Pepes Tesla Pages

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TESLA'S NEW DISCOVERY *

Capacity of Electrical Conductors is Varia le! Not Constant" and #or$ulas Will %a&e to 'e Re(ritten ) Capacity Varies Wit* A solute %ei+*t A o&e Sea Le&el" Relati&e %ei+*t #ro$ Eart* and Distance #ro$ t*e Sun! Ni,ola Tesla announced yesterday anot*er ne( disco&ery in electricity! T*is ti$e it is a ne( la( and y reason of it" -r! Tesla asserts" a lar+e part of tec*nical literature (ill *a&e to e re(ritten! E&er since anyt*in+ *as een ,no(n a out electricity" scientific $en *a&e ta,en for +ranted t*at t*e capacity of an electrical conductor is constant! W*en Tesla (as e.peri$entin+ in Colorado *e found out t*at t*is capacity is not constant ) ut &aria le! T*en *e deter$ined to find out t*e la( +o&ernin+ t*is p*eno$enon! %e did so" and all" t*is *e e.plained to The Sun yesterday! %ere is (*at *e said/ 0Since $any years scientific $en en+a+ed in t*e study of p*ysics and electrical researc* *a&e ta,en it for +ranted t*at certain 1uantities" enterin+ continuously in t*eir esti$ates and calculations" are fi.ed and unaltera le! T*e e.act deter$ination of t*ese 1uantities ein+ of particular i$portance in electrical &i rations" (*ic* are en+rossin+ $ore and $ore t*e attention of e.peri$enters all o&er t*e (orld" it see$s to e i$portant to ac1uaint ot*ers (it* so$e of $y o ser&ations" (*ic* *a&e finally led $e to t*e results no( attractin+ uni&ersal attention! T*ese o ser&ations" (it* (*ic* I *a&e lon+ een fa$iliar" s*o( t*at so$e of t*e 1uantities referred to are &aria le and t*at" o(in+ to t*is" a lar+e portion of t*e tec*nical literature is defecti&e! I s*all endea&or to con&ey t*e ,no(led+e of t*e facts I *a&e disco&ered in plain lan+ua+e" de&oid as $uc* as possi le of tec*nicalities! 0It is (ell ,no(n t*at an electric circuit co$pacts itself li,e a sprin+ (it* a (ei+*t attac*ed to it! Suc* a sprin+ &i rates at a definite rate" (*ic* is deter$ined y t(o 1uantities" t*e plia ility of t*e sprin+ and t*e $ass of t*e (ei+*t! Si$ilarly an electric circuit &i rates" and its &i ration" too2 is dependent on t(o 1uantities" desi+nated as electrostatic capacity and inductance! T*e capacity of t*e electric circuit corresponds to t*e plia ility of t*e sprin+ and t*e inductance to t*e $ass of t*e (ei+*t! 0E.actly as $ec*anics and en+ineers *a&e ta,en it for +ranted t*at t*e plia ility of t*e sprin+ re$ains t*e sa$e" no $atter *o( it e placed or used" so electricians and p*ysicists *a&e assu$ed t*at t*e electrostatic capacity of a conductin+ ody" say of a $etallic sp*ere" (*ic* is fre1uently used in e.peri$ents" re$ains a fi.ed and unaltera le 1uantity" and $any scientific results of t*e +reatest i$portance are dependent on t*is assu$ption! No(" I *a&e disco&ered t*at t*is capacity is not fi.ed and unaltera le at all! On t*e contrary" it is suscepti le to +reat c*an+es" so t*at under certain conditions it $ay a$ount to $any ti$es its t*eoretical &alue" or $ay e&entually e s$aller! Inas$uc* as e&ery electrical conductor" esides possessin+ an inductance" *as also a certain a$ount of capacity" o(in+ to t*e &ariations of t*e latter" t*e inductance" too" is see$in+ly $odified y t*e sa$e causes t*at tend to $odify t*e capacity! T*ese facts I disco&ered so$e ti$e efore I +a&e a tec*nical description of $y syste$ of ener+y trans$ission and tele+rap*y (it*out (ires" (*ic*" I elie&e" eca$e first ,no(n t*rou+* $y 'el+ian and 'ritis* patents! 0In t*is syste$" I t*en e.plained" t*at" in esti$atin+ t*e (a&e)len+t* of t*e electrical &i ration in t*e trans$ittin+ and recei&in+ circuits" due re+ard $ust e *ad to t*e &elocity (it* (*ic* t*e &i ration is propa+ated t*rou+* eac* of t*e circuits" t*is &elocity ein+ +i&en y t*e product of t*e (a&e)len+t* and t*e nu$ er of &i rations per second! T*e rate of &i ration ein+" *o(e&er" as efore stated" dependent on t*e capacity and inductance in eac* case" I o tained discordant &alues! Continuin+ t*e in&esti+ation of t*is astonis*in+ p*eno$enon I o ser&ed t*at t*e capacity &aried (it* t*e ele&ation of t*e conductin+ surface a o&e t*e +round" and I soon ascertained t*e la( of t*is &ariation! T*e capacity increased as t*e conductin+ surface (as ele&ated" in open space" fro$ one)*alf to t*ree)1uarters of 3 per cent per foot of ele&ation! In uildin+s" *o(e&er" or near lar+e structures" t*is increase often a$ounted to 45 per cent per foot of ele&ation" and t*is alone (ill s*o( to (*at e.tent $any of t*e scientific e.peri$ents recorded in tec*nical literature are erroneous! In deter$inin+ t*e len+t* of t*e coils or conductors suc* as I e$ploy in $y syste$ of (ireless tele+rap*y" for instance" t*e rule (*ic* I *a&e +i&en is" in &ie( of t*e a o&e" i$portant to o ser&e! 0#ar $ore interestin+" *o(e&er" for $en of science is t*e fact I o ser&ed later" t*at t*e capacity under+oes an annual &ariation (it* a $a.i$u$ in su$$er" and a $ini$u$ in (inter! In Colorado" (*ere I continued (it* i$pro&ed $et*ods of in&esti+ations e+un in Ne( Yor," and (*ere I found t*e rate of increase sli+*tly +reater" I furt*er$ore o ser&ed t*at t*ere (as a diurnal &ariation (it* a $a.i$u$ durin+ t*e ni+*t! #urt*er" I found t*at sunli+*t causes a sli+*t increase in capacity! T*e $oon also produces an effect" ut I do not attri ute
*

New York Sun Jan. 30, 1901 3

Pepes Tesla Pages

http://www.tesla.hu/

it to its li+*t! 0T*e i$portance of t*ese o ser&ations (ill e etter appreciated (*en it is stated t*at o(in+ to t*ese c*an+es of a 1uantity supposed to e constant an electrical circuit does not &i rate at a unifor$ rate" ut its rate is $odified in accordance (it* t*e $odifications of t*e capacity! T*us a circuit &i rates a little slo(er at an ele&ation t*an (*en at a lo(er le&el! An oscillatin+ syste$" as used in tele+rap*y (it*out (ires" &i rates a little 1uic,er (*en t*e s*ip +ets into t*e *ar or t*an (*en on open sea! Suc* a circuit oscillates 1uic,er in t*e (inter t*an in t*e su$$er" t*ou+* it e at t*e sa$e te$perature" and a trifle 1uic,er at ni+*t t*an in dayti$e" particularly if t*e sun is s*inin+! 0Ta,in+ to+et*er t*e results of $y in&esti+ations I find t*at t*is &ariation of t*e capacity and conse1uently of t*e &i ration period is e&idently dependent" first" on t*e a solute *ei+*t a o&e sea le&el" t*ou+* in a s$aller de+ree2 second" on t*e relati&e *ei+*t of t*e conductin+ surface or capacity (it* respect to t*e odies surroundin+ it2 t*ird" on t*e distance of t*e eart* fro$ t*e sun" and fourt*" on t*e relati&e c*an+e of t*e circuit (it* respect to t*e sun" caused y t*e diurnal rotation of t*e eart*! T*ese facts $ay e of particular interest to $eteorolo+ists and astrono$ers" inas$uc* as practical $et*ods of in1uiry $ay result fro$ t*ese o ser&ations" (*ic* $ay e useful in t*eir respecti&e fields! It is pro a le t*at (e s*all perfect instru$ents for indicatin+ t*e altitude of a place y $eans of a circuit" properly constructed and arran+ed" and I *a&e t*ou+*t of a nu$ er of ot*er uses to (*ic* t*is principle $ay e put! 0It (as in t*e course of in&esti+ations of t*is ,ind in Colorado t*at I first noted certain &ariations in electrical syste$s arran+ed in peculiar (ays! T*ese &ariations I first disco&ered y calculatin+ o&er t*e results I *ad pre&iously noted" and it (as only su se1uently t*at I actually percei&ed t*e$! It (ill t*us e clear t*at so$e (*o *a&e &entured to attri ute t*e p*eno$ena I *a&e o ser&ed to ordinary at$osp*eric distur ances *a&e $ade a *asty conclusion!0

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