Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent 645,576 - System of Transmission of Electrical Energy Patent Wrapper Page 12

130 file a sworn copy of an extract from his well known lecture and an affidavit from the applicant himself. With discussion of the Marconi patent it may be stated merely that it is certain that in every thing that can be said to be common to the said patent and the present application Tesla anticipates Marconi. 2 With reference to the Edison and Smith patents, it may be pointed out that whatever is sought or secured by the patentees is dependent upon a wholly different principle and mode of operation, the application of which to Tesla's system would defeat wholly the purpose for which it was used. Edison & Smith rely solely upon induction. Tesla on the other hand depends upon and utilizes the conductivity of the air, and that this was a possibility no one knew or could have known until Tesla produced currents for which the atmosphere served as a conductor. For Edison & Smith the air was a non-conductor. The reference to Prof. Loomis' experiment is too vague to admit of intelligent consideration. At best it would seem, if the report be a true one, that Loomis utilized a state of tension which he found already exis ting in the upper strata of the atmosphere, while Tesla produces, transmits and collects a current. In view of the above considerations we request that the claims presented by allowed, as they clearly describe & method or system of transmission of energy which is ontirely new. Ken. Curtes & Page Alls for Sela. -8