MadSci Network: Physics |
Hi George: You are chronologically correct. Starting with question #1: Tesla first worked with magnetos and motors in Serbia, later worked with Edison in US and after a bad experience, teamed-up with Westinghouse to build the Niagara plant. His desire to distribute power through the air met the reality of the tremendous losses incurred by the air itself in his early experiments with the Tesla Coil in New York. He pursued his dream of distributing power using the ground in Colorado. That experiment produced some astonishing but dangerously impractical results. On his return to NY, he turned his attention to directional transmission of power to the North Pole to establish contact with an expedition. Almost coincidentally a meteor (or comet fragment) struck Siberia and appeared as if Tesla had success. Amidst all the confusion he made headlines only to realize later that it was a bogus coincidence. Nevertheless his contributions to technology lives-on in terms of RADAR and radio. I found an Internet site that might be of value to you, so I will comment on the contents and point you to each article: When Nikola Tesla arrived in this country from Serbia he became involved with Thomas Edison who took him for a ride. If you look up on the Internet: http://www.parascope.com/en/0996/tesla2.htm Afterwards, he teamed-up with Edison's competitor, Thomas Westinghouse, to whom he sold several of his patents. Westinghouse, a strong proponent of alternating current, helped Tesla design and build the first hydroelectric power plant in US at Niagara Falls. Tesla's dream was to give away free power. Being smart he recognized that propagation in air had serious penalties as I mentioned in my first response, so he chose the ground as the next best transmission medium. Starting in NY, he found short of resources, so he moved to Colorado. Point your net browser to: http://www.parascope.com/en/0996/tesla3.htm Tesla lit-up a whole Colorado town, burnt the local power plant generator and had to leave, going back to NY. You might say he achieved his goal in proving "what not to do." Back in New York, he gained monetary support for a while from JP Morgan. No longer attempting to distribute omni-directional electricity he directed his efforts to beam power to specific areas, in this case, the North Pole. Look-up these NY experiments at: http://www.parascope.com/en/0996/tesla4.htm Being a restless inventor, he went on to build other machines: http://www.parascope.com/en/0996/tesla5.htm Eventually he died a poor and disillusioned person. Look up: http://www.parascope.com/en/0996/tesla6.htm The lasting final blow came many years after his death when the Smithsonian Institute decided to excommunicate his work. That is a shame. Look-up: http://www.concentric.net/~Jwwagner/ Question #2: My referral to "lethal household voltages" is meant to be 115 volt current flowing from non-insulated wires found at termination junction boxes. The shock is not an electromagnetic phenomenon, but simply the effect of electron flow through the body completing the circuit to ground. Power lines: Potentials vary depending on the purpose of distribution (long haul or local). Typical long haul potentials are in the excess of 300,000 volts. Long ceramic members built to resemble a series of inverted cups insulate these wires from the grounded towers. These cups prevent "corona" discharge due to rain and moisture. Corona is composed of ionized gases (plasma) that provide a path for leakage in moist air. Power lines use non-insulated conductors kept high and away from people and animals because of the lethality. Local distribution lines are also not insulated and carry 10 to 20 thousand volts via high poles or underground. The local transformers step the voltages down to 220 or 440 volts depending on the customer needs. Any contact with power line voltages without adequate protection is usually a lethal experience. Concerning lightning: Lightning is an avalanche of electrons created by very large voltage potentials, in the order of several hundred thousand volts. The result is an uncontrolled spark of high severity. As you noticed, lightning seldom travels a straight line because electrons seek means of least resistance. Rapid ionization takes place-converting oxygen into ozone, a type of plasma conductive gas with a pungent smell. The proverbial experiment of Ben Franklin and the kite flying near thunderclouds was a foolish yet lucky demonstration of "sky fire" using the kite line as path of least resistance. Thunder is the byproduct of lightning caused by intense heating of the air mass surrounding the discharge. Air expands at supersonic speeds generating the thunderclap. Today's technology has no practical way of tapping into these free-of-cost surges of energy. Instead they become destructive nuisances when striking power lines. Our technology utilizes extremely fast solid state circuit interrupters to protect customers from damaging power surges. I hope these answers satisfy your questions. If not, get back to me. Your MAD.SCI Micro.
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