chemical activity of the discharge was veryconsiderably increased by using currents of ex-tremely high frequency or rate of vibration. Thiswas an important improvement, but practicalconsiderations soon set a definite limit to theprogress in this direction. Next, the effects of theelectrical pressure of the current impulses, of theirwave-form and other characteristic features, wereinvestigated. Then the influence of the atmosphericpressure and temperature and of the presence ofwater and other bodies was studied, and thus thebest conditions for causing the most intensechemical action of the discharge and securing thehighest efficiency of the process were graduallyascertained. Naturally, the improvements were notquick in coming; still, little by little, I advanced.The flame grew larger and larger, and its oxidizingaction grew more intense. From an insignificantbrush-discharge a few inches long it developedinto a marvelous electrical phenomenon, a roaringblaze, devouring the nitrogen of the atmosphere

and measuring sixty or seventy feet across. Thusslowly, almost imperceptibly, possibility becameaccomplishment. All is not yet done, by anymeans, but to what a degree my efforts have beenrewarded an idea may be gained from an inspec-tion of Fig. 1 (p. 176), which, with its title, is selfexplanatory. The flame-like discharge visible isproduced by the intense electrical oscillationswhich pass through the coil shown, and violentlyagitate the electrified molecules of the air. By thismeans a strong affinity is created between the twonormally indifferent constituents of the atmos-phere, and they combine readily, even if no furtherprovision is made for intensifying the chemicalaction of the discharge. In the manufacture ofnitrogen compounds by this method, of course,every possible means bearing upon the intensity ofthis action and the efficiency of the process will betaken advantage of, and, besides, special arrange-ments will be provided for the fixation of thecompounds formed, as they are generally unstable,the nitrogen becoming again inert after a littlelapse of time. Steam is a simple and effectivemeans for fixing permanently the compounds. Theresult illustrated makes it practicable to oxidize theatmospheric nitrogen in unlimited quantities,merely by the use of cheap mechanical power andsimple electrical apparatus. In this manner manycompounds of nitrogen may be manufactured allover the world, at a small cost, and in any desiredamount, and by means of these compounds the soilcan be fertilized and its productiveness indefinitelyincreased. An abundance of cheap and healthfulfood, not artificial, but such as we are accustomedto, may thus be obtained. This new and inexhausti-ble source of food-supply will be of incalculablebenefit to mankind, for it will enormously contrib-ute to the increase of the human mass, and thus addimmensely to human energy. Soon, I hope, theworld will see the beginning of an industry which,in time to come, will, I believe, be in importancenext to that if iron.

THE SECOND PROBLEM: HOW TO REDUCETHE FORCE RETARDING THE HUMAN

MASS – THE ART OF TELAUTOMATICS.

As before stated, the force which retards theonward movement of man is partly frictional andpartly negative. To illustrate this distinction I mayname, for example, ignorance, stupidity, andimbecility as some of the purely frictional forces,or resistances devoid of any directive tendency. Onthe other hand, visionariness, insanity, self-de-structive tendency, religious fanaticism, and thelike, are all forces of a negative character, acting indefinite directions. To reduce or entirely overcome


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these dissimilar retarding forces, radically differentmethods must be employed. One knows, for in-stance, what a fanatic may do, and one can takepreventive measures, can enlighten, convince, and,possibly direct him, turn his vice into virtue; butone does not know, and never can know, what abrute or an imbecile may do, and one must dealwith him as with a mass, inert, without mind, letloose by the mad elements. A negative force al-ways implies some quality, not infrequently a highone, though badly directed, which it is possible toturn to good advantage; but a directionless, fric-tional force involves unavoidable loss. Evidently,then, the first and general answer to the abovequestion is: turn all negative force in the rightdirection and reduce all frictional force.

There can be no doubt that, of all the frictionalresistances, the one that most retards humanmovement is ignorance. Not without reason saidthat man of wisdom, Buddha: "Ignorance is thegreatest evil in the world." The friction whichresults from ignorance, and which is greatly in-creased owing to the numerous languages andnationalities, can be reduced only by the spread ofknowledge and the unification of the heterogene-ous elements of humanity. No effort could bebetter spent. But however ignorance may haveretarded the onward movement of man in timespast, it is certain that, nowadays, negative forceshave become of greater importance. Among thesethere is one of far greater moment than any other.It is called organized warfare. When we considerthe millions of individuals, often the ablest in mindand body, the flower of humanity, who are com-pelled to a life of inactivity and unproductiveness,the immense sums of money daily required for themaintenance of armies and war apparatus, repre-senting ever so much of human energy, all theeffort uselessly spent in the production of arms andimplements of destruction, the loss of life and thefostering of a barbarous spirit, we are appalled atthe inestimable loss to mankind which the exis-tence of these deplorable conditions must involve.What can we do to combat best this great evil?

Law and order absolutely require the mainte-nance of organized force. No community can existand prosper without rigid discipline. Every countrymust be able to defend itself, should the necessityarise. The conditions of to-day are not the result ofyesterday, and a radical change cannot be effectedto-morrow. If the nations would at once disarm, itis more than likely that a state of things worse thanwar itself would follow. Universal peace is abeautiful dream, but not at once realizable. Wehave seen recently that even the noble effort of theman invested with the greatest worldly power hasbeen virtually without effect. And no wonder, for

the establishment of universal peace is, for the timebeing, a physical impossibility. War is a negativeforce, and cannot be turned in a positive directionwithout passing through, the intermediate phases.It is a problem of making a wheel, rotating oneway, turn in the opposite direction without slowingit down, stopping it, and speeding it up again theother way.

It has been argued that the perfection of gunsof great destructive power will stop warfare. So Imyself thought for a long time, but now I believethis to be a profound mistake. Such developmentswill greatly modify, but not arrest it. On the con-trary, I think that every new arm that is invented,every new departure that is made in this direction,merely invites new talent and skill, engages neweffort, offers new incentive, and so only gives afresh impetus to further development. Think of thediscovery of gun-powder. Can we conceive of anymore radical departure than was effected by thisinnovation? Let us imagine ourselves living in thatperiod: would we not have thought then that war-fare was at an end, when the armor of the knightbecame an object of ridicule, when bodily strengthand skill, meaning so much before, became ofcomparatively little value? Yet gunpowder did notstop warfare: quite the opposite--it acted as a mostpowerful incentive. Nor do I believe that warfarecan ever be arrested by any scientific or idealdevelopment, so long as similar conditions to thoseprevailing now exist, because war has itself be-come a science, and because war involves some ofthe most sacred sentiments of which man is capa-ble. In fact, it is doubtful whether men who wouldnot be ready to fight for a high principle would begood for anything at all. It is not the mind whichmakes man, nor is it the body; it is mind and body.Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, likeforce and matter. When they separate, man is nomore.

Another argument, which carries considerableforce, is frequently made, namely, that war mustsoon become impossible be cause the means ofdefense are outstripping the means of attack. Thisis only in accordance with a fundamental lawwhich may be expressed by the statement that it iseasier to destroy than to build. This law defineshuman capacities and human conditions. Werethese such that it would be easier build than todestroy, man would go on unresisted, creating andaccumulating without limit. Such conditions arenot of this earth. A being which could do thiswould not be a man: it might be a god. Defensewill always have the advantage over attack, butthis alone, it seems to me, can never stop war. Bythe use of new principles of defense we can renderharbors impregnable against attack, but we cannot


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by such means prevent two warships meeting inbattle on the high sea. And then, if we follow thisidea to its ultimate development, we are led to theconclusion that it would be better for mankind ifattack and defense were just oppositely related; forif every country, even the smallest, could surrounditself with a wall absolutely impenetrable, andcould defy the rest of the world, a state of thingswould surely be brought on which would be ex-tremely unfavorable to human progress. It is byabolishing all the barriers which separate nationsand countries that civilization is best furthered.

Again, it is contended by some that the adventof the flying-machine must bring on universalpeace. This, too, I believe to be an entirely errone-ous view. The flying-machine is certainly coming,and very soon, but the conditions will remain thesame as before. In fact, I see no reason why aruling power, like Great Britain, might not governthe air as well as the sea. Without wishing to putmyself on record as a prophet, I do not hesitate tosay that the next years will see the establishment ofan "air-power," and its center may be not far fromNew York. But, for all that, men will fight onmerrily.

The ideal development of the war principlewould ultimately lead to the transformation of thewhole energy of war into purely potential, explo-sive energy, like that of an electrical condenser. Inthis form the war-energy could be maintainedwithout effort; it would need to be much smaller inamount, while incomparably more effective.

As regards the security of a country againstforeign invasion, it is interesting to note that itdepends only on the relative, and not the absolute,number of the individuals or magnitude of theforces, and that, if every country should reduce thewar-force in the same ratio, the security wouldremain unaltered. An international agreement withthe object of reducing to a minimum the war-forcewhich, in view of the present still imperfect educa-tion of the masses, is absolutely indispensable,would, therefore, seem to be the first rational stepto take toward diminishing the force retardinghuman movement.

Fortunately, the existing conditions cannotcontinue indefinitely, for a new element is begin-ning to assert itself. A change for the better iseminent, and I shall now endeavor to show what,according to my ideas, will be the first advancetoward the establishment of peaceful relationsbetween nations, and by what means it will even-tually be accomplished.

Let us go back to the early beginning, whenthe law of the stronger was the only law. The lightof reason was not yet kindled, and the weak wasentirely at the mercy of the strong. The weak

individual then began to learn how to defendhimself. He made use of a club, stone, spear, sling,or bow and arrow, and in the course of time, in-stead of physical strength, intelligence became thechief deciding factor in the battle. The wild char-acter was gradually softened by the awakening ofnoble sentiments, and so, imperceptibly, after agesof continued progress, we have come from thebrutal fight of the unreasoning animal to what wecall the "civilized warfare" of to-day, in which thecombatants shake hands, talk in a friendly way,and smoke cigars in the entr'actes, ready to engageagain in deadly conflict at a signal. Let pessimistssay what they like, here is an absolute evidence ofgreat and gratifying advance.

But now, what is the next phase in this evolu-tion? Not peace as yet, by any means. The nextchange which should naturally follow from moderndevelopments should be the continuous diminutionof the number of individuals engaged in battle. Theapparatus will be one of specifically great power,but only a few individuals will be required tooperate it. This evolution will bring more and moreinto prominence a machine or mechanism with thefewest individuals as an element of warfare, andthe absolutely unavoidable consequence of thiswill be the abandonment of large, clumsy, slowlymoving, and unmanageable units. Greatest possiblespeed and maximum rate of energy-delivery by thewar apparatus will be the main object. The loss oflife will become smaller and smaller, and finally,the number of the individuals continuously dimin-ishing, merely machines will meet in a contestwithout blood-shed, the nations being simplyinterested, ambitious spectators. When this happycondition is realized, peace will be assured. But, nomatter to what degree of perfection rapid-fire guns,high-power cannon, explosive projectiles, torpedo-boats, or other implements of war may be brought,no matter how destructive they may be made, thatcondition can never be reached through any suchdevelopment. All such implements require men fortheir operation; men are indispensable parts of themachinery. Their object is to kill and to destroy.Their power resides in their capacity for doing evil.So long as men meet in battle, there will be blood-shed. Bloodshed will ever keep up barbarouspassion. To break this fierce spirit, a radical de-parture must be made, an entirely new principlemust be introduced, something that never existedbefore in warfare--a principle which will forcibly,unavoidably, turn the battle into a mere spectacle, aplay, a contest without loss of blood. To bring onthis result men must be dispensed with: machinemust fight machine. But how accomplish thatwhich seems impossible? The answer is simpleenough: produce a machine capable of acting as


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though it were part of a human being--no meremechanical contrivance, comprising levers, screws,wheels, clutches, and nothing more, but a machineembodying a higher principle, which will enable itto per form its duties as though it had intelligence,experience, judgment, a mind! This conclusion isthe result of my thoughts and observations whichhave extended through virtually my whole life, andI shall now briefly describe how I came to accom-plish that which at first seemed an unrealizabledream.

A long time ago, when I was a boy, I was af-flicted with a singular trouble, which seems tohave been due to an extraordinary excitability ofthe retina. It was the appearance of images which,by their persistence, marred the vision of realobjects and interfered with thought. When a wordwas said to me, the image of the object which itdesignated would appear vividly before my eyes,and many times it was impossible for me to tellwhether the object I saw was real or not. Thiscaused me great discomfort and anxiety, and I triedhard to free myself of the spell. But for a long timeI tried in vain, and it was not, as I clearly recollect,until I was about twelve years old that I succeededfor the first time, by an effort of the will, in ban-ishing an image which presented itself. My happi-ness will never be as complete as it was then, but,unfortunately (as I thought at that time), the oldtrouble returned, and with it my anxiety. Here itwas that the observations to which I refer began. Inoted, namely, that whenever the image of anobject appeared before my eyes I had seen some-thing that reminded me of it. In the first instances Ithought this to be purely accidental, but soon Iconvinced myself that it was not so. A visualimpression, consciously or unconsciously received,invariably preceded the appearance of the image.Gradually the desire arose in me to find out, everytime, what caused the images to appear, and thesatisfaction of this desire soon became a necessity.The next observation I made was that, just as theseimages followed as a result of something I hadseen, so also the thoughts which I conceived weresuggested in like manner. Again, I experienced thesame desire to locate the image which caused thethought, and this search for the original visualimpression soon grew to be a second nature. Mtmind became automatic, as it were, and in thecourse of years of continued, almost unconsciousperformance, I acquired the ability of locatingevery time and, as a rule, instantly the visualimpression which started the thought. Nor is thisall. It was not long before I was aware that also allmy movements were prompted in the same way,and so, searching, observing, and verifying con-tinuously, year by year, I have, by every thought

and every act of mine, demonstrated, and do sodaily, to my absolute satisfaction, that I am anautomaton endowed with power of movement,which merely responds to external stimuli beatingupon my sense organs, and thinks and acts andmoves accordingly. I remember only one or twocases in all my life in which I was unable to locatethe first impression which prompted a movementor a thought, or even a dream.

Fig. 2: The first practical Teleautomation.

A machine having all the bodily or translatorymovements and the operations of the interiormechanism controlled from a distance withoutwires. The crewless boat shown in the photographcontains its own motive power, propelling andsteering machinery, and numerous other accesso-ries, all of which are controlled by transmittingfrom a distance, without wires, electrical oscilla-tions to a circuit carried by the boat and adjusted torespond only to these oscillations.

With these experiences it was only naturalthat, long ago, I conceived the idea of constructingan automaton which would mechanically representme, and which would respond, as I do myself, but,of course, in a much more primitive manner, toexternal influences. Such an automaton evidentlyhad to have motive power, organs for locomotion,directive organs, and one or more sensitive organsso adapted as to be excited by external stimuli.This machine would, I reasoned, perform its move-


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ments in the manner of a living being, for it wouldhave all the chief mechanical characteristics orelements of the same. There was still the capacityfor growth, propagation, and, above all, the mindwhich would be wanting to make the model com-plete. But growth was not necessary in this case,since a machine could be manufactured full-grown,so to speak. As to the capacity for propagation, itcould likewise be left out of consideration, for inthe mechanical model it merely signified a processof manufacture. Whether the automation be offlesh and bone, or of wood and steel, it matteredlittle, provided it could perform all the duties re-quired of it like an intelligent being. To do so, ithad to have an element corresponding to the mind,which would effect the control of all its move-ments and operations, and cause it to act, in anyunforeseen case that might present itself, withknowledge, reason, judgment, and experience. Butthis element I could easily embody in it by con-veying to it my own intelligence, my own under-standing. So this invention was evolved, and so anew art came into existence, for which the name"teleautomatics" has been suggested, which meansthe art of controlling the movements and opera-tions of distant automatons. This principle evi-dently was applicable to any kind of machine thatmoves on land or in the water or in the air. Inapplying it practically for the first time, I selected aboat (see Fig. 2). A storage battery placed within itfurnished the motive power. The propeller, drivenby a motor, represented the locomotive organs.The rudder, controlled by another motor likewisedriven by the battery, took the place of the direc-tive organs. As to the sensitive organ, obviouslythe first thought was to utilize a device responsiveto rays of light, like a selenium cell, to representthe human eye. But upon closer inquiry I foundthat, owing to experimental and other difficulties,no thoroughly satisfactory control of the automatoncould be effected by light, radiant heat, Hertz’ianradiations, or by rays in general, that is, distur-bances which pass in straight lines through space.One of the reasons was that any obstacle comingbetween the operator and the distant automatonwould place it beyond his control. Another reasonwas that the sensitive device representing the eyewould have to be in a definite position with respectto the distant controlling apparatus, and this neces-sity would impose great limitations in the control.Still another and very important reason was that, inusing rays, it would be difficult, if not impossible,to give to the automaton individual features orcharacteristics distinguishing it from other machi-nes of this kind. Evidently the automaton shouldrespond only to an individual call, as a person re-sponds to a name. Such considerations led me to

conclude that the sensitive device of the machineshould correspond to the ear rather than the eye ofa human being, for in this case its actions could becontrolled irrespective of intervening obstacles,regardless of its position relative to the distantcontrolling apparatus, and, last, but not least, itwould remain deaf and unresponsive, like a faithfulservant, to all calls but that of its master. These re-quirements made it imperative to use, in thecontrol of the automaton, instead of light or otherrays, waves or disturbances which propagate in alldirections through space, like sound, or whichfollow a path of least resistance, however curved. Iattained the result aimed at by means of an electriccircuit placed within the boat, and adjusted, or"tuned," exactly to electrical vibrations of theproper kind transmitted to it from a distant "elec-trical oscillator." This circuit, in responding, how-ever feebly, to the transmitted vibrations, affectedmagnets and other contrivances, through the me-dium of which were controlled the movements ofthe propeller and rudder, and also the operations ofnumerous other appliances.

By the simple means described the knowl-edge, experience, judgment--the mind, so to speak--of the distant operator were embodied in thatmachine, which was thus enabled to move and toperform all its operations with reason and intel-ligence. It behaved just like a blindfolded personobeying directions received through the ear.

The automatons so far constructed had "bor-rowed minds," so to speak, as each merely formedpart of the distant operator who conveyed to it hisintelligent orders; but this art is only in the begin-ning. I purpose to show that, however impossible itmay now seem, an automaton may be contrivedwhich will have its "own mind," and by this I meanthat it will be able, independent of any operator,left entirely to itself, to perform, in response toexternal influences affecting its sensitive organs, agreat variety of acts and operations as if it hadintelligence. It will be able to follow a course laidout or to obey orders given far in advance; it willbe capable of distinguishing between what it oughtand what it ought not to do, and of making experi-ences or, otherwise stated, of recording impres-sions which will definitely affect its subsequentactions. In fact, I have already conceived such aplan.

Although I evolved this invention many yearsago and explained it to my visitors very frequentlyin my laboratory demonstrations, it was not untilmuch later, long after I had perfected it, that itbecame known, when, naturally enough, it gaverise to much discussion and to sensational reports.But the true significance of this new art was notgrasped by the majority, nor was the great force of


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the underlying principle recognized. As nearly as Icould judge from the numerous comments whichappeared, the results I had obtained were consid-ered as entirely impossible. Even the few whowere disposed to admit the practicability of theinvention saw in it merely an automobile torpedo,which was to be used for the purpose of blowingup battleships, with doubtful success. The generalimpression was that I contemplated simply thesteering of such a vessel by means of Hertz’ian orother rays. There are torpedoes steered electricallyby wires, and there are means of communicatingwithout wires, and the above was, of course anobvious inference. Had I accomplished nothingmore than this, I should have made a small ad-vance indeed. But the art I have evolved does notcontemplate merely the change of direction of amoving vessel; it affords means of absolutelycontrolling, in every respect, all the innumerabletranslatory movements, as well as the operations ofall the internal organs, no matter how many, of anindividualized automaton. Criticisms to the effectthat the control of the automaton could be inter-fered with were made by people who do not evendream of the wonderful results which can be ac-complished by use of electrical vibrations. Theworld moves slowly, and new truths are difficult tosee. Certainly, by the use of this principle, an armfor attack as well as defense may be provided, of adestructiveness all the greater as the principle isapplicable to submarine and aërial vessels. There isvirtually no restriction as to the amount of explo-sive it can carry, or as to the distance at which itcan strike, and failure is almost impossible. But theforce of this new principle does not wholly residein its destructiveness. Its advent introduces intowarfare an element which never existed before – afighting-machine without men as a means of attackand defense. The continuous development in thisdirection must ultimately make war a mere contestof machines without men and without loss of life--a condition which would have been impossiblewithout this new departure, and which, in myopinion, must be reached as preliminary to perma-nent peace. The future will either bear out ordisprove these views. My ideas on this subjecthave been put forth with deep conviction, but in ahumble spirit.

The establishment of permanent peaceful re-lations between nations would most effectivelyreduce the force retarding the human mass, andwould be the best solution of this great humanproblem. But will the dream of universal peaceever be realized? Let us hope that it will. When alldarkness shall be dissipated by the light of science,when all nations shall be merged into one, andpatriotism shall be identical with religion, when

there shall be one language, one country, one end,then the dream will have become reality.

THE THIRD PROBLEM: HOW TO INCREASETHE FORCE ACCELERATING THE HUMANMASS –THE HARNESSING OF THE SUN'S

ENERGY.

Of the three possible solutions of the mainproblem of increasing human energy, this is by farthe most important to consider, not only because ofits intrinsic significance, but also because of itsintimate bearing on all the many elements andconditions which determine the movement ofhumanity. In order to proceed systematically, itwould be necessary for me to dwell on all thoseconsiderations which have guided me from theoutset in my efforts to arrive at a solution, andwhich have led me, step by step, to the results Ishall now describe. As a preliminary study of theproblem an analytical investigation, such as I havemade, of the chief forces which determine theonward movement, would be of advantage, parti-cularly in conveying an idea of that hypothetical"velocity" which, as explained in the beginning, isa measure of human energy; but to deal with thisspecifically here, as I would desire, would lead mefar beyond the scope of the present subject. Sufficeit to state that the resultant of all these forces isalways in the direction of reason, which therefore,determines, at any time, the direction of humanmovement. This is to say that every effort which isscientifically applied, rational, useful, or practical,must be in the direction in which the mass ismoving. The practical, rational man, the observer,the man of business, he who reasons, calculates, ordetermines in advance, carefully applies his effortso that when coming into effect it will be in thedirection of the movement, making it thus mostefficient, and in this knowledge and ability lies thesecret of his success. Every new fact discovered,every new experience or new element added to ourknowledge and entering into the domain of reason,affects the same and, therefore, changes thedirection of movement, which, however, mustalways take place along the resultant of all thoseefforts which, at that time, we designate as reason-able, that is, self-preserving, useful, profitable, orpractical. These efforts concern our daily life, ournecessities and comforts, our work and business,and it is these which drive man onward.

But looking at all this busy world about us, onall this complex mass as it daily throbs and moves,what is it but an immense clock-work driven by aspring? In the morning, when we rise, we cannotfail to note that all the objects about us are manu-factured by machinery: the water we use is lifted


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by steam-power; the trains bring our breakfastfrom distant localities; the elevators in our dwell-ing and our office building, the cars that carry usthere, are all driven by power; in all our dailyerrands, and in our very life-pursuit, we dependupon it; all the objects we see tell us of it; andwhen we return to our machine-made dwelling atnight, lest we should forget it, all the materialcomforts of our home, our cheering stove andlamp, remind us of how much we depend onpower. And when there is an accidental stoppageof the machinery, when the city is snowbound, orthe life sustaining movement otherwise temporar-ily arrested, we are affrighted to realize how im-possible it would be for us to live the life we livewithout motive power. Motive power means work.To increase the force accelerating human move-ment means, therefore, to perform more work.

So we find that the three possible solutions ofthe great problem of increasing human energy areanswered by the three words: food, peace, work.Many a year I have thought and pondered, lostmyself in speculations and theories, consideringman as a mass moved by a force, viewing hisinexplicable movement in the light of a mechanicalone, and applying the simple principles of me-chanics to the analysis of the same until I arrived atthese solutions, only to realize that they weretaught to me in my early childhood. These threewords sound the key-notes of the Christian relig-ion. Their scientific meaning and purpose nowclear to me: food to increase the mass, peace todiminish the retarding force, and work to increasethe force accelerating human movement. These arethe only three solutions which are possible of thatgreat problem, and all of them have one object, oneend, namely, to increase human energy. When werecognize this, we cannot help wondering howprofoundly wise and scientific and how immenselypractical the Christian religion is, and in what amarked contrast it stands in this respect to otherreligions. It is unmistakably the result of practicalexperiment and scientific observation which haveextended through the ages, while other religionsseem to be the outcome of merely abstract reason-ing. Work, untiring effort, useful and accumula-tive, with periods of rest and recuperation aimingat higher efficiency, is its chief and ever-recurringcommand. Thus we are inspired both by Christian-ity and Science to do our utmost toward increasingthe performance of mankind. This most importantof human problems I shall now specifically con-sider.

THE SOURCE OF HUMAN ENERGY – THETHREE WAYS OF DRAWING ENERGY FROM

THE SUN.

First let us ask: Whence comes all the motivepower? What is the spring that drives all? We seethe ocean rise and fall, the rivers flow, the wind,rain, hail, and snow beat on our windows, thetrains and steamers come and go; we here therattling noise of carriages, the voices from thestreet; we feel, smell, and taste; and we think of allthis. And all this movement, from the surging ofthe mighty ocean to that subtle movement con-cerned in our thought, has but one common cause.All this energy emanates from one single center,one single source--the sun. The sun is the springthat drives all. The sun maintains all human lifeand supplies all human energy. Another answer wehave now found to the above great question: Toincrease the force accelerating human movementmeans to turn to the uses of man more of the sun'senergy. We honor and revere those great men ofbygone times whose names are linked with im-mortal achievements, who have proved themselvesbenefactors of humanity--the religious reformerwith his wise maxims of life, the philosopher withhis deep truths, the mathematician with his for-mulæ, the physicist with his laws, the discoverwith his principles and secrets wrested from nature,the artist with his forms of the beautiful; but whohonors him, the greatest of all, - who can tell thename of him, - who first turned to use the sun'senergy to save the effort of a weak fellow-crea-ture? That was man's first act of scientific philan-thropy, and its consequences have been incalcula-ble.

From the very beginning three ways of draw-ing energy from the sun were open to man. Thesavage, when he warmed his frozen limbs at a firekindled in some way, availed himself of the energyof the sun stored in the burning material. When hecarried a bundle of branches to his cave and burnedthem there, he made use of the sun's stored energytransported from one to another locality. When heset sail to his canoe, he utilized the energy of thesun applied to the atmosphere or the ambientmedium. There can be no doubt that the first is theoldest way. A fire, found accidentally, taught thesavage to appreciate its beneficial heat. He thenvery likely conceived of the idea of carrying theglowing members to his abode. Finally he learnedto use the force of a swift current of water or air. Itis characteristic of modern development thatprogress has been effected in the same order. Theutilization of the energy stored in wood or coal, or,generally speaking, fuel, led to the steam-engine.Next a great stride in advance was made in energy-


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transportation by the use of electricity, whichpermitted the transfer of energy from one localityto another without transporting the material. But asto the utilization of the energy of the ambientmedium, no radical step forward has as yet beenmade known.

The ultimate results of development in thesethree directions are: first, the burning of coal by acold process in a battery; second, the efficientutilization of the energy of the ambient medium;and, third the transmission without wires of electri-cal energy to any distance. In whatever way theseresults may be arrived at, their practical applicationwill necessarily involve an extensive use of iron,and this invaluable metal will undoubtedly be anessential element in the further development alongthese three lines. If we succeed in burning coal bya cold process and thus obtain electrical energy inan efficient and inexpensive manner, we shallrequire in many practical uses of this energy elec-tric motors--that is, iron. If we are successful inderiving energy from the ambient medium, weshall need, both in the obtainment and utilizationof the energy, machinery--again, iron. If we realizethe transmission of electrical energy without wireson an industrial scale, we shall be compelled to useextensively electric generators--once more, iron.Whatever we may do, iron will probably be thechief means of accomplishment in the near future,possibly more so than in the past. How long itsreign will last is difficult to tell, for even nowaluminum is looming up as a threatening com-petitor. But for the time being, next to providingnew resources of energy, it is of the greatest im-portance to making improvements in the manu-facture and utilization of iron. Great advances arepossible in these latter directions, which, if broughtabout, would enormously increase the usefulperformance of mankind.

GREAT POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY IRONFOR INCREASING HUMAN PERFORMANCE

– ENORMOUS WASTE IN IRONMANUFACTURE.

Iron is by far the most important factor inmodern progress. It contributes more than anyother industrial product to the force acceleratinghuman movement. So general is the use of thismetal, and so intimately is it connected with allthat concerns our life, that it has become asindispensable to us as the very air we breathe. Itsname is synonymous with usefulness. But,however great the influence of iron may be on thepresent human development, it does not add to theforce urging man onward nearly as much as itmight. First of all, its manufacture as now carried

on is connected with an appalling waste of fuel –that is, waste of energy. Then, again, only a part ofall the iron produced is applied for useful purposes.A good part of it goes to create frictional resis-tances, while still another large part is the means ofdeveloping negative forces greatly retardinghuman movement. Thus the negative force of waris almost wholly represented in iron. It isimpossible to estimate with any degree of accuracythe magnitude of this greatest of all retardingforces, but it is certainly very considerable. If thepresent positive impelling force due to all usefulapplications of iron be represented by ten, forinstance, I should not think it exaggeration toestimate the negative force of war, with dueconsideration of all its retarding influences andresults, at, say, six. On the basis of this estimate theeffective impelling force of iron in the positivedirection would be measured by the difference ofthese two numbers, which is four. But if, throughthe establishment of universal peace, the manu-facture of war machinery should cease, and allstruggle for supremacy between nations should beturned into healthful, ever active and productivecommercial competition, then the positive impel-ling force due to iron would be measured by thesum of those two, numbers, which is sixteen--thatis, this force would have four times its presentvalue. This example is, of course, merely intendedto give an idea of the immense increase in theuseful performance of mankind which would resultfrom a radical reform of the iron industries sup-plying the implements of warfare.

A similar inestimable advantage in the savingof energy available to man would be secured byobviating the great waste of coal which is insepa-rably connected with the present methods of manu-facturing iron. In some countries, such as GreatBritain, the hurtful effects of this squandering offuel are beginning to be felt. The price of coal isconstantly rising, and the poor are made to suffermore and more. Though we are still far from thedreaded "exhaustion of the coal-fields," philan-thropy commands us to invent novel methods ofmanufacturing iron, which will not involve suchbarbarous waste of this valuable material fromwhich we derive at present most of our energy. It isour duty to coming generations to leave this storeof energy intact for them, or at least not to touch ituntil we shall have perfected processes for burningcoal more efficiently. Those who are coming afterus will need fuel more than we do. We should beable to manufacture the iron we require by usingthe sun's energy, without wasting any coal at all.As an effort to this end the idea of smelting ironores by electric currents obtained from the energyof falling water has naturally suggested itself to


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many. I have myself spent much time in endeav-oring to evolve such a practical process, whichwould enable iron to be manufactured at smallcost. After a prolonged investigation of the subject,finding that it was unprofitable to use the currentsgenerated directly for smelting the ore, I devised amethod which is far more economical.

ECONOMICAL PRODUCTION OF IRON BY ANEW PROCESS.

The industrial project, as I worked it out sixyears ago, contemplated the employment of theelectric currents derived from the energy of awaterfall, not directly for smelting the ore, but fordecomposing water for a preliminary step. Tolessen the cost of the plant, I proposed to generatethe currents in exceptionally cheap and simpledynamos, which I designed for this sole purpose.The hydrogen liberated in the electrolytic decom-position was to be burned or recombined withoxygen, not with that from which it was separated,but with that of the atmosphere. Thus very nearlythe total electrical energy used up in the decom-position of the water would be recovered in theform of heat resulting from the recombination ofthe hydrogen. This heat was to be applied to thesmelting of ore. The oxygen gained as a by-product of the decomposition of the water I inten-ded to use for certain other industrial purposes,which would probably yield good financial returns,inasmuch as this is the cheapest way of obtainingthis gas in large quantities. In any event, it could beemployed to burn all kinds of refuse, cheaphydrocarbon, or coal of the most inferior qualitywhich could not be burned in air or be otherwiseutilized to advantage, and thus again a considerableamount of heat would be made available for thesmelting of the ore. To increase the economy of theprocess I contemplated, furthermore, using anarrangement such that the hot metal and theproducts of combustion, coming out of the furnace,would give up their heat upon the cold ore goinginto the furnace, so that comparatively little of theheat energy would be lost in the smelting. Icalculated that probably forty thousand pounds ofiron could be produced per horse-power per annumby this method. Liberal allowances were made forthose losses which are unavoidable, the abovequantity being about half of that theoreticallyobtainable. Relying on this estimate and onpractical data with reference to a certain kind ofsand ore existing in abundance in the region of theGreat Lakes, including cost of transportation andlabor, I found that in some localities iron could bemanufactured in this manner cheaper than by anyof the adopted methods. This result would be

obtained all the more surely if the oxygen obtainedfrom the water, instead of being used for smeltingof ore, as assumed, should be more profitablyemployed. Any new demand for this gas wouldsecure a higher revenue from the plant, thuscheapening the iron. This project was advancedmerely in the interest of industry. Some day, Ihope, a beautiful industrial butterfly will come outof the dusty and shriveled chrysalis.

The production of iron from sand ores by aprocess of magnetic separation is highly com-mendable in principle, since it involves no waste ofcoal; but the usefulness of this method is largelyreduced by the necessity of melting the iron after-ward. As to the crushing of iron ore, I wouldconsider it rational only if done by water-power, orby energy otherwise obtained without consumptionof fuel. An electrolytic cold process, which wouldmake it possible to extract iron cheaply, and also tomold it into the required forms without any fuelconsumption, would, in my opinion, be a verygreat advance in iron manufacture. In commonwith some other metals, iron has so far resistedelectrolytic treatment, but there can be no doubtthat such a cold process will ultimately replace inmetallurgy the present crude method of casting,and thus obviating the enormous waste of fuelnecessitated by the repeated heating of metal in thefoundries.

Up to a few decades ago the usefulness of ironwas based almost wholly on its remarkable me-chanical properties, but since the advent of thecommercial dynamo and electric motor its value tomankind has been greatly increased by its uniquemagnetic qualities. As regards the latter, iron hasbeen greatly improved of late. The signal progressbegan about thirteen years ago, when I discoveredthat in using soft Bessemer steel instead ofwrought iron, as then customary, in an alternatingmotor, the performance of the machine was dou-bled. I brought this fact to the attention of Mr.Albert Schmid, to whose untiring efforts andability is largely due the supremacy of Americanelectrical machinery, and who was then superin-tendent of an industrial corporation engaged in thisfield. Following my suggestion, he constructedtransformers of steel, and they showed the samemarked improvement. The investigation was thensystematically continued under Mr. Schmid'sguidance, the impurities being gradually eliminatedfrom the "steel" (which was only such in name, forin reality it was pure soft iron), and soon a productresulted which admitted of little further improve-ment.


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THE COMING OF AGE OF ALUMINIUM –DOOM OF THE COPPER INDUSTRY – THE

GREAT CIVILIZING POTENCY OF THE NEWMETAL.

With the advances made in iron of late yearswe have arrived virtually at the limits ofimprovement. We cannot hope to increase verymaterially its tensile strength, elasticity, hardness,or malleability, nor can we expect to make it muchbetter as regards its magnetic qualities. Morerecently a notable gain was secured by the mixtureof a small percentage of nickel with the iron, butthere is not much room for further advance in thisdirection. New discoveries may be expected, butthey cannot greatly add to the valuable propertiesof the metal, though they may considerably reducethe cost of manufacture. The immediate future ofiron is assured by its cheapness and its unrivaledmechanical and magnetic qualities. These are suchthat no other product can compete with it now. Butthere can be no doubt that, at a time not verydistant, iron, in many of its now uncontesteddomains, will have to pass the scepter to another:the coming age will be the age of aluminum. It isonly seventy years since this wonderful metal wasdiscovered by Woehler, and the aluminum indus-try, scarcely forty years old, commands already theattention of the entire world. Such rapid growthhas not been recorded in the history of civilizationbefore. Not long ago aluminum was sold at thefanciful price of thirty or forty dollars per pound;to-day it can be had in any desired amount for asmany cents. What is more, the time is not far offwhen this price, too, will be considered fanciful,for great improvements are possible in the methodsof its manufacture. Most of the metal is now pro-duced in the electric furnace by a process combin-ing fusion and electrolysis, which offers a numberof advantageous features, but involves naturally agreat waste of the electrical energy of the current.My estimates show that the price of aluminumcould be considerably reduced by adopting in itsmanufacture a method similar to that proposed byme for the production of iron. A pound ofaluminum requires for fusion only about seventyper cent. of the heat needed for melting a pound ofiron, and inasmuch as its weight is only about onethird of that of the latter, a volume of aluminumfour times that of iron could be obtained from agiven amount of heat-energy. But a cold electro-lytic process of manufacture is the ideal solution,and on this I have placed my hope.

The absolutely unavoidable consequence ofthe advancement of the aluminum industry will bethe annihilation of the copper industry. Theycannot exist and prosper together, and the latter is

doomed beyond any hope of recovery. Even now itis cheaper to convey an electric current throughaluminum wires than through copper wires;aluminum castings cost less, and in many domesticand other uses copper has no chance of success-fully competing. A further material reduction ofthe price of aluminum cannot but be fatal to cop-per. But the progress of the former will not go onunchecked, for, as it ever happens in such cases,the larger industry will absorb the smaller one: thegiant copper interests will control the pygmy alu-minum interests, and the slow-pacing copper willreduce the lively gait of aluminum. This will onlydelay, not avoid the impending catastrophe.

Aluminum, however, will not stop at downingcopper. Before many years have passed it will beengaged in a fierce struggle with iron, and in thelatter it will find an adversary not easy to conquer.The issue of the contest will largely depend onwhether iron shall be indispensable in electricmachinery. This the future alone can decide. Themagnetism as exhibited in iron is an isolatedphenomenon in nature. What it is that makes thismetal behave so radically different from all othermaterials in this respect has not yet been ascer-tained, though many theories have been suggested.As regards magnetism, the molecules of the vari-ous bodies behave like hollow beams partly filledwith a heavy fluid and balanced in the middle inthe manner of a see-saw. Evidently some disturb-ing influence exists in nature which causes eachmolecule, like such a beam, to tilt either one or theother way. If the molecules are tilted one way, thebody is magnetic; if they are tilted the other way,the body is non-magnetic; but both positions arestable, as they would be in the case of the hollowbeam, owing to the rush of the fluid to the lowerend. Now, the wonderful thing is that the mole-cules of all known bodies went one way, whilethose of iron went the other way. This metal, itwould seem, has an origin entirely different fromthat of the rest of the globe. It is highly improbablethat we shall discover some other and cheapermaterial which will equal or surpass iron in mag-netic qualities.

Unless we should make a radical departure inthe character of the electric currents employed,iron will be indispensable. Yet the advantages itoffers are only apparent. So long as we use feeblemagnetic forces it is by far superior to any othermaterial; but if we find ways of producing greatmagnetic forces, than better results will be obtain-able without it. In fact, I have already producedelectric transformers in which no iron is employed,and which are capable of performing ten times asmuch work per pound of weight as those of iron.This result is attained by using electric currents of


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a very high rate of vibration, produced in novelways, instead of the ordinary currents now em-ployed in the industries. I have also succeeded inoperating electric motors without iron by suchrapidly vibrating currents, but the results, so far,have been inferior to those obtained with ordinarymotors constructed of iron, although theoreticallythe former should be capable of performing in-comparably more work per unit of weight than thelatter. But the seemingly insuperable difficultieswhich are now in the way may be overcome in theend, and then iron will be done away with, and allelectric machinery will be manufactured of alumi-num, in all probability, at prices ridiculously low.This would be a severe, if not fatal, blow to iron. Inmany other branches of industry, as ship-building,or wherever lightness of structure is required, theprogress of the new metal will be much quicker.For such uses it is eminently suitable, and is sure tosupersede iron sooner or later. It is highly probablethat in the course of time we shall be able to give itmany of those qualities which make iron sovaluable.

While it is impossible to tell when this indus-trial revolution will be consummated, there can beno doubt that the future belongs to aluminum, andthat in times to come it will be the chief means ofincreasing human performance. It has in this res-pect capacities greater by far than those of anyother metal. I should estimate its civilizing potencyat fully one hundred times that of iron. This esti-mate, though it may astonish, is not at all exagger-ated. First of all, we must remember that there isthirty times as much aluminium as iron in bulk,available for the uses of man. This in itself offersgreat possibilities. Then, again, the new metal ismuch more easily workable, which adds to itsvalue. In many of its properties it partakes of thecharacter of a precious metal, which gives it addi-tional worth. Its electric conductivity, which, for agiven weight, is greater than that of any othermetal, would be alone sufficient to make it one ofthe most important factors in future human prog-ress. Its extreme lightness makes it far more easyto transport the objects manufactured. By virtue ofthis property it will revolutionize naval construc-tion, and in facilitating transport and travel it willadd enormously to the useful performance ofmankind. But its greatest civilizing property willbe, I believe, in aërial travel, which is sure to bebrought about by means of it. Telegraphic instru-ments will slowly enlighten the barbarian. Electricmotors and lamps will do it more quickly, butquicker than anything else the flying-machine willdo it. By rendering travel ideally easy it will be thebest means for unifying the heterogeneous ele-ments of humanity. As the first step toward this

realization we should produce a lighter storage-bat-tery or get more energy from coal.

EFFORTS TOWARD OBTAINING MOREENERGY FROM COAL – THE ELECTRIC

TRANSMISSION – THE GAS-ENGINE – THECOLD-COAL BATTERY.

I remember that at one time I considered theproduction of electricity by burning coal in abattery as the greatest achievement toward theadvancing civilization, and I am surprised to findhow much the continuous study of these subjectshas modified my views. It now seems to me that toburn coal, however efficiently, in a battery wouldbe a mere makeshift, a phase in the evolutiontoward something much more perfect. After all, ingenerating electricity in this manner, we should bedestroying material, and this would be a barbarousprocess. We ought to be able to obtain the energywe need without consumption of material. But Iam far from underrating the value of such anefficient method of burning fuel. At the presenttime most motive power comes from coal, and,either directly or by its products, it adds vastly tohuman energy. Unfortunately, in all the processnow adopted, the larger portion of the energy ofthe coal is uselessly dissipated. The best steam-engines utilize only a small part of the total energy.Even in gas-engines, in which, particularly of late,better results are obtainable, there is still abarbarous waste going on. In our electric-lightingsystems we scarcely utilize one third of one percent., and in lighting by gas a much smallerfraction, of the total energy of the coal. Conside-ring the various uses of coal throughout the world,we certainly do not utilize more than two per cent.of its energy theoretically available. The man whoshould stop this senseless waste would be a greatbenefactor of humanity, though the solution hewould offer could not be a permanent one, since itwould ultimately lead to the exhaustion of the storeof material. Efforts toward obtaining more energyfrom coal are now being made chiefly in twodirections – by generating electricity and by produ-cing gas for motive-power purposes. In both ofthese lines notable success has already been achie-ved.

The advent of the alternating-current systemof electric power-transmission marks an epoch inthe economy of energy available to man from coal.Evidently all electrical energy obtained from awaterfall, saving so much fuel, is a net gain tomankind, which is all the more effective as it issecured with little expenditure of human effort, andas this most perfect of all known methods of de-riving energy from the sun contributes in many


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ways to the advancement of civilization. Butelectricity enables us also to get from coal muchmore energy than was practicable in the old ways.Instead of transporting the coal to distant places ofconsumption, we burn it near the mine, developelectricity in the dynamos, and transmit the currentto remote localities, thus effecting a considerablesaving. Instead of driving the machinery in afactory in the old wasteful way of belts and shaft-ing, we generate electricity by steam-power andoperate electric motors. In this manner it is notuncommon to obtain two or three times as mucheffective motive power from the fuel, besidessecuring many other important advantages. It is inthis field as much as in the transmission of energyto great distance that the alternating system, withits ideally simple machinery, is bringing about anindustrial revolution. But in many lines this prog-ress has not been yet fully felt. For example,steamers and trains are still being propelled by thedirect application of steam-power to shafts oraxles. A much greater percentage of the heat-energy of the fuel could be transformed into mo-tive energy by using, in place of the adopted ma-rine engines and locomotives, dynamos driven byspecially designed high-pressure steam- or gas-engines and by utilizing the electricity generatedfor the propulsion. A gain of fifty to one hundredper cent. in the effective energy derived from thecoal could be secured in this manner. It is difficultyto understand why a fact so plain and obvious isnot receiving more attention from engineers. Inocean steamers such an improvement would beparticularly desirable, as it would do away withnoise and increase materially the speed and thecarrying capacity of the liners.

Still more energy is now being obtained fromcoal by the latest improved gas-engine, the econ-omy of which is, on the average, probably twicethat of the best steam-engine. The introduction ofthe gas-engine is very much facilitated by theimportance of the gas industry. With the increasinguse of the electric light more and more of the gas isutilized for heating and motive-power purposes. Inmany instances gas is manufactured close to thecoal-mine and conveyed to distant places of con-sumption, a considerable saving both in cost oftransportation and in utilization of the energy ofthe fuel being thus effected. In the present state ofthe mechanical and electrical arts the most rationalway of deriving energy from coal is evidently tomanufacture gas close to the coal store, and toutilize it, either on the spot or elsewhere, to gener-ate electricity for industrial uses in dynamos drivenby gas engines. The commercial success of such aplant is largely dependent upon the production ofgas-engines of great nominal horse-power, which,

judging from the keen activity in this field willsoon be forthcoming. Instead of consuming coaldirectly, as usual, gas should be manufacturedfrom it and burned to economize energy.

But all such improvements cannot be morethan passing phases in the evolution toward some-thing far more perfect, for ultimately we mustsucceed in obtaining electricity from coal in a moredirect way, involving no great loss of heat-energy.Whether coal can be oxidized by a cold process isstill a question. Its combination with oxygenalways involves heat, and whether the energy ofthe combination of the carbon with another ele-ment can be turned directly into electrical energyhas not yet been determined. Under certain condi-tions nitric acid will burn the carbon, generating anelectric current, but the solution does not remaincold. Other means of oxidizing coal have beenproposed, but they have offered no promise ofleading to an efficient process. My own lack ofsuccess has been complete, though perhaps notquite so complete as that of some who have "per-fected" the cold-coal battery. This problem isessentially one for the chemist to solve. It is not forthe physicist, who determines all his results inadvance, so that, when the experiment is tried, itcannot fail. Chemistry, though a positive science,does not yet admit of a solution by such positivemethods as those which are available in the treat-ment of many physical problems. The result, ifpossible, will be arrived at through patent tryingrather than through deduction or calculation. Thetime will soon come, however, when the chemistwill be able to follow a course clearly mapped outbeforehand, and when the process of his arriving ata desired result will be purely constructive. Thecold-coal battery would give a great impetus toelectrical development; it would lead very shortlyto a practical flying-machine, and would enor-mously enhance the introduction of the automo-bile. But these and many other problems will bebetter solved, and in a more scientific manner, by alight storage battery.

ENERGY FROM THE MEDIUM – THEWINDMILL AND THE SOLAR ENGINE –

MOTIVE POWER FROM TERRESTRIAL HEAT– ELECTRICITY FROM NATURAL SOURCES.

Besides fuel, there is abundant material fromwhich we might eventually derive power. Animmense amount of energy is locked up in lime-stone, for instance, and machines can be driven byliberating the carbonic acid through sulphuric acidor otherwise. I once constructed such an engine,and it operated satisfactorily.


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But, whatever our resources of primary en-ergy may be in the future, we must, to be rational,obtain it without consumption of any material.Long ago I came to this conclusion, and to arrive atthis result only two ways, as before indicated,appeared possible – either to turn to use the energyof the sun stored in the ambient medium, or totransmit, through the medium, the sun's energy todistant places from some locality where it wasobtainable without consumption of material. Atthat time I at once rejected the latter method asentirely impracticable, and turned to examine thepossibilities of the former.

It is difficult to believe, but it is, nevertheless,a fact, that since time immemorial man has had athis disposal a fairly good machine which hasenabled him to utilize the energy of the ambientmedium. This machine is the windmill. Contrary topopular belief, the power obtainable from wind isvery considerable. Many a deluded inventor hasspent years of his life in endeavoring to "harnessthe tides," and some have even proposed to com-press air by tide- or wave-power for supplyingenergy, never understanding the signs of the oldwindmill on the hill, as it sorrowfully waved itsarms about and bade them stop. The fact is that awave- or tide-motor would have, as a rule, but asmall chance of competing commercially with thewindmill, which is by far the better machine, al-lowing a much greater amount of energy to beobtained in a simpler way. Wind-power has been,in old times, of inestimable value to man, if fornothing else but for enabling him, to cross the seas,and it is even now a very important factor in traveland transportation. But there are great limitationsin this ideally simple method of utilizing the sun'senergy. The machines are large for a given output,and the power is intermittent, thus necessitating thestorage of energy and increasing the cost of theplant.

A far better way, however, to obtain powerwould be to avail ourselves of the sun's rays, whichbeat the earth incessantly and supply energy at amaximum rate of over four million horsepower persquare mile. Although the average energy receivedper square mile in any locality during the year isonly a small fraction of that amount, yet an inex-haustible source of power would be opened up bythe discovery of some efficient method of utilizingthe energy of the rays. The only rational wayknown to me at the time when I began the study ofthis subject was to employ some kind of heat- orthermodynamic-engine, driven by a volatile fluidevaporate in a boiler by the heat of the rays. Butcloser investigation of this method, and calcula-tion, showed that, notwithstanding the apparentlyvast amount of energy received from the sun's rays,

only a small fraction of that energy could be actu-ally utilized in this manner. Furthermore, the ener-gy supplied through the sun's radiations is periodi-cal, and the same limitations as in the use of thewindmill I found to exist here also. After a longstudy of this mode of obtaining motive power fromthe sun, taking into account the necessarily largebulk of the boiler, the low efficiency of the heat-engine, the additional cost of storing the energyand other drawbacks, I came to the conclusion thatthe "solar engine," a few instances excepted, couldnot be industrially exploited with success.

Another way of getting motive power fromthe medium without consuming any materialwould be to utilize the heat contained in the earth,the water, or the air for driving an engine. It is awell-known fact that the interior portions of theglobe are very hot, the temperature rising, asobservations show, with the approach to the centerat the rate of approximately 1 degree C. for everyhundred feet of depth. The difficulties of sinkingshafts and placing boilers at depths of, say, twelvethousand feet, corresponding to an increase intemperature of about 120 degrees C., are notinsuperable, and we could certainly avail ourselvesin this way of the internal heat of the globe. In fact,it would not be necessary to go to any depth at allin order to derive energy from the stored terrestrialheat. The superficial layers of the earth and the airstrata close to the same are at a temperature suffi-ciently high to evaporate some extremely volatilesubstances, which we might use in our boilersinstead of water. There is no doubt that a vesselmight be propelled on the ocean by an enginedriven by such a volatile fluid, no other energybeing used but the heat abstracted from the water.But the amount of power which could be obtainedin this manner would be, without further provision,very small.

Electricity produced by natural causes is an-other source of energy which might be renderedavailable. Lightning discharges involve greatamounts of electrical energy, which we couldutilize by transforming and storing it. Some yearsago I made known a method of electrical transfor-mation which renders the first part of this taskeasy, but the storing of the energy of lightningdischarges will be difficult to accomplish. It is wellknown, furthermore, that electric currents circulateconstantly through the earth, and that there existsbetween the earth and any air stratum a differenceof electrical pressure, which varies in proportion tothe height.

In recent experiments I have discovered twonovel facts of importance in this connection. Oneof these facts is that an electric current is generatedin a wire extending from the ground to a great


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height by the axial, and probably also by thetranslatory, movement of the earth. No appreciablecurrent, however, will flow continuously in the wi-re unless the electricity is allowed to leak out intothe air. Its escape is greatly facilitated by providingat the elevated end of the wire a conducting termi-nal of great surface, with many sharp edges orpoints. We are thus enabled to get a continuoussupply of electrical energy by merely supporting awire at a height, but, unfortunately, the amount ofelectricity which can be so obtained is small.

The second fact which I have ascertained isthat the upper air strata are permanently chargedwith electricity opposite to that of the earth. So, atleast, I have interpreted my observations, fromwhich it appears that the earth, with its adjacent in-sulating and outer conducting envelope, constitutesa highly charged electrical condenser containing,in all probability, a great amount of electrical ener-gy which might be turned to the uses of man, if itwere possible to reach with a wire to great altitu-des.

It is possible, and even probable, that therewill be, in time, other resources of energy openedup, of which we have no knowledge now. We mayeven find ways of applying forces such as magnet-ism or gravity for driving machinery without usingany other means. Such realizations, though highlyimprobable, are not impossible. An example willbest convey an idea of what we can hope to attainand what we can never attain. Imagine a disk ofsome homogeneous material turned perfectly trueand arranged to turn in frictionless bearings on ahorizontal shaft above the ground. This disk, beingunder the above conditions perfectly balanced,would rest in any position. Now, it is possible thatwe may learn how to make such a disk rotatecontinuously and perform work by the force ofgravity without any further effort on our part; but itis perfectly impossible for the disk to turn and todo work without any force from the outside. If itcould do so, it would be what is designated scien-tifically as a "perpetuum mobile," a machine creat-ing its own motive power. To make the disk rotateby the force of gravity we have only to invent ascreen against this force. By such a screen wecould prevent this force from acting on one half ofthe disk, and the rotation of the latter wouldfollow. At least, we cannot deny such a possibilityuntil we know exactly the nature of the force ofgravity. Suppose that this force were due to amovement comparable to that of a stream of airpassing from above toward the center of the earth.The effect of such a stream upon both halves of thedisk would be equal, and the latter would not rotateordinarily; but if one half should be guarded by aplate arresting the movement, then it would turn.

A DEPARTURE FROM KNOWN METHODS –POSSIBILITY OF A "SELF-ACTING" ENGINEOR MACHINE, INANIMATE, YET CAPABLE,LIKE A LIVING BEING, OF DERIVING EN-ERGY FROM THE MEDIUM – THE IDEALWAY OF OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER.

When I began the investigation of the subjectunder consideration, and when the preceding orsimilar ideas presented themselves to me for thefirst time, though I was then unacquainted with anumber of the facts mentioned, a survey of thevarious ways of utilizing the energy of the mediumconvinced me, nevertheless, that to arrive at athoroughly satisfactory practical solution a radicaldeparture from the methods then known had to bemade. The windmill, the solar engine, the enginedriven by terrestrial heat, had their limitations inthe amount of power obtainable. Some new wayhad to be discovered which would enable us to getmore energy. There was enough heat-energy in themedium, but only a small part of it was availablefor the operation of an engine in the ways thenknown. Besides, the energy was obtainable only ata very slow rate. Clearly, then, the problem was todiscover some new method which would make itpossible both to utilize more of the heat-energy ofthe medium and also to draw it away from thesame at a more rapid rate.

I was vainly endeavoring to form an idea ofhow this might be accomplished, when I read somestatements from Carnot and Lord Kelvin (then SirWilliam Thomson) which meant virtually that it isimpossible for an inanimate mechanism or self-acting machine to cool a portion of the mediumbelow the temperature of the surrounding, andoperate by the heat abstracted. These statementsinterested me intensely. Evidently a living beingcould do this very thing, and since the experiencesof my early life which I have related had con-vinced me that a living being is only an automaton,or, otherwise stated, a "self-acting-engine," I cameto the conclusion that it was possible to construct amachine which would do the same. As the firststep toward this realization I conceived the fol-lowing mechanism. Imagine a thermopile consist-ing of a number of bars of metal extending fromthe earth to the outer space beyond the atmosphere.The heat from below, conducted upward alongthese metal bars, would cool the earth or the sea orthe air, according to the location of the lower partsof the bars, and the result, as is well known, wouldbe an electric current circulating in these bars. Thetwo terminals of the thermopile could now bejoined through an electric motor, and, theoretically,this motor would run on and on, until the mediabelow would be cooled down to the temperature of


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the outer space. This would be an inanimate enginewhich, to all evidence, would be cooling a portionof the medium below the temperature of the sur-rounding, and operating by the heat abstracted.

Diagram b: Obtaining energy from the ambientmedium A, medium with little energy;B, B, ambient medium with muchenergy; O, path of the energy.

But was it not possible to realize a similarcondition without necessarily going to a height?Conceive, for the sake of illustration, [a cylindri-cal] enclosure T, as illustrated in diagram b, suchthat energy could not be transferred across itexcept through a channel or path O, and that, bysome means or other, in this enclosure a mediumwere maintained which would have little energy,and that on the outer side of the same there wouldbe the ordinary ambient medium with much en-ergy. Under these assumptions the energy wouldflow through the path O, as indicated by the arrow,and might then be converted on its passage intosome other form of energy. The question was,Could such a condition be attained? Could weproduce artificially such a "sink" for the energy ofthe ambient medium to flow in? Suppose that anextremely low temperature could be maintained bysome process in a given space; the surroundingmedium would then be compelled to give off heat,which could be converted into mechanical or otherform of energy, and utilized. By realizing such aplan, we should be enabled to get at any point ofthe globe a continuous supply of energy, day andnight. More than this, reasoning in the abstract, itwould seem possible to cause a quick circulation ofthe medium, and thus draw the energy at a veryrapid rate.

Here, then, was an idea which, if realizable,afforded a happy solution of the problem of gettingenergy from the medium. But was it realizable? Iconvinced myself that it was so in a number ofways, of which one is the following. As regardsheat, we are at a high level, which may be repre-

sented by the surface of a mountain lake consid-erably above the sea, the level of which may markthe absolute zero of temperature existing in theinterstellar space. Heat, like water, flows from highto low level, and, consequently, just as we can letthe water of the lake run down to the sea, so we areable to let heat from the earth's surface travel upinto the cold region above. Heat, like water, canperform work in flowing down, and if we had anydoubt as to whether we could derive energy fromthe medium by means of a thermopile, as beforedescribed, it would be dispelled by this analogue.But can we produce cold in a given portion of thespace and cause the heat to flow in continually? Tocreate such a "sink," or "cold hole," as we mightsay, in the medium, would be equivalent to pro-ducing in the lake a space either empty or filledwith something much lighter than water. This wecould do by placing in the lake a tank, and pump-ing all the water out of the latter. We know, then,that the water, if allowed to flow back into thetank, would, theoretically, be able to performexactly the same amount of work which was usedin pumping it out, but not a bit more. Consequentlynothing could be gained in this double operation offirst raising the water and then letting it fall down.This would mean that it is impossible to createsuch a sink in the medium. But let us reflect amoment. Heat, though following certain generallaws of mechanics, like a fluid, is not such; it isenergy which may be converted into other forms ofenergy as it passes from a high to a low level. Tomake our mechanical analogy complete and true,we must, therefore, assume that the water, in itspassage into the tank, is converted into somethingelse, which may be taken out of it without usingany, or by using very little, power. For example, ifheat be represented in this analogue by the water ofthe lake, the oxygen and hydrogen composing thewater may illustrate other forms of energy intowhich the heat is transformed in passing from hotto cold. If the process of heat transformation wereabsolutely perfect, no heat at all would arrive at thelow level, since all of it would be converted intoother forms of energy. Corresponding to this idealcase, all the water flowing into the tank would bedecomposed into oxygen and hydrogen beforereaching the bottom, and the result would be thatwater would continually flow in, and yet the tankwould remain entirely empty, the gases formedescaping. We would thus produce, by expendinginitially a certain amount of work to create a sinkfor the heat or, respectively, the water to flow in, acondition enabling us to get any amount of energywithout further effort. This would be an ideal wayof obtaining motive power. We do not know of anysuch absolutely perfect process of heat-conversion,


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and consequently some heat will generally reachthe low level, which means to say, in our mechani-cal analogue, that some water will arrive at thebottom of the tank, and a gradual and slow fillingof the latter will take place, necessitating continu-ous pumping out. But evidently there will be lessto pump out than flows in, or, in other words, lessenergy will be needed to maintain the initial con-dition than is developed by the fall, and this is tosay that some energy will be gained from themedium. What is not converted in flowing downcan just be raised up with its own energy, and whatis converted is clear gain. Thus the virtue of theprinciple I have discovered resides wholly in theconversion of the energy on the downward flow.

FIRST EFFORTS TO PRODUCE THE SELF-ACTING ENGINE – THE MECHANICAL OS-

CILLATOR – WORK OF DEWAR AND LINDE– LIQUID AIR.

Having recognized this truth, I began to de-vise means for carrying out my idea, and, afterlong thought, I finally conceived a combination ofapparatus which should make possible the obtain-ing of power from the medium by a process ofcontinuous cooling of atmospheric air. This appa-ratus, by continually transforming heat into me-chanical work, tended to become colder andcolder, and if it only were practicable to reach avery low temperature in this manner, then a sinkfor the heat could be produced, and energy couldbe derived from the medium. This seemed to becontrary to the statements of Carnot and LordKelvin before referred to, but I concluded from thetheory of the process that such a result could beattained. This conclusion I reached, I think, in thelatter part of 1883, when I was in Paris, and it wasat a time when my mind was being more and moredominated by an invention which I had evolvedduring the preceding year, and which has sincebecome known under the name of the "rotatingmagnetic field." During the few years which fol-lowed I elaborated further the plan I had imagined,and studied the working conditions, but made littleheadway. The commercial introduction in thiscountry of the invention before referred to requiredmost of my energies until 1889, when I again tookup the idea of the self-acting machine. A closerinvestigation of the principles involved, and cal-culation, now showed that the result I aimed atcould not be reached in a practical manner byordinary machinery, as I had in the beginningexpected. This led me, as a next step, to the studyof a type of engine generally designated as "tur-bine," which at first seemed to offer better chancesfor a realization of the idea. Soon I found, how-

ever, that the turbine, too, was unsuitable. But myconclusions showed that if an engine of a peculiarkind could be brought to a high degree of perfec-tion, the plan I had conceived was realizable, and Iresolved to proceed with the development of suchan engine, the primary object of which was tosecure the greatest economy of transformation ofheat into mechanical energy. A characteristicfeature of the engine was that the work-performingpiston was not connected with anything else, butwas perfectly free to vibrate at an enormous rate.The mechanical difficulties encountered in theconstruction of this engine were greater than I hadanticipated, and I made slow progress. This workwas continued until early in 1892, when I went toLondon, where I saw Professor Dewar's admirableexperiments with liquefied gases. Others hadliquefied gases before, and notably Ozlewski andPictet had performed creditable early experimentsin this line, but there was such a vigor about thework of Dewar that even the old appeared new. Hisexperiments showed, though in a way differentfrom that I had imagined, that it was possible toreach a very low temperature by transforming heatinto mechanical work, and I returned, deeply im-pressed with what I had seen, and more than everconvinced that my plan was practicable. The worktemporarily interrupted was taken up anew, andsoon I had in a fair state of perfection the enginewhich I have named "the mechanical oscillator." Inthis machine I succeeded in doing away with allpackings, valves, and lubrication, and in producingso rapid a vibration of the piston that shafts oftough steel, fastened to the same and vibrated long-itudinally, were torn asunder. By combining thisengine with a dynamo of special design I produceda highly efficient electrical generator, invaluable inmeasurements and determinations of physicalquantities on account of the unvarying rate of osci-llation obtainable by its means. I exhibited severaltypes of this machine, named "mechanical andelectrical oscillator," before the ElectricalCongress at the World's Fair in Chicago during thesummer of 1893, in a lecture which, on account ofother pressing work, I was unable to prepare forpublication. On that occasion I exposed the prin-ciples of the mechanical oscillator, but the originalpurpose of this machine is explained here for thefirst time.

In the process, as I had primarily conceived it,for the utilization of the energy of the ambient me-dium, there were five essential elements in combi-nation, and each of these had to be newly designedand perfected, as no such machines existed. Themechanical oscillator was the first element of thiscombination, and having perfected this, I turned tothe next, which was an air-compressor of a design


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in certain respects resembling that of themechanical oscillator. Similar difficulties in theconstruction were again encountered, but the workwas pushed vigorously, and at the close of 1894 Ihad completed these two elements of the combina-tion, and thus produced an apparatus for compress-ing air, virtually to any desired pressure, incompa-rably simpler, smaller, and more efficient than theordinary. I was just beginning work on the thirdelement, which together with the first two wouldgive a refrigerating machine of exceptional effi-ciency and simplicity, when a misfortune befell mein the burning of my laboratory, which crippled mylabors and delayed me. Shortly afterward Dr. CarlLinde announced the liquefaction of air by a self-cooling process, demonstrating that it was practi-cable to proceed with the cooling until liquefactionof the air took place. This was the only experimen-tal proof which I was still wanting that energy wasobtainable from the medium in the manner con-templated by me.

The liquefaction of air by a self-cooling proc-ess was not, as popularly believed, an accidentaldiscovery, but a scientific result which could nothave been delayed much longer, and which, in allprobability, could not have escaped Dewar. Thisfascinating advance, I believe, is largely due to thepowerful work of this great Scotchman. Neverthe-less, Linde's is an immortal achievement. Themanufacture of liquid air has been carried on forfour years in Germany, on a scale much larger thanin any other country, and this strange product hasbeen applied for a variety of purposes. Much wasexpected of it in the beginning, but so far it hasbeen an industrial ignis fatuus. By the use of suchmachinery as I am perfecting, its cost will probablybe greatly lessened, but even then its commercialsuccess will be questionable. When, used as arefrigerant it is uneconomical, as its temperature isunnecessarily low. It is as expensive to maintain abody at a very low temperature as it is to keep itvery hot; it takes coal to keep air cold. In oxygenmanufacture it cannot yet compete with the elec-trolytic method. For use as an explosive it is un-suitable, because its low temperature again con-demns it to a small efficiency, and for motive-po-wer purposes its cost is still by far too high. It is ofinterest to note, however, that in driving an engineby liquid air a certain amount of energy may begained from the engine, or, stated otherwise, fromthe ambient medium which keeps the engine warm,each two hundred pounds of iron-casting of the lat-ter contributing energy at the rate of about one ef-fective horsepower during one hour. But this gainof the consumer is offset by an equal loss of theproducer.

Much of this task on which I have labored solong remains to be done. A number of mechanicaldetails are still to be perfected and some difficul-ties of a different nature to be mastered, and Icannot hope to produce a self-acting machinederiving energy from the ambient medium for along time yet, even if all my expectations shouldmaterialize. Many circumstances have occurredwhich have retarded my work of late, but forseveral reasons the delay was beneficial.

One of these reasons was that I had ampletime to consider what the ultimate possibilities ofthis development might be. I worked for a longtime fully convinced that the practical realizationof this method of obtaining energy from the sunwould be of incalculable industrial value, but thecontinued study of the subject revealed the fact thatwhile it will be commercially profitable if myexpectations are well founded, it will not be so toan extraordinary degree.

DISCOVERY OF UNEXPECTED PROPERTIESOF THE ATMOSPHERE – STRANGE EXPERI-MENTS – TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICALENERGY THROUGH ONE WIRE WITHOUT

RETURN – TRANSMISSION THROUGH THEEARTH WITHOUT ANY WIRE.

Another of these reasons was that I was led torecognize the transmission of electrical energy toany distance through the media as by far the bestsolution of the great problem of harnessing thesun's energy for the uses of man. For a long time Iwas convinced that such a transmission on an in-dustrial scale, could never be realized, but a disco-very which I made changed my view. I observedthat under certain conditions the atmosphere,which is normally a high insulator, assumes con-ducting properties, and so becomes capable of con-veying any amount of electrical energy. But thedifficulties in the way of a practical utilization ofthis discovery for the purpose of transmitting elec-trical energy without wires were seemingly insu-perable. Electrical pressures of many millions ofvolts had to be produced and handled; generatingapparatus of a novel kind, capable of withstandingthe immense electrical stresses, had to be inventedand perfected, and a complete safety against thedangers of the high-tension currents had to be at-tained in the system before its practical introduc-tion could be even thought of. All this could not bedone in a few weeks or months, or even years. Thework required patience and constant application,but the improvements came, though slowly. Othervaluable results were, however, arrived at in thecourse of this long-continued work, of which I


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shall endeavor to give a brief account, enumeratingthe chief advances as they were successively effec-ted.

The discovery of the conducting properties ofthe air, though unexpected, was only a naturalresult of experiments in a special field which I hadcarried on for some years before. It was, I believe,during 1889 that certain possibilities offered byextremely rapid electrical oscillations determinedme to design a number of special machines adaptedfor their investigation. Owing to the peculiarrequirements, the construction of these machineswas very difficult, and consumed much time andeffort; but my work on them was generouslyrewarded, for I reached by their means severalnovel and important results. One of the earliestobservations I made with these new machines wasthat electrical oscillations of an extremely high rate

act in an extraordinary manner upon the humanorganism. Thus, for instance, I demonstrated thatpowerful electrical discharges of several hundredthousand volts, which at that time were consideredabsolutely deadly, could be passed through thebody without inconvenience or hurtful conse-quences. These oscillations produced other specificphysiological effects, which, upon my announce-ment, were eagerly taken up by skilled physiciansand further investigated. This new field has proveditself fruitful beyond expectation, and in the fewyears which have passed since, it has been devel-oped to such an extent that it now forms a legiti-mate and important department of medical science.Many results, thought impossible at that time, arenow readily obtainable with these oscillations, andmany experiments undreamed of then can now bereadily performed by their means. I still remember

with pleasure how,nine years ago, Ipassed the dischargeof a powerful induc-tion-coil through mybody to demonstratebefore a scientificsociety the compara-tive harmlessness ofvery rapidly vibra-ting electric currents,and I can still recallthe astonishment ofmy audience. Iwould now underta-ke, with much lessapprehension that Ihad in that experi-ment, to transmitthrough my bodywith such currentsthe entire electricalenergy of the dyna-mos now working atNiagara--forty orfifty thousand horse-power. I have produ-ced electrical oscilla-tions which were ofsuch intensity thatwhen circulatingthrough my arms andchest they have mel-ted wires which join-ed my hands, andstill I felt no incon-venience. I have en-ergized with such os-cillations a loop of

Fig. 3. Experiment to illustrate the supplying of electrical energy through a singlewire without return.


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heavy copper wire so powerfully that masses ofmetal, and even objects of an electrical resistancespecifically greater than that of human tissuebrought close to or placed within the loop, wereheated to a high temperature and melted, oftenwith the violence of an explosion, and yet into thisvery space in which this terribly-destructiveturmoil was going on I have repeatedly thrust myhead without feeling anything or experiencinginjurious after-effects.

Another observation was that by means ofsuch oscillations light could be produced in a noveland more economical manner,which promised to lead to an idealsystem of electric illumination byvacuum-tubes, dispensing with thenecessity of renewal of lamps orincandescent filaments, and pos-sibly also with the use of wires inthe interior of buildings. Theefficiency of this light increases inproportion to the rate of the oscil-lations, and its commercial successis, therefore, dependent on the eco-nomical production of electricalvibrations of transcending rates. Inthis direction I have met withgratifying success of late, and thepractical introduction of this newsystem of illumination is not faroff.

The investigations led to manyother valuable observations and re-sults, one of the more important ofwhich was the demonstration of thepracticability of supplying electri-cal energy through one wire with-out return. At first I was able totransmit in this novel manner onlyvery small amounts of electricalenergy, but in this line also myefforts have been rewarded withsimilar success.

An ordinary incandescentlamp, connected with one or bothof its terminals to the wire formingthe upper free end of the coilshown in the photograph, is lightedby electrical vibrations conveyed toit through the coil from an elec-trical oscillator, which is workedonly to one fifth of one per cent. ofits full capacity.

The photograph shown in Fig.3 illustrates, as its title explains, anactual transmission of this kindeffected with apparatus used in

other experiments here described. To what adegree the appliances have been perfected sincemy first demonstrations early in 1891 before ascientific society, when my apparatus was barelycapable of lighting one lamp (which result wasconsidered wonderful), will appear when I statethat I have now no difficulty in lighting in thismanner four or five hundred lamps, and could lightmany more. In fact, there is no limit to the amountof energy which may in this way be supplied tooperate any kind of electrical device.

Fig. 4: Experiment to illustrate the transmission of electrical energythrough the Earth without wire.


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The coil shown in the photograph has itslower end or terminal connected to the ground, andis exactly attuned to the vibrations of a distantelectrical oscillator. The lamp lighted is in anindependent wire loop, energized by inductionfrom the coil excited by the electrical vibrationstransmitted to it through the ground from theoscillator, which is worked only to five per cent. ofits full capacity.

After demonstrating the practicability of thismethod of transmission, the thought naturallyoccurred to me to use the earth as a conductor, thusdispensing with all wires. Whatever electricity maybe, it is a fact that it behaves like an incompressi-ble fluid, and the earth may be looked upon as animmense reservoir of electricity, which, I thought,could be disturbed effectively by a properly de-signed electrical machine. Accordingly, my nextefforts were directed toward perfecting a specialapparatus which would be highly effective increating a disturbance of electricity in the earth.The progress in this new direction was necessarilyvery slow and the work discouraging, until I finallysucceeded in perfecting a novel kind of trans-former or induction-coil, particularly suited for thisspecial purpose. That it is practicable, in thismanner, not only to transmit minute amounts ofelectrical energy for operating delicate electricaldevices, as I contemplated at first, but also electri-cal energy in appreciable quantities, will appearfrom an inspection of Fig. 4, which illustrates anactual experiment of this kind performed with thesame apparatus. The result obtained was all themore remarkable as the top end of the coil was notconnected to a wire or plate for magnifying theeffect.

"WIRELESS" TELEGRAPHY – THE SECRETOF TUNING – ERRORS IN THE HERTZIAN

INVESTIGATIONS – A RECEIVER OFWONDERFUL SENSITIVENESS.

As the first valuable result of my experimentsin this latter line a system of telegraphy withoutwires resulted, which I described in two scientificlectures in February and March, 1893. It is mech-

anically illustrated in diagram c, the upper part ofwhich shows the electrical arrangement as I de-scribed it then, while the lower part illustrates itsmechanical analogue. The system is extremelysimple in principle. Imagine two tuning-forks F,F1, one at the sending- and the other at the receiv-ing station respectively, each having attached to itslower prong a minute piston p, fitting in a cylinder.Both the cylinders communicate with a largereservoir R, with elastic walls, which is supposedto be closed and filled with a light and incom-pressible fluid. By striking repeatedly one of theprongs of the tuning-fork F, the small piston pbelow would be vibrated, and its vibrations, trans-mitted through the fluid, would reach the distantfork F1, which is "tuned" to the fork F, or, statedotherwise, of exactly the same note as the latter.The fork F1 would now be set vibrating, and itsvibration would be intensified by the continuedaction of the distant fork F until its upper prong,swinging far out, would make an electrical con-nection with a stationary contact c'', starting in thismanner some electrical or other appliances whichmay be used for recording the signals. In thissimple way messages could be exchanged betweenthe two stations, a similar contact c' being providedfor this purpose, close to the upper prong of thefork F, so that the apparatus at each station couldbe employed in turn as receiver and transmitter.

Diagram c:"Wireless"telegraphymechanicallyillustrated.


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The electrical system illustrated in the upperfigure of diagram c is exactly the same in principle,the two wires or circuits ESP and E1S1P1, whichextend vertically to a height, representing the twotuning-forks with the pistons attached to them.These circuits are connected with the ground byplates E, E1, and to two elevated metal sheets P,P1, which store electricity and thus magnify con-siderably the effect. The closed reservoir R, withelastic walls, is in this case replaced by the earth,and the fluid by electricity. Both of these circuitsare "tuned" and operate just like the two tuning-forks. Instead of striking the fork F at the sending-station, electrical oscillations are produced in thevertical sending- or transmitting-wire ESP, as bythe action of a source S, included in this wire,which spread through the ground and reach thedistant vertical receiving-wire E1S1P1, excitingcorresponding electrical oscillations in the same. Inthe latter wire or circuit is included a sensitivedevice or receiver S1, which is thus set in actionand made to operate a relay or other appliance.Each station is, of course, provided both with asource of electrical oscillations S and a sensitivereceiver S1, and a simple provision is made forusing each of the two wires alternately to send andto receive the messages.

The picture shows a number of coils ,differently attuned and responding to the vibrationstransmitted to them through the earth from anelectrical oscillator. The large coil on the right,discharging strongly, is tuned to the fundamentalvibration, which is fifty thousand per second; thetwo larger vertical coils to twice that number; the

smaller white wire coil to four times that number,and the remaining small coils to higher tones. Thevibrations produced by the oscillator were sointense that they affected perceptibly a small coiltuned to the twenty-sixth higher tone.

The exact attunement of the two circuits se-cures great advantages, and, in fact, it is essentialin the practical use of the system. In this respectmany popular errors exist, and, as a rule, in thetechnical reports on this subject circuits and appli-ances are described as affording these advantageswhen from their very nature it is evident that this isimpossible. In order to attain the best results it isessential that the length of each wire or circuit,from the ground connection to the top, should beequal to one quarter of the wave-length of theelectrical vibration in the wire, or else equal to thatlength multiplied by an odd number. Without theobservation of this rule it is virtually impossible toprevent the interference and insure the privacy ofmessages. Therein lies the secret of tuning. Toobtain the most satisfactory results it is, however,necessary to resort to electrical vibrations of lowpitch. The Hertz’ian spark apparatus, used gener-ally by experimenters, which produces oscillationsof a very high rate, permits no effective tuning, andslight disturbances are sufficient to render an

exchange of messages impracticable. But scientifi-cally designed, efficient appliances allow nearlyperfect adjustment. An experiment performed withthe improved apparatus repeatedly referred to, andintended to convey an idea of this feature, is illus-trated in Fig. 5, which is sufficiently explained byits note.

Fig. 5:Photographic view ofthe coils respondingto electricaloscillations.


- 27 -

Since I described these simple principles oftelegraphy without wires I have had frequentoccasion to note that the identical features andelements have been used, in the evident belief thatthe signals are being transmitted to considerabledistance by "Hertz’ian" radiations. This is only oneof many misapprehensions to which the investiga-tions of the lamented physicist have given rise.About thirty-three years ago Maxwell, followingup a suggestive experiment made by Faraday in1845, evolved an ideally simple theory whichintimately connected light, radiant heat, and elec-trical phenomena, interpreting them as being alldue to vibrations of a hypothetical fluid of incon-ceivable tenuity, called the ether. No experimentalverification was arrived at until Hertz, at the sug-gestion of Helmholtz, undertook a series of ex-periments to this effect. Hertz proceeded withextraordinary ingenuity and insight, but devotedlittle energy to the perfection of his old-fashionedapparatus. The consequence was that he failed toobserve the important function which the airplayed in his experiments, and which I subse-quently discovered. Repeating his experiments andreaching different results, I ventured to point out

this oversight. The strength of the proofs broughtforward by Hertz in support of Maxwell's theoryresided in the correct estimate of the rates of vi-bration of the circuits he used. But I ascertainedthat he could not have obtained the rates hethought he was getting. The vibrations with identi-cal apparatus he employed are, as a rule, muchslower, this being due to the presence of air, whichproduces a dampening effect upon a rapidly vi-brating electric circuit of high pressure, as a fluiddoes upon a vibrating tuning-fork. I have, however,discovered since that time other causes of error,and I have long ago ceased to look upon his resultsas being an experimental verification of the poeti-cal conceptions of Maxwell. The work of the greatGerman physicist has acted as an immense stimu-lus to contemporary electrical research, but it haslikewise, in a measure, by its fascination, paralyzedthe scientific mind, and thus hampered independ-ent inquiry. Every new phenomenon which wasdiscovered was made to fit the theory, and so veryoften the truth has been unconsciously distorted.

When I advanced this system of telegraphy,my mind was dominated by the idea of effectingcommunication to any distance through the earth

Fig. 6: Photographic view of the essential parts of the electrical oscillator used in the experiments described.


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or environing medium, the practical consummationof which I considered of transcendent importance,chiefly on account of the moral effect which itcould not fail to produce universally. As the firsteffort to this end I proposed at that time, to employrelay-stations with tuned circuits, in the hope ofmaking thus practicable signaling over vast dis-tances, even with apparatus of very moderatepower then at my command. I was confident,however, that with properly designed machinerysignals could be transmitted to any point of theglobe, no matter what the distance, without thenecessity of using such intermediate stations. Igained this conviction through the discovery of asingular electrical phenomenon, which I describedearly in 1892, in lectures I delivered before somescientific societies abroad, and which I have calleda "rotating brush." This is a bundle of light whichis formed, under certain conditions, in a vacuum-bulb, and which is of a sensitiveness to magneticand electric influences bordering, so to speak, onthe supernatural. This light-bundle is rapidlyrotated by the earth's magnetism as many as twentythousand times pre second, the rotation in theseparts being opposite to what it would be in thesouthern hemisphere, while in the region of themagnetic equator it should not rotate at all. In its

most sensitive state, which is difficult to obtain, itis responsive to electric or magnetic influences toan incredible de gree. The mere stiffening of themuscles of the arm and consequent slight electricalchange in the body of an observer standing at somedistance from it, will perceptibly affect it. When inthis highly sensitive state it is capable of indicatingthe slightest magnetic and electric changes takingplace in the earth. The observation of this wonder-ful phenomenon impressed me strongly that com-munication at any distance could be easily effectedby its means, provided that apparatus could beperfected capable of producing an electric ormagnetic change of state, however small, in theterrestrial globe or environing medium.

DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PRINCIPLE –THE ELECTRICAL OSCILLATOR – PRODUC-

TION OF IMMENSE ELECTRICAL MOVE-MENTS – THE EARTH RESPONDS TO MAN –INTERPLANETARY COMMUNICATION NOW

PROBABLE.

I resolved to concentrate my efforts upon thisventuresome task, though it involved great sacri-fice, for the difficulties to be mastered were suchthat I could hope to consummate it only after years

Fig. 7: Experiment to illustrate an inductive effect of an electrical oscillator of great power.


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of labor. It meant delay of other work to which Iwould have preferred to devote myself, but Igained the conviction that my energies could notbe more usefully employed; for I recognized thatan efficient apparatus for, the production of power-ful electrical oscillations, as was needed for thatspecific purpose, was the key to the solution ofother most important electrical and, in fact, humanproblems. Not only was communication, to anydistance, without wires possible by its means, but,likewise, the transmission of energy in greatamounts, the burning of the atmospheric nitrogen,the production of an efficient illuminant, and manyother results of inestimable scientific and industrialvalue. Finally, however, I had the satisfaction ofaccomplishing the task undertaken by the use of anew principle, the virtue of which is based on themarvelous properties of the electrical condenser.One of these is that it can discharge or explode itsstored energy in an inconceivably short time.Owing to this it is unequaled in explosive violence.The explosion of dynamite is only the breath of aconsumptive compared with its discharge. It is themeans of producing the strongest current, thehighest electrical pressure, the greatest commotion

in the medium. Another of its properties, equallyvaluable, is that its discharge may vibrate at anyrate desired up to many millions per second.

I had arrived at the limit of rates obtainable inother ways when the happy idea presented itself tome to resort to the condenser. I arranged such aninstrument so as to be charged and dischargedalternately in rapid succession through a coil with afew turns of stout wire, forming the primary of atransformer or induction-coil. Each time the con-denser was discharged the current would quiver inthe primary wire and induce corresponding oscil-lations in the secondary. Thus a transformer orinduction-coil on new principles was evolved,which I have called "the electrical oscillator,"partaking of those unique qualities which charac-terize the condenser, and enabling results to beattained impossible by other means. Electricaleffects of any desired character and of intensitiesundreamed of before are now easily producible byperfected apparatus of this kind, to which frequentreference has been made, and the essential parts ofwhich are shown in Fig. 6. For certain purposes astrong inductive effect is required; for others thegreatest possible suddenness; for others again, an

Fig. 8: Experiment to illustrate the capacity of the oscillator for producing electrical explosions of great power.


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exceptionally high rate of vibration or extremepressure; while for certain other objects immenseelectrical movements are necessary. The photo-graphs in Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10, of experimentsperformed with such an oscillator, may serve toillustrate some of these features and convey an ideaof the magnitude of the effects actually produced.The completeness of the titles of the figures re-ferred to makes a further description of themunnecessary.

The photograph shows three ordinary incan-descent lamps lighted to full candle-power by cur-rents induced in a local loop consisting of a singlewire forming a square of fifty feet each side, whichincludes the lamps, and which is at a distance of

one hundred feet from the primary circuit ener-gized by the oscillator. The loop likewise includesan electrical condenser, and is exactly attuned tothe vibrations of the oscillator, which is worked atless than five percent of its total capacity.

Note to Fig. 8. – The coil, partly shown in thephotograph, creates an alternative movement ofelectricity from the earth into a large reservoir andback at a rate of one hundred thousand alternationsper second. The adjustments are such that thereservoir is fulled full and bursts at each alternationjust at the moment when the electrical pressurereaches the maximum. The discharge escapes witha deafening noise, striking an unconnected coiltwenty-two feet away, and creating such a com-

motion of electricityin the earth thatsparks an inch longcan be drawn from awater main at adistance of threehundred feet fromthe laboratory.

The ball shownin the photograph,covered with a po-lished metallic coat-ing of twenty squarefeet of surface, re-presents a large re-servoir of electrici-ty, and the invertedtin pan underneath,with a sharp rim, abig opening throughwhich the electricitycan escape beforefilling the reservoir.The quantity ofelectricity set in mo-vement is so greatthat, although mostof it escapes throughthe rim of the pan oropening provided,the ball or reservoiris nevertheless alter-nately emptied andfilled to over-flow-ing (as is evidentfrom the dischargeescaping on the topof the ball) onehundred and fiftythousand times persecond.Fig. 9: Experiment to illustrate the capacity on the oscillator for creating a great

electrical movement.


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The discharge, creating a strong draft owingto the heating of the air, is carried upward throughthe open roof of the building. The greatest widthacross is nearly seventy feet. The pressure is overtwelve million volts, and the current alternates onehundred and thirty thousand times per second.

However extraordinary the results shown mayappear, they are but trifling compared with thosewhich are attainable by apparatus designed onthese same principles. I have produced electricaldischarges the actual path of which, from end toend, was probably more than one hundred feetlong; but it would not be difficult to reach lengthsone hundred times as great. I have produced elec-trical movements occurring at the rate of approxi-mately one hundred thousand horse-power, butrates of one, five, or ten million horse-power areeasily practicable. In these experiments effects

were developed incom-parably greater than anyever produced by humanagencies, and yet theseresults are but an embryoof what is to be.

That communicationwithout wires to any pointof the globe is practicablewith such apparatus wouldneed no demonstration,but through a discoverywhich I made I obtainedabsolute certitude. Popu-larly explained, it is exact-ly this: When we raise thevoice and hear an echo inreply, we know that thesound of the voice musthave reached a distantwall, or boundary, andmust have been reflectedfrom the same. Exactly asthe sound, so an electricalwave is reflected, and thesame evidence which isafforded by an echo isoffered by an electricalphenomenon known as a"stationary" wave--that is,a wave with fixed nodaland ventral regions.Instead of sending sound-vibrations toward a distantwall, I have sent electricalvibrations toward theremote boundaries of theearth, and instead of thewall the earth has replied.

In place of an echo I have obtained a stationaryelectrical wave, a wave reflected from afar.

Stationary waves in the earth mean somethingmore than mere telegraphy without wires to anydistance. They will enable us to attain many im-portant specific results impossible otherwise. Forinstance, by their use we may produce at will, froma sending-station, an electrical effect in any par-ticular region of the globe; we may determine therelative position or course of a moving object, suchas a vessel at sea, the distance traversed by thesame, or its speed; or we may send over the earth awave of electricity traveling at any rate we desire,from the pace of a turtle up to lightning speed.

With these developments we have every rea-son to anticipate that in a time not very distantmost telegraphic messages across the oceans willbe transmitted without cables. For short distances

Fig. 10: Photographic view of an experiment to illustrate an effect of anelectrical oscillator delivering energy at a rate of seventy-fife thousandhorse-power.


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we need a "wireless" telephone, which requires noexpert operators. The greater the spaces to be brid-ged, the more rational becomes communicationwithout wires. The cable is not only an easily da-maged and costly instrument, but it limits us in thespeed of transmission by reason of a certain electri-cal property inseparable from its construction. Aproperly designed plant for effecting communi-cation without wires ought to have many times theworking capacity of a cable, while it will involveincomparably less expense. Not a long time willpass, I believe, before communication by cablewill become obsolete, for not only will signalingby this new method be quicker and cheaper, butalso much safer. By using some new means for iso-lating the messages which I have contrived, analmost perfect privacy can be secured.

I have observed the above effects so far onlyup to a limited distance of about six hundred miles,but inasmuch as there is virtually no limit to thepower of the vibrations producible with such anoscillator, I feel quite confident of the success ofsuch a plant for effecting transoceanic communi-cation. Nor is this all. My measurements andcalculations have shown that it is perfectly practi-cable to produce on our globe, by the use of theseprinciples, an electrical movement of such magni-tude that, without the slightest doubt, its effect willbe perceptible on some of our nearer planets, asVenus and Mars. Thus from mere possibilityinterplanetary communication has entered the stageof probability. In fact, that we can produce a dis-tinct effect on one of these planets in this novelmanner, namely, by disturbing the electrical con-dition of the earth, is beyond any doubt. This wayof effecting such communication is, however,essentially different from all others which have sofar been proposed by scientific men. In all theprevious instances only a minute fraction of thetotal energy reaching the planet--as much as itwould be possible to concentrate in a reflector--could be utilized by the supposed observer in hisinstrument. But by the means I have developed hewould be enabled to concentrate the larger portionof the entire energy transmitted to the planet in hisinstrument, and the chances of affecting the latterare thereby increased many millionfold.

Besides machinery for producing vibrations ofthe required power, we must have delicate meanscapable of revealing the effects of feeble influen-ces exerted upon the earth. For such purposes, too,I have perfected new methods. By their use weshall likewise be able, among other things, to de-tect at considerable distance the presence of an ice-berg or other object at sea. By their use, also, Ihave discovered some terrestrial phenomena stillunexplained. That we can send a message to a pla-

net is certain, that we can get an answer is proba-ble: man is not the only being in the Infinite giftedwith a mind.

TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGYTO ANY DISTANCE WITHOUT WIRES – NOW

PRACTICABLE – THE BEST MEANS OFINCREASING THE FORCE ACCELERATING

THE HUMAN MASS.

The most valuable observation made in thecourse of these investigations was the extraordina-ry behavior of the atmosphere toward electric im-pulses of excessive electromotive force. The expe-riments showed that the air at the ordinary pressurebecame distinctly conducting, and this opened upthe wonderful prospect of transmitting largeamounts of electrical energy for industrial purposesto great distances without wires, a possibilitywhich, up to that time, was thought of only as ascientific dream. Further investigation revealed theimportant fact that the conductivity imparted to theair by these electrical impulses of many millions ofvolts increased very rapidly with the degree ofrarefaction, so that air strata at very moderate alti-tudes, which are easily accessible, offer, to all ex-perimental evidence, a perfect conducting path,better than a copper wire, for currents of this cha-racter.

Thus the discovery of these new properties ofthe atmosphere not only opened up the possibilityof transmitting, without wires, energy in largeamounts, but, what was still more significant, it af-forded the certitude that energy could be transmit-ted in this manner economically. In this new sys-tem it matters little--in fact, almost nothing – whe-ther the transmission is effected at a distance of afew miles or of a few thousand miles.

While I have not, as yet, actually effected atransmission of a considerable amount of energy,such as would be of industrial importance, to agreat distance by this new method, I have operatedseveral model plants under exactly the same condi-tions which will exist in a large plant of this kind,and the practicability of the system is thoroughlydemonstrated. The experiments have shown con-clusively that, with two terminals maintained at anelevation of not more than thirty thousand to thirty-five thousand feet above sea-level, and with anelectrical pressure of fifteen to twenty millionvolts, the energy of thousands of horse-power canbe transmitted over distances which may be hund-reds and, if necessary, thousands of miles. I amhopeful, however, that I may be able to reducevery considerably the elevation of the terminalsnow required, and with this object I am followingup an idea which promises such a realization.


- 33 -

There is, of course, a popular prejudice againstusing an electrical pressure of millions of volts,which may cause sparks to fly at distances ofhundreds of feet, but, paradoxical as it may seem,the system, as I have described it in a technicalpublication, offers greater personal safety thanmost of the ordinary distribution circuits now usedin the cities. This is, in a measure, borne out by thefact that, although I have carried on such experi-ments for a number of years, no injury has beensustained either by me or any of my assistants.

But to enable a practical introduction of thesystem, a number of essential requirements are stillto be fulfilled. It is not enough to develop appli-ances by means of which such a transmission canbe effected. The machinery must be such as to al-low the transformation and transmission, of electri-cal energy under highly economic and practicalconditions. Furthermore, an inducement must beoffered to those who are engaged in the industrialexploitation of natural sources of power, aswaterfalls, by guaranteeing greater returns on thecapital invested than they can secure by local deve-lopment of the property.

From that moment when it was observed that,contrary to the established opinion, low and easilyaccessible strata of the atmosphere are capable ofconducting electricity, the transmission of electri-cal energy without wires has become a rationaltask of the engineer, and one surpassing all othersin importance. Its practical consummation wouldmean that energy would be available for the usesof man at any point of the globe, not in smallamounts such as might be derived from the ambi-ent medium by suitable machinery, but in quanti-ties virtually unlimited, from waterfalls. Export ofpower would then become the chief source ofincome for many happily situated countries, as theUnited States, Canada, Central and South America,Switzerland, and Sweden. Men could settle downeverywhere, fertilize and irrigate the soil with littleeffort, and convert barren deserts into gardens, andthus the entire globe could be transformed andmade a fitter abode for mankind. It is highly prob-able that if there are intelligent beings on Marsthey have long ago realized this very idea, whichwould explain the changes on its surface noted byastronomers. The atmosphere on that planet, beingof considerably smaller density than that of theearth, would make the task much more easy.

It is probable that we shall soon have a self-acting heat-engine capable of deriving moderateamounts of energy from the ambient medium.There is also a possibility--though a small one--that we may obtain electrical energy direct fromthe sun. This might be the case if the Maxwelliantheory is true, according to which electrical vibra-

tions of all rates should emanate from the sun. I amstill investigating this subject. Sir William Crookeshas shown in his beautiful invention known as the"radiometer" that rays may produce by impact amechanical effect, and this may lead to someimportant revelation as to the utilization of thesun's rays in novel ways. Other sources of energymay be opened up, and new methods of derivingenergy from the sun discovered, but none of theseor similar achievements would equal in importancethe transmission of power to any distance throughthe medium. I can conceive of no technical ad-vance which would tend to unite the various ele-ments of humanity more effectively than this one,or of one which would more add to and moreeconomize human energy. It would be the bestmeans of increasing the force accelerating thehuman mass. The mere moral influence of such aradical departure would be incalculable. On theother hand if at any point of the globe energy canbe obtained in limited quantities from the ambientmedium by means of a self-acting heat-engine orotherwise, the conditions will remain the same asbefore. Human performance will be increased, butmen will remain strangers as they were.

I anticipate that any, unprepared for these re-sults, which, through long familiarity, appear to mesimple and obvious, will consider them still farfrom practical application. Such reserve, and evenopposition, of some is as useful a quality and asnecessary an element in human progress as thequick receptivity and enthusiasm of others. Thus, amass which resists the force at first, once set inmovement, adds to the energy. The scientific mandoes not aim at an immediate result. He does notexpect that his advanced ideas will be readily takenup. His work is like that of the planter--for thefuture. His duty is to lay the foundation for thosewho are to come, and point the way. He lives andlabors and hopes with the poet who says:

Schaff' das Tagwerk meiner Hände,Hohes Glück, dass ich's vollende!Laß, o laß mich nicht ermatten!Nein, es sind nicht leere Träume:Jetzt nur Stangen, diese BäumeGeben einst noch Frucht und Schatten. [1]

1 Daily work my hands' employment,To complete is pure enjoyment!Let, oh, let me never falter!No! there is no empty dreaming:No! these trees, but bare poles seeming,Yet will yield both food and shelter!

Goethe's "Hope"Translated by William Gibson, Com. U. S. N.

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