A New Teslathon

A small group of coilers attended the first Tesla Coil Builders of Maryland (TCBOM) Teslathon held in late July at the home and lab of TCBA member Steve Roys. Steve's event coincided with the Timion, MD hamfest where members were able to grab up components for their various projects. The afternoon schedule included a swim in Steve's pool, a cookout, after which everyone migrated to Steve's basement to fire up various high voltage displays. Steve's coil was the hit of the evening. The TCBOM members meet every other month, some of whom travel up to 100 miles. Sounds to me like a real loyal group of coilers.

IEEE Nikola Tesla Award Goes to P. Kundur

P. Kundur, IEEE fellow, Powertech Labs Inc. (Canada) was awarded the 1996 IEEE Nikola Tesla Award “For his contribution to modeling and application of synchronous machines, power system controls and stability analysis.” (tip from R.G. Kent)

EMF Health Effects

An article by S.P. Albert Bren in the IEEE Engineering In Medicine and Biology (July/August 1996) gave mention of Tesla. “Further investigations into therapeutic applications of electricity were motivated...by the development of sources of alternating current. Prominent among these investigations were Jacques Arsene d'Arsonval and Nikola Tesla...Tesla investigated physiological effects of alternating current and time varying fields. He reported (quite strong) electric fields in the short wave range could kill isolated tuberculosis bacilli....” (tip from R.G. Kent)

The Corum Papers

Two monumental papers by Kenneth and James Corum and another by the same authors with J.F.X. Daum were presented at the 1996 Tesla Symposium in Colorado Springs. The papers carried the titles of NIKOLA TESLA and the DIAMETER of the EARTH, SPHERICAL TRANSMISSION LINES and GLOBAL PROPAGATION, and THE SCHUMANN CAVITY, J.J. THOMPSON'S SPHERICAL RESONATORS and the GATEWAY to MODERN PHYSICS.

The paper on Nikola Tesla and the diameter of the earth carried a subtitle of “A Discussion of One of the Many Modes of Operation of the Wardenclyffe Tower.” This was a most informative revelation of what Tesla was doing at Wardenclyffe and how the system worked. The second paper mentioned above involved investigations into more secrets of Tesla's work. What was the purpose of the mystery coil? The last is an attempt to provide a better understanding of “The dramatic contribution that Tesla made to the historical development of distributed resonators,” The Corum papers, even though sometimes highly technical, are extremely exciting reading.

Tesla's Marvelous Achievement

Appendix III of the Corum's papers “Spherical Transmission Lines...” shook me out of my shoes. Here, the authors reveal an experiment by Tesla of which few are aware. It seems that Tesla visited the Colorado Pike's Peak area some three years prior to the 1899 investigations. While there, him and an assistant climbed part way up the mountain. Each carried an autoharp. The two men parted and went in opposite directions until they reached a point where the separation was greatest. When Tesla's assistant played a tune on the autoharp, the autoharp held by Tesla repeated the tune. Be reminded that there was no connection between the two autoharps. What apparatus did Tesla use to transmit the musical vibrations? The distance of the transmission was four miles. No biographer has ever mentioned this feat. Hey, you've got to read this to believe it! Incidentally, the report of Tesla's achievement was published in the New York World's Sunday Magazine for March 8, 1896.

‘Inventors & Inventions’

An interesting book targeted for juvenile readers has been written by Michael Jeffries & Gary A. Lewis. Inventors and Inventions is a profusely illustrated book in the Facts America series. The publication emphasizes some of the most important contributions to science and society by Americans. Nikola Tesla is given a full page, plus part of another. I've looked through dozens of similar books that should have included Tesla but completely ignored him (for whatever reason only the authors can divulge). It was pleasant to find that he had not been forgotten by authors Jeffries & Lewis. The ISBN number of this hard cover is 0-8317-5366-8 and can be ordered through your local dealer.