Alternative power sources

[Bluestem]

Thinking outside the box.
I've been researching alternative power. There were many great inventors out there whose ideas were written off. I wish I could have met a few of them.
Here is short blurb I copied.
"In 1931, under the financing of Pierce-Arrow and George Westinghouse, a 1931 Pierce Arrow was selected to be tested at the factory grounds in Buffalo, N.Y. The standard internal combustion engine was removed and an 80-H.P. 1800 r.p.m electric motor installed to the clutch and transmission. The A.C. motor measured 40 inches long and 30 inches in diameter and the power leads were left standing in the air - no external power source!

At the appointed time, Nikola Tesla arrived from New York City and inspected the Pierce-Arrow automobile. He then went to a local radio store and purchased a handful of tubes (12), wires and assorted resistors. A box measuring 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and 6 inches high was assembled housing the circuit. The box was placed on the front seat and had its wires connected to the air-cooled, brushless motor. Two rods 1/4" in diameter stuck out of the box about 3" in length.

Mr. Tesla got into the driver's seat, pushed the two rods in and stated, "We now have power". He put the car into gear and it moved forward! This vehicle, powered by an A.C. motor, was driven to speeds of 90 m.p.h. and performed better than any internal combustion engine of its day! One week was spent testing the vehicle. Several newspapers in Buffalo reported this test. When asked where the power came from, Tesla replied, "From the ethers all around us". Several people suggested that Tesla was mad and somehow in league with sinister forces of the universe. He became incensed, removed his mysterious box from the vehicle and returned to his laboratory in New York City. His secret died with him!"

Tesla also built a power transmitter on Long Island, NY. You can find pictures of it on the web. The way the story goes, It was ordered to be dismantled when the investors found out Tesla was not going to charge for the power it transmitted.

Henry Moray was also working on systems similar to those of Tesla. He had a antenna type system which would collect the power around us and could power a house. His special capacitor needed to make the system work died with him. Again, there was no money in this type system.

I have a small receiver which will charge a cell phone from the "ether all around us". I wish I could figure out how to power a house with it.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Dang Bluestem thats kinda interesting.

 

[Wewild]

Tesla was the man that... never was taught in my education. We owe him alot.

 

[TREY-L]

Tesla was the man that... never was taught in my education. We owe him alot.

Tesla was the man! Without him we wouldn't have AC current. He also invented the first radio, but Marconi received credit for the discovery. The US Supreme Court ultimately gave credit for the discovery of the radio to Tesla, but history had already been written.

He, in my opinion, was one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. The funny thing is, that if you ask people who he was, very few people even know the name.

 

[john250]

I don't know. Stories like this are so attractive, but I doubt it happened. Power from a few vacuum tubes? Uh....I would love to believe it, but I don't.
A researcher at Purdue claims he was successful with "cold fusion". No one else can replicate his experiment, for some reason. There are big professional consequences for publishing a "rigged" experiment.

 

[Bluestem]

You need to read up on it a little before blindly dismissing it. He was doing interesting things with electricity. The scholars of the day thought the earth was flat and executed those who thought different, Who was right?
Those working well outside the box are often dismissed as just a little off. When in fact there only fault was not having a good marketing man/plan.
I believe Tesla and others were on to something that current science can not explain. Time will tell.

 

[john250]

You need to read up on it a little before blindly dismissing it. He was doing interesting things with electricity. The scholars of the day thought the earth was flat and executed those who thought different, Who was right?
Those working well outside the box are often dismissed as just a little off. When in fact there only fault was not having a good marketing man/plan.
I believe Tesla and others were on to something that current science can not explain. Time will tell.

I don't argue that I may be "blindly dismissing" Tesla's genius.
I don't have the mind which is fascinated with these things. Why in the world would Tesla not write this down, at least? Even if he is a "pure" scientist, not interested in money, I cannot imagine that he would not "Publish" his research. But some folks are just that way.