Nikola Tesla - Free-Energy Devices

HIGH FREQUENCY AND HIGH POTENTIAL CURREN1S. 181the inside surface of the bulb as one coatingof a condenser, theair and other objects surrounding the bulb forming the othercoating. When the alternations are very low there is no doubtthat a considerable portion of the energyisgiven off by the electrification,of the surrounding air.In order to study this subject better, I carried on some experimentswith excessively high potentials and low frequencies. Ithen observed that when the hand isapproached to the bulb,the filament being connected with one terminal of the coil, apowerful vibration is felt, being due to the attraction and repulsionof the molecules of the air which are electrified by inductionthrough the glass. In some cases when the action is veryintense I have been able to hear a sound, which must be due tothe same cause.When the alternations are low, one is agt to get an excessivelyFIG. 119. FIG. 120.powerful shock from the bulb. In general, when one attachesbulbs or objects of some size to the terminals of the coil, oneshould look out for the rise of potential, for itmay happen thatby merely connecting a bulb or plate to the terminal, the potentialmay rise to many times its original value. When lamps areattached to the terminals, as illustrated in Fig. 119, then thecapacity of the bulbs should be such as to give the maximumrise of potential under the existingconditions. In this mannerone may obtain the required potential with fewer turns ofwire.The life of such lamps as described above depends, of course,largely on the degree of exhaustion, but to some extent also onthe shape of the block of refractory material. Theoretically it