Nikola Tesla Books
CHAPTER FIVE The energy from the explosion of a grenade, sound from a loudspeaker, electromagnetic radiation from a radio mast, light from the sun all are governed by the same principle that the further the energy expands from the source the weaker its density will be. The same objection applies to Tesla's power transmission. Close to the transmitter the energy available is very large but as it spreads out further and further over tens or hundreds of miles - the energy in any particular area becomes smaller and smaller. Power requirements of a modern home or office are measured in thousands of watts. This would mean that a 'rooftop' power receiver on each building would need to be capable of picking up hundreds or thousands of watts on a continuous basis. The power available in each few square feet of ground far from the transmitter would, therefore, have to be high. And this would have to be true for every few square feet of ground over the whole world: The conclusion is simple: to provide the power requirement for the average home, the energy pumped out from a Tesla transmitter would need to be almost astronomical. By contrast a conventional power transmission line delivers energy exactly where it is required. The transmission line loses a small percentage of the electricity through resistance but at least it brings the power direct to each home or factory and does not spread it out over an enormous area. A simple analogy may serve to illustrate this point. A farmer, who has read a great deal about the Tesla transmitter, tries to irrigate his farm by broadcast power. He requires several fields to be irrigated that are scattered over an area which includes several roads, a small wood and some farm buildings. Above his well, which produces a certain number of gallons per hour, he erects a tower and sprays water from it at high velocity. Around the tower everything looks fine, the earth is moist and the corn green and well advanced. As he takes a walk to his other fields he discovers his mistake. To begin with, all his farm buildings are flooded. The water has fallen everywhere: on fields, woods, buildings and roads. When he reaches his furthest fields, he finds that they are bone dry - for only the finest spray of water has reached them. The problem is obvious: the further the water has to travel, the greater the area it must cover and the less water that is available per acre. 56
