Cool Coil

Ceramists at Argonne National Laboratory, a leading research center for superconductivity, have fabricated a coil of superconducting wire. The Yttrium-barium-copper oxide loses all resistance at minus 290 degrees F. The promises of superconduction requires wire that can be wound into coils.

Kilovac Corporation

An advertisement appearing in the August issue of ELECTRONIC DESIGN magazine warn's its readers not to experiment with high voltage (unless, of course, you are using their products). An eye-catching photograph accompanying the advertisement shows the Frankenstein Monster being zapped with high voltage discharges. The scene was taken from the movie, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN, starring Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi. The lab set is typical of the late Ken Strickfaden's touch including his Meg Senior Tesla coil. (tip from Todd Coleman)

There's an Easier Way

There's an easier way to make sure its rugged says a GE/RCA advertisement that appeared in ELECTRONICS PRODUCTS for September 15. A mad-scientist lab illustration shows a subject at the switch of a Frankenstein-like electrical laboratory with a high voltage discharge bombarding a huge mofset device. The illustration is in color and shows a direct relationship to the original Frankenstein movie set. (tip from Bob Wroblewski).

David Letterman Show

TCBA member Bill Smith phoned and said that he had just caught the tail-end of a David Letterman TV show (September) in which a Tesla coil was demonstrated. Did anyone see this and/or take a video tape of it?

15,000 Volt Guitar

Neon sign artist Bill Wrablutza of Miami has an electric guitar that glows with ionized argon gas energized by a 15,000 volt source. The unit was created at Deco Neon and will probably be highly desired by the rock fraternity.

Buck Rogers Move Over: SDI is Here!

There are now five major Strategic Defense Initiative projects under way. (1)NPB or Nuclear Particle Beam; (2)BEAR from Beam Experiment Aboard a Rocket; (3)PHASER or Phased Array Experiment; (4)PBFA II which refers to Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator; and (5)GBFEL or Ground Based Free Electron Laser. We're talking big bucks so I hope that something good comes out of all this competition. Too bad that Tesla did not have this kind of financial support for his many marvelous schemes. (tip from James DiMichele)

International Tesla Symposium Draws Great Interest!

The 1988 International Tesla Society Symposium held in Colorado Springs this past July proved to be one of the best programs to date held by that organization. Among the spectacular high voltage demonstrates was one given by Bill Wysock & Associates. TCBA member Lowell Beezley had the honor of sitting on top of a 950,000 volt TC while 3-4' discharges dazzled from his body. An after-dinner slide lecture by Tesla historian Leland I. Anderson gave listeners many interesting and unknown facts about Tesla. Some of the photos shown by Anderson have never before been published. An effective video tape by Marc Seifer covering Tesla's career was on display during the Symposium.

Tesla International

Writing about the International Tesla Society brought to mind an organization that once existed as TESLA INTERNATIONAL (later changed to TESLA SOCIETY). That organization was founded during the early 1950's by Tesla researcher Leland I. Anderson. One of the Society's specific goals was to prepare a program to commemorate the then forthcoming 100th anniversary of Tesla's birth. The Society issued a journal called THE TESLIAN. In 1956, a commemorative program jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (now IEEE) and the Tesla Society was held in Chicago. It was my fortune to have been associated with the Tesla Society and able to attend the observance. I still retain a vivid memory of Dr. Hibben's demonstration of Tesla's illumination experiments. Elsewhere in this issue is a Society report of the event. Also included are a few clippings from the large bulletin board exhibited at the Chicago affair.

Children's Publications

Dover Publications offers books that are unequalled in variety by any other firm. The group not only prints original manuscripts but also reprints historical publications in just about any field. One publication that has come to my attention is THE STORY OF ELECTRICITY by George deLuncenay Leon. This book covers the history and development of electricity and electronics. Included are twenty easy-to-perform experiments. Tesla is mentioned on three different pages. For more information on Dover books, write Department 23, Dover Publications, 31 E. 2nd St., Mineola, NY 11501.

Another children's publication, THE YOUNG SCIENTIST BOOK OF ELECTRICITY, has an eye-catching cover illustration with two highly charged spheres trading lightning bolts. Although this book discusses electric motors and the distribution of electric power, Tesla is not mentioned. Two who are given attention are Ben Franklin and Thomas A. Edison. Available from EDC Publishing, 10302 E. 55th Place, Tulsa, OK 74146.

A Healthy Briefcase

Among the new inventions demonstrated at the Chicago inventor's convention was a briefcase that bombards the carrier with magnetic waves. The company that makes them says the waves can help cure high blood pressure, upset stomach, and earaches (and prevents sudden falls from metal buildings, tsk). (tip from Herb Force)

Tucker

One of the exciting events of post WWII was the emergence of a novel automobile named after its inventor, Preston Thomas Tucker. It was a futuristic type of automobile with many innovations that have only recently been introduced in modern automobiles. Some of Tucker's ideas continue to remain in the future. Only a few automobiles got off the assembly line before Tucker went bankrupt. An entertaining movie has been made about Tucker by Francis Ford Coppola. Keep an eye open for two scenes in which a photo of Tesla can be seen in the background. Hopefully, director Coppola is aware of Tesla enough to consider a movie on the Great One's life. (tin from B. Stoutenberg)