Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, 1899-1900 Page 128

a truly wonderful sight. The twinkling of the stars is very pronounced, they seem to move in orbits of as much as ten or fifteen of their own diameters across. At times one observes a star burst out into great brilliancy. This is probably due to the removal of an invisible cloud or of a layer of air at a great altitude containing some kind of particles which cut off a large portion of the light. One sees shooting stars quite frequently, also colored rings around the moon, generally in the advanced hours of the night, at times when the air is slightly misty. As this happens generally during very cold nights I believe the colored rings are due to minute crystals of ice.

Owing to the extraordinary purity and dryness of the atmosphere the sounds penetrate to astonishing distances. This is particularly true of high notes as nearly as I can judge. Certain conditions, entirely exceptional, concur at times and produce effects of this kind which are startling. A bell will ring in the city several miles away, and it would seem as though the bell would be before the very door of the laboratory. During certain nights when sleepless I have been astonished to hear the talk of people in the streets and sounds of this kind in a large radius around the dwelling not to speak of the grinding of the wheels, the rolling of wagons, the puffing of the engines etc. which are perceptible in such a case, and with painful loudness though coming from distances incredibly great. These phenomena are so striking that they can not be satisfactorily explained by any plausible hypothesis and I am led to believe that possibly the strong electrification of the air, which is often noted, and to an extraordinary degree, may be more or less responsible for their occurrence.

The dryness of the atmosphere, which is still further enhanced by the low pressure, is such that wood or other material is made what is called kiln-dry inside of a few hours, and is rendered an insulator far more perfect than wood is ordinarily. The nails on the hands and toes dry out to such an extent that they break off very easily, in fact one has to be careful in trimming them. I found the claws of a cat as brittle as glass. The skin on the hands dries out and cracks up and is apt to form deep sores particularly if, as often in experimentation, one has to wash the hands frequently. The hair gets perceptibly thinner owing to the drying out. Colorado is not a good country for hair. This may be of interest to people with a tendency towards baldness. People even very sick do not cough and expectorate evidently owing to the dryness of the atmosphere. One does not perspire as the sweat is immediately evaporated. It is curious how quick the body gets dry when a bath is taken. Still more this is noted when the body is rubbed with alcohol. These observations are not often made, unfortunately, as the opportunities for comfort are not such as one might desire.

In many respects one is disappointed with the aspect of the country itself although it is far famed. I think it very uninteresting and even the celebrated Pike’s Peak is insignificant. Most of the country is barren, practically a desert, with little vegetable and animal life in places. Prairie dogs are about the only animals one can see on the plains. One rarely sees a bird and the country must be a tedious one to live in for any one with tastes for hunting and fishing. But as much as the country is devoid of interest and beauty, so much and far more, is the sky beautiful. The sights one sees here in the heavens are such that no pen can ever describe. The cloud formations are the most marvelous sights that one can see anywhere. The iridescent colors are to my judgement incomparably more vivid and intense than in the Alps. Every possible shade of color may be seen the red and white preponderating. The phenomena accompanying the sunrise and sunset are often such

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