Electricity and Wires

A patent has been granted to Nikola Tesla for an invention which, if his claims are borne out, will prevent the escape of electricity from a wire. Tesla's invention, it is claimed, solves the insulation problem in a simple manner. He insulates the wire by passing through it, or near it, air kept at a low temperature, producing a coat of ice on the wire, which, the inventor finds, cannot be broken through by the strongest current, and at the same time gives an insulation that costs practically nothing. By means of this latest discovery the loss of electricity or electrical energy in transmission, it is claimed, can be rendered so small as to be insignificant, and power can be transmitted to great distances by means of underground wires.