There is much to be said about weather control. Since the beginning, humankind have wished to be able to not only decide what kind of weather they have, but harness the weather to their benefit, like say ending a drought with a heavy downpour. Cloud Seeding is a technique where small planes go up and sprinkle low clouds with particles that encourage them to condense water and release it. The chemicals used in this process are often controversial. After all, who wants to eat a crop that's been artificially rained on?
Tesla, fascinated by lightning, would stretch out on his couch during a thunderstorm and mentally calculate the time between thunder and lightning, and also apparently the voltage of the lightning strike. Of course, his ultimate goal was to create lightning. If you've ever seen photos of a Tesla Coil, they produce what look like tiny bolts of lightning right into the air.
During storms, which are high in electrical activity, Tesla would perform experiments with his machines and try to discover the secrets of lightning. The old stereotype of the mad scientist working feverishly during the dark and stormy night probably came from him. I've been meaning also to examine the likeness of Dr. Frankenstein in the Shelley novel as a "mad" scientist who uses electricity to create life, which as far as I've read Tesla never tried but then again, you never know.
Tesla was also the first to identify cosmic rays. He demonstrated that the Aurora Borealis was electric in nature, and he went as far as to suggest a system whereby the night sky could be electrified to provide light. HAARP, or the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, is essentially an array of Tesla Magnifying Transmitters in Alaska that use the Aurora as some kind of electrical relay. The complete intentions of the program have never entirely been clarified, as the potential for the system to be exploited by the military for over-the-horizon radar is almost too great to ignore.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tesla's Name
Tesla is a pretty unique name. It should be more of a household word than it is. Amongst electricians, it's a unit of magnetic flux density. Tesla Motors I think is doing a great job with paying their respects, since they are pretty much poised to become a major electric car manufacturer in the next decade.
Having never married or had any children, Tesla didn't pass along his family's name. His nephew, Sava Kasanovic (sp) I believe was his closest family relation. But in Prodigal Genius (see previous post), John J. O'Neill explains a bit of the history:
"Tesla's surname dates back more than two and a half centuries. Before that time the family name was Draganic (pronounced as if spelled Drag'-a-nitch). The name Tesla (pronounced as spelled, with equal emphasis on both syllables), in a purely literal sense, is a trade name like Smith, firight or Carpenter. As a common noun it describes a woodworking tool which, in English, is called an adz. This is an axe with a broad cutting blade at right angles to the handle, instead of parallel as in the more familiar form. It is used in cutting large tree trunks into squared timbers. In the Serbo-Croat language, the name of the tool is tesla. There is a tradition in the Draganic family that the members of one branch were given the nickname "Tesla" because of an inherited trait which caused practically all of them to have very large, broad and protruding front teeth which greatly resembled the triangular blade of the adz."
I thought that was cool because I've never heard the name anywhere else, until this morning in the Georgia Straight there was a listing for an event and the contact person's last name was Tesla.
Having never married or had any children, Tesla didn't pass along his family's name. His nephew, Sava Kasanovic (sp) I believe was his closest family relation. But in Prodigal Genius (see previous post), John J. O'Neill explains a bit of the history:
"Tesla's surname dates back more than two and a half centuries. Before that time the family name was Draganic (pronounced as if spelled Drag'-a-nitch). The name Tesla (pronounced as spelled, with equal emphasis on both syllables), in a purely literal sense, is a trade name like Smith, firight or Carpenter. As a common noun it describes a woodworking tool which, in English, is called an adz. This is an axe with a broad cutting blade at right angles to the handle, instead of parallel as in the more familiar form. It is used in cutting large tree trunks into squared timbers. In the Serbo-Croat language, the name of the tool is tesla. There is a tradition in the Draganic family that the members of one branch were given the nickname "Tesla" because of an inherited trait which caused practically all of them to have very large, broad and protruding front teeth which greatly resembled the triangular blade of the adz."
I thought that was cool because I've never heard the name anywhere else, until this morning in the Georgia Straight there was a listing for an event and the contact person's last name was Tesla.
Wireless Power
For years, the idea of sending power wirelessly has intruiged me. Yes, wireless data transmission is an every day thing now. I'm using it right now, and I have to say for someone in pc support, wireless seemed like a hassle when it first came around. The idea of not having a physical plug that you can check on bothered me. WEP keys, signal strength, all was this invisible gamble that only worked half the time. Our office WAN still sucks.
But now, stronger routers and homebrew can-tennas (google them, really good use for a pringles can) have solved the signal issue, unless you're dealing with concrete or fishtanks. So what's the next big chapter in wireless development? Power. Electricity. Tesla, quite early on, realized this was possible and in fact invented flourescent tubes that could be carried around his lab and still be plenty bright. In fact most people don't know that the now ubiquitous neon sign is a direct result of this experimentation.
Furthermore, his whole grand World Wireless Plan was more about broadcasting power than information. Yes, the entire radio and television industry is pretty much in debt to him just for conceiving of it. But he was talking about shooting electricty half way or all the way around the world using the earth itself as a conductor. He also believed he could beam electricity to the moon or mars with little or no loss.
Now, some of that may sound pretty far out, especially for over a hundred years ago. But, I was reminded of the Tragically Hip song the other day that goes "yeah, you are ahead by a century..." because Tesla pretty much was. Here's proof:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/04/01/8403349/index.htm?postversion=2007033007
I'm impressed by the size of their receiver unit (about the size of a quarter I think it said). Also it sounds like they've already cooked up an alliance with the cellphone industry and with everyone carrying around blackberries and smartphones nowadays, the laptop market is the next obvious step.
But now, stronger routers and homebrew can-tennas (google them, really good use for a pringles can) have solved the signal issue, unless you're dealing with concrete or fishtanks. So what's the next big chapter in wireless development? Power. Electricity. Tesla, quite early on, realized this was possible and in fact invented flourescent tubes that could be carried around his lab and still be plenty bright. In fact most people don't know that the now ubiquitous neon sign is a direct result of this experimentation.
Furthermore, his whole grand World Wireless Plan was more about broadcasting power than information. Yes, the entire radio and television industry is pretty much in debt to him just for conceiving of it. But he was talking about shooting electricty half way or all the way around the world using the earth itself as a conductor. He also believed he could beam electricity to the moon or mars with little or no loss.
Now, some of that may sound pretty far out, especially for over a hundred years ago. But, I was reminded of the Tragically Hip song the other day that goes "yeah, you are ahead by a century..." because Tesla pretty much was. Here's proof:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/04/01/8403349/index.htm?postversion=2007033007
I'm impressed by the size of their receiver unit (about the size of a quarter I think it said). Also it sounds like they've already cooked up an alliance with the cellphone industry and with everyone carrying around blackberries and smartphones nowadays, the laptop market is the next obvious step.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors is in the electrical vehicle business. The Tesla Roadster, unlike other attempts at a full EV, is a real machine. Top speed of about 130, but where it really shines is the acceleration.
Apparently, the torque is a lot better due to the engine not needing as much time to reach maximum performance, making it a 0-60 in four seconds, roughly the same class as Porsche and Ferrari. No longer can the big oil companies make the old "golf cart" analogies to electric cars that are much more moon-buggy than mean.
The Tesla Roadster is impressive. Anyone who sees it on the site is bound to be shocked that such a machine would only require regular old AC to run it. In fact, this is more or less a realization of one of Tesla's many visions. I think the only thing that could really put it over the top would be if they could figure out how to charge the thing via wireless induction, like you park in on a special pad in your garage and it starts charging automagically.
Still, as-is, the Roadster takes 5-6 hours to charge or less if you get their special charging station. In terms of mileage, yes, there is still going to be a bit of a hangup about electric cars dying on you in the middle of nowhere. And yes, I expect to see smear ads to that effect by GM and so forth. There is some extra battery pack or something you can get that will get you over the last hump, but maybe in a couple more years the battery packs will be denser and you won't have that problem.
Apparently, the torque is a lot better due to the engine not needing as much time to reach maximum performance, making it a 0-60 in four seconds, roughly the same class as Porsche and Ferrari. No longer can the big oil companies make the old "golf cart" analogies to electric cars that are much more moon-buggy than mean.
The Tesla Roadster is impressive. Anyone who sees it on the site is bound to be shocked that such a machine would only require regular old AC to run it. In fact, this is more or less a realization of one of Tesla's many visions. I think the only thing that could really put it over the top would be if they could figure out how to charge the thing via wireless induction, like you park in on a special pad in your garage and it starts charging automagically.
Still, as-is, the Roadster takes 5-6 hours to charge or less if you get their special charging station. In terms of mileage, yes, there is still going to be a bit of a hangup about electric cars dying on you in the middle of nowhere. And yes, I expect to see smear ads to that effect by GM and so forth. There is some extra battery pack or something you can get that will get you over the last hump, but maybe in a couple more years the battery packs will be denser and you won't have that problem.
John J. O'Neill's Prodigal Genius
John J. O'Neill's Prodigal Genius is a biography of Nikola Tesla. Along with Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney, it is considered the best such material on the man. I found what seems to be the entire text online last week, and I haven't been able to stop reading it since:
http://uncletaz.com/library/scimath/tesla/prodigal.html
Now, I'm thrilled whenever I find such a complete and valuable text available online for free. I think the ability to refer people to it and spread the work around is in the author's best interest, but perhaps not the publishers. So here's the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Prodigal-Genius-Life-Nikola-Tesla/dp/1596057130/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5691331-2818326?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175054104&sr=8-1
In fact I think the idea of buying the book along with Margaret Cheney's is fantastic. I've already got the latter and while it is a fantastic portal into the life of Tesla, O'Neill seems to get that much closer by being one of the rare few who can actually call themselves one of Tesla's friends.
Mark Twain is another of those who have had the pleasure of being able to call Nikola Tesla an actual friend. In fact it was Mark Twain's work that Tesla read as a kid when he was sick with cholera and malaria, that got him through the roughest spot and made him want to come over to America.
http://uncletaz.com/library/scimath/tesla/prodigal.html
Now, I'm thrilled whenever I find such a complete and valuable text available online for free. I think the ability to refer people to it and spread the work around is in the author's best interest, but perhaps not the publishers. So here's the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Prodigal-Genius-Life-Nikola-Tesla/dp/1596057130/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5691331-2818326?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175054104&sr=8-1
In fact I think the idea of buying the book along with Margaret Cheney's is fantastic. I've already got the latter and while it is a fantastic portal into the life of Tesla, O'Neill seems to get that much closer by being one of the rare few who can actually call themselves one of Tesla's friends.
Mark Twain is another of those who have had the pleasure of being able to call Nikola Tesla an actual friend. In fact it was Mark Twain's work that Tesla read as a kid when he was sick with cholera and malaria, that got him through the roughest spot and made him want to come over to America.
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