Nikola Tesla Articles
A.I.E.E. Salutes Nikola Tesla
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only what he is talking about, but also what he is doing.
Professor Hibben began his demonstration with chemistry to give an idea how the gases are produced which are used in neon and fluorescent tubes. He took a dark bottle containing, I believe, phosphore, and emptied it into a glass. Then he took another bottle and poured both of these chemicals into a pitcher full of ice-cold water. The result was a beautiful glowing color.
This was followed by Tesla’s apparatus called “Black Magic.” He showed the audience an ordinary table cloth, printed in a variety of colors. When you looked at it, there was nothing to be seen but the piece of printed cloth, but when Professor Hibben placed it in front of “Black Magic” you were amazed with the beauty of it.
After this demonstration came a variety of Tesla’s bulbs and his Radar. Here you saw the Professor holding a bulb in his hand; no wire connection anywhere. He moved his hand with the bulb in the direction of waves emanating from radar and the bulb was lighted.
He took a fluorescent tube (one was almost two yards long) and it was lighted the same way as the bulb. He placed the tube horizontally and “squeezed” the glowing light out of it with his bare hand. Amazing? Indeed!
While I was watching Professor Hibben’s demonstrations, I could not help but to go back to the end of the nineteenth century and to think of the great Tesla who used to take his friends and guests to his laboratory in New York City to mystify and to entertain them with his marvelous discoveries and inventions.
After the lecture I had the pleasure to shake hands with Professor Hibben. I thanked and congratulated him. The only remarks he made was his regret that he did not have more electrical power to make his demonstrations more effective.
Professor Hibben told me that he plans to give another lecture later in the Fall on Tesla’s Rotations, but was unable to say where it will be given.
As there were no more lectures to be given, relating to Dr. Tesla’s discoveries and inventions, at this gathering of the Electrical Engineers and scientists, I decided to go home.
