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NIKOLATESLATheadvancesdescribedaretheresultofmyresearchcarriedonformanyyearswiththechiefobjectoftransmittingelectricalenergytogreatdistances.Thefirstimportantpracticalrealizationoftheseeffortswasthealternatingcurrentpowersystemnowinuniversaluse.Ithenturnedmyattentiontowirelesstransmissionandwasfortunateenoughtoachievesimilarsuccessinthisfruitfulfield,mydiscoveriesandinventionsbeingemployedthroughouttheworld.Inthecourseofthiswork,Imasteredthetechniqueofhighpotentialssufficientlyforenablingmetoconstructandoperate,in1899,awirelesstransmitterdevelopinguptotwentymillionvolts.SometimebeforeIcontemplatedthepossibilityoftransmittingsuchhightensioncurrentsoveranarrowbeamofradiantenergyionizingtheairandrenderingit,inmeasure,conductive.Afterpreliminarylaboratoryexperiments,Imadetestsonalargescalewiththetransmitterreferredtoandabeamofultra-violetraysofgreatenergyinanattempttoconductthecurrenttothehighrarefiedstrataoftheairandthuscreateanauroralsuchasmightbeutilizedforillumination,especiallyofoceansatnight.Ifoundthattherewassomevirtueintheprincipalbuttheresultsdidnotjustifythehopeofimportantpracticalapplicationsalthough,someyearslater,severalinventorsclaimedtohaveproducedadeathrayinthismanner.Whilethepublishedreportstothiseffectwereentirelyunfounded,Ibelievethatwiththenewtransmittertobebuilt,thisandmanyotherwonderswillbeachieved.Muchtimewasdevotedbymetothetransmissionofradiantenergy,invariousforms,byreflectorsandIperfectedmeansforincreasingenormouslytheintensityoftheeffects,butwasbaffledinallmyeffortstomateriallyreducedispersionandbecamefullyconvincedthatthishandicapcouldonlybeovercomebyconveyingthepowerthroughthemediumofsmallparticlesprojected,atprodigiousvelocity,fromthetransmitter.Electro-staticrepulsionwastheonlymeanstothisendandapparatusofstupendousforcewouldhavetobedeveloped,butgrantedthatsufficientspeedandenergycouldberealizedwithasinglerowofminutebodiesthentherewouldbenodispersionwhateverevenatgreatdistance.Sincethecrosssectionofthecarriersmightbereducedtoalmostmicroscopicdimensionsanimmenseconcentrationofenergy,irrespectiveofdistance,couldbeattained.WhenIundertooktocarryoutthisplaninpractice,thedifficultiesseemedinsurmountable.Inthefirstplace,aclosedvacuumtubecouldnotbeemployedasnowindowcouldwithstandtheforceoftheimpact.Thismadeitabsolutelynecessarytoprojecttheparticlesinfreeairwhichmeantthateachcouldholdonlyaninsignificantcharge.Thus,nomatterhowhighthepotentialoftheterminal,theforceofrepulsionwouldbenecessarilytoosmallforthepurposecontemplated....Butbytheapplicationofmydiscoveriesandinventionsitispossibletoincreasetheforceofrepulsionmorethanamilliontimesandwhatwasheretoforeimpossible,isrenderedeasyofaccomplishment.Thesuccessfulcarryingoutoftheplaninvolvesanumberofmoreorlessimportantimprovementsbuttheprincipalamongtheseincludethefollowing:1.Anewformofhighvacuumtubeopentotheatmosphere.2.Provisionsforimpartingtoaminuteparticleanextremelyhighcharge.3.Anewterminalofrelativelysmalldimensionsandenormouspotential.4.Anelectro-staticgeneratoronanewprincipleandofverygreatpower.FIG.1ILLUSTRATINGOPENVACUUMTUBEThesedevicesandmethodsofoperationwillbeexplainedbyreferencetotheattacheddrawingsinwhichFig.1andFig.2representformsofthenewopentube.InFig.1,thedeviceconsistsofaninnercylindricalconduit1,cementedtoametallicsocket3,andanouterconduit2,whichistightlyscrewedtothesocketbyanut4,andhasontheopensideataperwithacylindricalend9,ofthesameinsidediameterasconduit1.Thesocket3,isboredouttoprovidealargechamberaroundtheinnerconduitandcarriesapipe7,throughwhichthoroughlydesiccatedairorothergasundersuitablepressureissupplied.Theopenendoftheinnerandthetaperingpartoftheouterconduitaregroundtoformanexpandingnozzle8,throughwhichtheairescapesintotheatmospheretherebycreatingahighvacuumintheinnerconduit.Thesocket3hasasmallcentralholeandisprovidedwithaninsideextension5,andathreadedoutsideprojection6,thelatterservingforconnectiontoacontainersupplyingautomaticallysuitableparticlesormaterialforsamewhiletheformerfulfillthepurposeofchargingthemastheyemergefromthehole.Theconduit1and2,maybemadeoffusedquartz,pyrexglassorotherrefractorymaterialanditisobviouslydesirablethatallthepartsoftheapparatushavesmallandnearlyequalcoefficientsofthermalexpansionespeciallywhentheworkingmedium,whichmightalsobesuperheatedsteam,isatanelevatedtemperature.ItwillbeobservedthatinthistubeIdoawaywiththesolidwallorwindowindispensableinalltypesheretoforeemployed,producingthehighvacuumrequiredandpreventingtheinrushoftheairbyagaseousjetofhighvelocity.Evidently,tosecurethisresult,thedynamicpressureofthejetmustbeatleastequaltotheexternalstaticpressure.Expressedinsymbols:V2w/2g=PAssumingequality:V=√2gP/winwhichequationVisthespeedofthejetatitsentrancetochannel8inmeters,gtheaccelerationofgravitylikewiseinmeters,Ptheexternalpressureinkilogramspersquaremeterandwthenormalweightoftheairinkilogramspercubicmeter.Nowg=9.81metersP=10332.9kilogramsw=1.2929kilogramsThesevaluesgiveV=396metersFIG.2SHOWINGAMODIFIEDFORMOFOPENVACUUMTUBESomeallowanceshouldbemadeforthefrictionallossinthenozzleandtheoutle