Tesla's Electrical Oscillators - Editorial

Those who have followed the development of electrical industry in recent years, and more particularly the application of alternating currents for industrial purposes, will be able to justly appreciate the great services which Mr. Nikola Tesla has rendered to the world in this field of endeavor by his discovery of the rotating magnetic field, recorded in this journal early in 1888. They will remember that a few years after this publication, Tesla started the scientific world through his brilliant lectures here and abroad, in which he disclosed entirely novel phenomena, produced by high-frequency currents. In these lectures he showed for the first time the possibility of lighting by means of phosphorescent bulbs and tubes. The currents he obtained either by specially constructed machines or by means of a new form of induction coil, now commonly known as the Tesla coil, or transformer.

Since his original announcement in this later field, Tesla has incessantly labored to simplify and improve his methods and apparatus, and as an evidence of his progress we only need recall to our readers his valuable contributions to the Roentgen phenomena, which he was able to so exhaustively investigate by the help of his perfected coils, or "oscillators." We also recorded, a few months ago, the remarkable results he obtained in the production of light of high candle-power by vacuum tubes.

Mr. Tesla now comes forward with perfected and extremely simple transformers, or oscillators, adapted to every-day use with ordinary sources of current supply. We believe that the importance of the advent of these new implements for the development of science and industry can not be overestimated. That high-frequency currents are destined to play an important part in the practical applications of electricity there can be no doubt, and with the introduction of efficient high-frequency transformers adapted to ordinary circuits their numerous uses are sure to come at once. The old and familiar form of induction coil, with its multitude of uses, can not possibly survive when a new inductive apparatus is at hand fully as simple, but far more economical, and requiring only a minute fraction of the wire needed in the old form.

Tesla has been working arduously for a number of years to bring about these results, as evidenced by the publication of his always original researches, and it is most unfortunate that his progress was delayed by the destruction of his laboratory a year and a half ago.

We heartily congratulate him on his practical success, as placed on record in the patents granted to him last week, on which we dwell on another page in this issue.