Nikola Tesla Patents
force of the latter so that the dielectric layers of the sensitive device a are subjected to a similar strain and maintained in a state of delicate poise. (The various instruments being connected and adjusted in the manner described, it will now be readily seen from the foregoing, that under normal conditions, the device a being unaffected by the disturbances, or practically so, and there being no, or only a very insignificant amount of, energy stored in the condenser, the periodical closure of the primary circuit of the transformer through the operation of the device. à will have no appreciable effect upon the primary coil P, and hence no currents will be generated in the secondary coil s, at least not such as would disturb the state of delicate balance existing in the secondary circuit including the receiver, and, therefore, the latter will not be actuated by the battery B¹. But when, cwing to the disturbances or impulses propagated through the media from a distant source, an additional electromotive force, however small, is created between the terminals of the device a, the dielectric layers in the same, unable to support the increased strain, give way and allow the current of the battery B to pass through, thus causing a difference of potential at the terminals T and T¹ of the con-. denser. A sufficient amount of energy being now stored in this instrument during the time interval between each two succeeding operations of the device d, cach closure of the primary circuit by the latter results in the passage of a sudden current impulse through the coil p, which induces a corresponding current of relatively high electromotive force in the secondary coil s. Owing to this the dielectric in the device. a' gives way, and the current of the battery B being allowed 17 427
