Tesla's Plan for "Wireless" Electric Lighting

In a recent newspaper interview Nicola Tesla is reported to have said that as the result of many years' effort his "wireless electric light" has practically been brought to a state of perfection, and a plant for its production is now nearing completion at his laboratory.

"It would be possible by my powerful wireless transmitter," said Mr. Tesla, according to this account, "to light the entire United States. The current would pass into the air and, spreading in all directions, produce the effect of a strong aurora borealis. It would be a soft light, but sufficient to distinguish objects.

"My present plan is to distribute this light from a central station, which is the most economical and also the best method of obtaining light of highest quality. My lamps will last forever, there being nothing in them to burn out. They are simple tubes or bulbs of glass hermetically sealed and containing nothing but rarefied gas.

"One advantage is the economy of production which is greater than in any other light so far obtained. A great saving will be effected by wireless distribution. I am intending chiefly to supply isolated dwellings which cannot be conveniently reached by wires, and in this system of distribution there is absolutely no difference where the dwelling is located. The force of the current is the same whether the house is 12,000 miles from the plant or twelve feet."