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Teleforce is a charged particle beam projector that Nikola Tesla claimed to have conceived of after studying the Van de Graaff generator. Tesla described the weapon as being able to be used against ground-based infantry or for anti-aircraft purposes.
"Death ray" misnomer
Teleforce was mentioned publicly in the New York Sun and The New York Times on July 11, 1934. The press called it a "peace ray" or death ray. The idea of a "death ray" was a misunderstanding in regards to Tesla's term when he referred to his invention as a "death beam" so Tesla went on to explain that "this invention of mine does not contemplate the use of any so-called 'death rays.' Rays are not applicable because they cannot be produced in requisite quantities and diminish rapidly in intensity with distance. All the energy of New York City (approximately two million horsepower) transformed into rays and projected twenty miles, could not kill a human being, because, according to a well known law of physics, it would disperse to such an extent as to be ineffectual. My apparatus projects particles ..."
What set Tesla's proposal apart from the usual run of fantasy "death rays" was a unique vacuum chamber with one end open to the atmosphere. Tesla devised a unique vacuum seal by directing a high-velocity air stream at the tip of his gun to maintain "high vacua." The necessary pumping action would be accomplished with a large Tesla turbine.
Components of Teleforce
In total, the components and methods included:
- An apparatus for producing manifestations of energy in free air instead of in a high vacuum as in the past.
- A mechanism for generating tremendous electrical force.
- A means of intensifying and amplifying the force developed by the second mechanism.
- A new method for producing a tremendous electrical repelling force. This would be the projector, or gun, of the invention.
It has been said that the charged particles would self-focus via "gas focusing,". In 1940, Tesla estimated that each station would cost no more than $2,000,000 and could have been constructed in a few months.
Practical application
Tesla attempted to get funding for his device in 1937 when he "sent an elaborate technical paper, including diagrams, to a number of Allied nations including the United States, Canada, England, France, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. Titled "New Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-Dispersive Energy Through Natural Media," the paper provided the first technical description of what is today called a charged particle beam weapon.
The greatest interest for Tesla's defensive device was the Soviet Union and In 1937 Tesla presented a plan to the Amtorg Trading Corporation, an alleged Soviet arms front in New York City. Two years later, in 1939, one stage of the plan was tested in the USSR and Tesla received a check for $25,000.
"Whether Tesla's idea was ever taken seriously is still a mater of conjecture. Most experts today consider his idea infeasible. Though, his death beam bears an uncanny resemblance to the charged-particle beam weapon developed by both the United States and the Soviet Union during the cold war."
Tesla claimed to have worked on plans for a directed-energy weapon from the early 1900s until his death. In 1937, at a luncheon in his honor concerning the death ray, Tesla stated, "But it is not an experiment... I have built, demonstrated and used it. Only a little time will pass before I can give it to the world."
References
- "Tesla's Ray". Time. 23 July 1934.
- ^ Seifer, Marc. "Tesla's "Death Ray" Machine". bibliotecapleyades.net. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- "Beam to Kill Army at 200 Miles, Tesla's Claim on 78th Birthday". New York Times. 11 July 1934.
- "'Death Ray' for Planes". New York Times. 22 September 1940.
- "Beam to Kill Army at 200 Miles, Tesla's Claim On 78th Birthday". New York Herald Tribune. July 11, 1934. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "Tesla, At 78, Bares New 'Death-Beam'. Invention Powerful Enough to Destroy 10,000 Planes 250 Miles Away, He Asserts. Defensive Weapon Only. Scientist, in Interview, Tells of Apparatus That He Says Will Kill Without Trace". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
Nikola Tesla, father of modern methods of generation and distribution of electrical energy, who was 78 years old yesterday, announced a new invention, or inventions, which he said, he considered the most important of the 700 made by him so far.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "Tesla, at 78, Bares New 'Death-Beam'". New York Times. 11 July 1934.
- "Tesla Invents Peace Ray". New York Sun. 10 July 1934.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AmtEWwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "A Weapon to End War". Tesla - Master of Lightning. PBS.
By 1937 it was clear that war would soon break out in Europe. Frustrated in his attempts to generate interest and financing for his "peace beam," he sent an elaborate technical paper, including diagrams, to a number of Allied nations including the United States, Canada, England, France, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. Titled "New Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-Dispersive Energy Through Natural Media," the paper provided the first technical description of what is today called a charged particle beam weapon.Of all the countries to receive Tesla's proposal, the greatest interest came from the Soviet Union. In 1937 Tesla presented a plan to the Amtorg Trading Corporation, an alleged Soviet arms front in New York City. Two years later, in 1939, one stage of the plan was tested in the USSR and Tesla received a check for $25,000.
- "Death-Ray Machine Described". New York Sun. 11 July 1934.
- "United States Patent Office Nikola Tesla,of New York, N.Y. VALVULAR CONDUIT Specification of Letters Patent Patented Feb. 3, 1920 Numbered 1.329.559 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Patent No. 1,329,559
- "TESLA, AT 78, BARES NEW 'DEATH-BEAM'". New York Times. 1934. Retrieved 29 June 2012. same article at rastko.rs
External links
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