A Wonderful Possibility in Electric Power Transmission

As civilization advances and our needs multiply, the demands on the toilers in the various departments of science constantly increase, and naturally the activity in the direction of providing new resources becomes more and more intense. But the severest burden is undoubtedly on the engineer, mechanic or inventor, whose task it is to produce motive power. The problem of providing economical power has ever taxed the inventive mind, and with the introduction of electricity a great stride in advance has been effected. But still, many limitations were encountered in the difficulties of efficiently transmitting the energy of great sources of power, which exist in abundance in Nature, to remote places of utilization.

Here it is that Nikola Tesla did his first great work by discovering the rotating magnetic field, and applying it to a practical system of electric power transmission, now used in all parts of the world.

As we were then, so now we are privileged to record another forward step, which, if successful on a large scale, will prove of astounding consequences, for it will open up unlimited resources of practically costless power. Tesla now proposes to transmit, without the use of any wires, through the natural media - the earth and the air - great amounts of power to distances of thousands of miles. This will appear a dream - a tale from the Arabian Nights. But the extraordinary discoveries Tesla has made during a number of years of incessant labor, which are authoritatively described and illustrated in our present issue, make it evident that his work in this field has passed the stage of mere laboratory experiment, and is ready for a practical test on an industrial scale. The success of his efforts means that power from such sources as Niagara will become available in any part of the world regardless of distance.

The photographic reproduction contained in our present issue, which is explained in its title, illustrates one of the remarkable effects produced by Tesla's improved apparatus.