Nikola Tesla U.S. Patent 645,576 - System of Transmission of Electrical Energy Patent Wrapper Page 28

146 ly unjust and is entirely unnecessary. After a number of years of effort in perfecting appliances and endeavoring to reach what seemed impossible, I have been led to recognize a most important truth, and have rendered practicable what a few years ago appeared no more than a scientific dream, and will be even now considered as such by the majority of experts, although in my papers I have with forethought prepared them for such a realization. Nothing could illustrate better than this fact how radical a departure from established methods I have made. Why should I be required to say that, for instance, a height of say, 8000 meters is absolutely necessary to transmit power by my method and appliances? While I think at present that such a height is necessary and even a greater height desirable, chiefly for economy's sake, I anticipate that useful applications of my discovery will be made by employing terminals at small elevations, in some instances at least, where economy in the transmission or quantity of the energy transmitted are secondary considerations. of this I am the more confident as I find that, with these currents of immense tension, comparable in a measure with that of lightening discharges, the air, even at ordinary mercurial pressure, may be made to behave more or less like a conductor. I am led to infer from the remarks of the Examiner that. he is looking at my results as being only in degree different from those obtained by others, for only on this ground could I be asked to limit myself with a distinguishing statement as to the atmospheric (4) This page retyped from microfilm for better readability - Ed.] 1