SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM NIKOLA TESLA

October 18 20, 2006, Belgrade, SASA, Serbia

Free Energy for all: Are we Closer to Teslas Dream?
J asmina Vujic
1
Abstract Many projections envision doubling of energy use and
tripling of electricity demand within a half century. Overwhelming
dependence on fossil fuel with increasing emissions of greenhouse
gases will eventually lead to the dramatic change from fossil fuel-
based energy infrastructure to more reliable, abundant,
affordable, clean, and secure source of energy for entire world. It is
interesting to compare how Nikola Tesla envisioned to solve energy
problems of the world more than one hundred years ago, and what
are the most promising options that we consider today.
Keywords Free Energy, Nikola Tesla Envisioned.
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the late 19
th
century, our society and the world have
become totally dependent on electrical energy. The needs of
billions of people, particularly in developing countries, require
dramatic increases in affordable and clean energy supply, which
is currently dominated by fossil fuel-based energy sources. We
witness today global competition for natural resources
(particularly oil and natural gas) that leads to instability, wars
and lack of energy security in many regions in the World. It is
interesting to point out that the U.S. National Academy of
Engineering (NAE) chose Electrification as the greatest
engineering achievements of the twentieth century [15]:
1. Electrification, 2. Automobiles, 3. Airplanes, 4. Waters
supply and distribution, 5. Electronics, 6. Radio and Television,
7. Agricultural Mechanization, 8. Computers, 9. Telephone, 10.
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, 11. Highways, 12.
Spacecraft 13. Internet, 14. Imaging, 15. Household
Appliances, 16. Health Technologies, 17. Petrochemical
Technologies, 18. Laser and Fiber Optics, 19. Nuclear
Technology, 20. High-Performance Materials.
The list was announced during the National Engineering
Week by astronaut/engineer Neil Armstrong on behalf of NAE
at a National Press Club luncheon in February, 2000. In his
presentation Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, said
jokingly that his astronomic feat did not even rank among the
top 10 engineering achievements.

-----------
1
J asmina Vujic Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of
California at Berkeley, CA, USA vujic@nuc.berkeley.edu
In fact, space exploration came 12th, right before the Internet
and right after highways.
Widespread electrification was chosen based on the key
criterion of improving the quality of life for the most people
and the conclusion that nothing else on the list would have been
possible without the widespread electrification! The explanation
that appears on the NAE Web presentation still does not give
full credit to Nikola Tesla for his contributions to the
widespread electrification of the World:
"At the start of the 20th Century, electric power was young but
growing rapidly. Thomas Edison's work had led to the first
commercial power plant for incandescent lighting and power in
1882. However, Edison's system used direct current (DC),
which could only be profitably distributed in a limited area
around the generating station. The work of engineers such as
Nikola Tesla and Charles Steinmetz led to the successful
commercialization of alternating current (AC), which enabled
transmission of high-voltage power over large distances."
If we were to predict the greatest engineering achievements
of the 21st Century, it should be SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY
that must rely on SUSTAINABLE ENERGY.

The definition of sustainable energy is provided in the MIT
study Sustainable Energy - Choosing Among Options [21]:
(Sustainable energy is) A living harmony between the
equitable availability of energy services to all people and the
preservation of the earth for future generations.
Regarding the preservation of the earth for future
generations, there are serious concerns about climate change
and global warming. According to the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) [22], climate warming over the last
50 years is likely due to increased concentrations of greenhouse
gases like carbon dioxide, which is generated almost entirely by
fossil fuels like coal and oil burned for energy. This study
compared the observed changes in average temperature since
1850, with two models one including the climate changes due
natural causes and the second model including climate changes
due to natural causes and human generated greenhouse gases
(Fig. 1).
Ratified by more than 140 nations accounting for 62% of
developed countries' greenhouse gas emissions, the Kyoto
Protocol has now entered into force. It requires the 34
industrialized countries to reduce emissions by an average of
5.2% by 2012. Unfortunately, the USA has not signed the Kyoto
Protocol. Figure 2 presents comparison of major sources for
electricity production regarding the emission of CO
2
-equivalent
per kWh. The biggest contributors are coal and gas, while
nuclear energy is basically emission-free.

a) b)
Figure 1. (a) Model includes climate changes due to natural
causes (solar variations, volcanoes, etc.), (b) Model includes
climate changes due to natural causes and human generated
greenhouse gases.


Figure 2. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Electricity Production

This fact was also recognized by major environmental guru,
Patrick Moore, Greenpeace founder and environmental activist.
He testified on April 28, 2005 before the U.S. House of
Representatives Government Reform Energy and Resources
Subcommittee, that: Nuclear energy is the only non-
greenhouse-gas-emitting source that can effectively replace
fossil fuels and satisfy global demands. He also warned his
fellow environmentalists at the UN Climate Change Conference
(Montreal, Dec 5, 2005), that Energy decisions must be based
more on science and less on politics and emotion. There is a
great deal of scientific evidence showing nuclear power to be
environmentally sound and safe choice.
In this paper we compare how Nikola Tesla envisioned to
solve energy problems of the world more than one hundred
years ago, and what are the most promising options that we
consider today.
II. NIKOLA TESLA, HIS INVENTIONS AND HIS VISIONS
Nikola Tesla was a visionary genius whose sometimes
radical ideas established the basis for everything that now
powers our world with energy and information. Without his
inventions the widespread electrification that touched the
majority of people on the planet would not have been possible.
In writings about Tesla, one often finds statements such as that
he invented the twentieth century or the twenty first
century, or even that he invented the future.
Dr. J ames Corum, one of the scientists continuing Teslas
work, summarizes poetically Teslas contributions: The
electrical power flowing from our great generators, illuminating
our vast cities, dispelling the inky blackness of the night, and the
telecommunications cohesively linking the homes and
businesses of our civilization, across continents, around the
globe and through the distant reaches of space - these are all
monuments testifying to the successful life of this little known,
but uniquely admirable, scientist, inventor, engineer, futurist,
and citizen of the world. [1]
Tesla was also a visionary thinker, who conceived many
ideas, some controversial, which are related to several of today's
mainstream technologies ranging from wireless communication
systems, radar, television broadcasting, robotics, computers,
faxes, Internet, and even the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative.
However, he is still not recognized for many of his
fundamental inventions. Such is the case of radio for which even
the U.S. Supreme Court in 1943 determined Tesla as inventor.
Tesla is one of only two Americans to have a unit of electrical
measurement named in his honor.
The Discovery of the Rotating Magnetic Field. Tesla's
discovery of the rotating magnetic field produced by the
interactions of two and three phase alternating currents in a
motor winding was one of his most significant achievements,
and formed the basis of his induction motor and polyphase
system for the generation and transmission of electricity. Thanks
to this invention, large amounts of electrical power could be
generated and transmitted efficiently over long distances. To
this day, the three-phase form of Tesla's polyphase system is
used for the generation and transmission of electricity. [3,4,9]
The Discovery of the Tesla Coil and Transformer. His
experiments with high frequency and high potential alternating
currents resulted in the development of the Tesla coil which is
still used as a major component in numerous electronic devices.
As part of other experiments Tesla also developed the
precursors of modern neon and florescent lights. [3,9,10]
War of the Currents. In May 1885, George Westinghouse,
head of the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh,
bought the patent rights to Tesla's polyphase system of
alternating-current (AC) dynamos, transformers, and motors.
There was a power struggle between Edison's direct-current
systems and the Tesla-Westinghouse alternating-current
approach. Edison's role in the electrical power industry was
minimal. It was Nikola Tesla's discovery of the rotating
magnetic field principle in 1882 and patented in 1888 that gave
us our modern-day system of electrical power distribution.
[2,5,7,11]
Niagara Falls. In October 1893 the Niagara Falls
Commission awarded Westinghouse a contract to build the
power plant at the Niagara Falls, using the generators that Tesla
has designed. Teslas polyphase system was used throughout the
project. The first three Niagara AC generators went on line
November 16, 1896. The evolution of electric power, from the
discovery of Faradey in 1831 to the initial great installation of
the Tesla polyphase system in 1896, is undoubtedly the most
tremendous event in all engineering history (Charles E. Scott,
1943) [7]
The Great Radio Controversy. Marconi was the first to send
a message across the ocean and, and thus, he is partly
responsible for 'developing' radio...but he did NOT invent it.
Tesla did. On J une 21, 1943, the United States Supreme Court
made a landmark decision that essentially settled the long
dispute between Marconi and Tesla. The court's decision, Case
No. 369, identified as "Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company
of America vs. United States," rendered invalid Marconi's basic
patent No. 763,772 dated J une 28, 1904. Tesla's patent No.
645,576 of March 20, 1900, and its subdivision patent for
apparatus No. 649,621 dated May 15, 1900, had priority. [2,5,7]
Remote Control and Automation. In 1898, at the first
Electrical Exhibition in Madison Square Garden, Tesla
demonstrated the worlds first radio-controlled robot boat. Tesla
applied his receivers and transmitters in remote ship control, and
he was granted a patent in 1898 for The Method of and
Apparatus for Controlling Mechanism of Moving Vessels or
Vehicles- Teslas patent No. 613,809 of November 8, 1898.
This invention made Tesla an originator of remote control.
Unfortunately, as with many of Teslas inventions, this
invention was so far ahead of its time that those who observed it
could not imagine its practical applications.[2,5,7,8]

2.1.Teslas visionary ideas [19]

The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is
mine. TESLA
In his visionary ideas Tesla was so far ahead of his time,
so much a visionary, that his contemporary scientists really
didn't understand what he was doing. We witness today
realization of some of Teslas visionary ideas, that he
envisioned at the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century.
This created a great difficulty for Tesla and his ability to attract
investors who would fund his research work. Only in few cases
(such as collaboration with Westinghouse) he was able to fully
complete his visions. In 1900, Tesla began construction on Long
Island of a wireless world broadcasting tower (Wardenclyffe
Tower), with $150,000 capital from the American financier J .
Pierpont Morgan. Tesla was planning to provide worldwide
communication with ability to send pictures, messages, weather
warnings, and stock reports. The project was abandoned because
of a financial panic, and Morgan's withdrawal of support.
Among many Teslas visionary ideas, we will mention only few
that came to realization only recently, or are still waiting to be
utilized: (a) Global wireless system for transmission of signals
and energy, (b) Remote control foundations, (c) Vertical takeoff
aircraft (VTOL), (d) Use of geothermal energy, and (e) Vision
of electrical future. [12]
(a) Vision of Wireless Communication (Magnifying Transmitter
patented 1914). In early 1990s Tesla wrote a telephone
subscriber here may call up and talk to any other subscriber on
the Globe. An inexpensive receiver, no bigger than a watch,
will enable him to listen anywhere, on land or sea, to a speech
delivered, or music played in some other place, however
distant. Sounds familiar? It took a better part of the 20th
century for this Tesla vision to be realized. He had three goals:
to develop a transmitter of great power, to perfect means for
individualizing and isolating the energy transmitted (e.g.,
signals), to establish the laws of propagation of currents through
the earth and the atmosphere. [13, 14]
He also talked about using the same system to transmit energy,
making it a free resource.
(b) Remote control foundations (Patented in 1898). Tesla laid
the foundation of remote control systems (what he called
teleautomation) in 1898 at the first Electrical Exhibition in
Madison Square Garden. He demonstrated how the ships and
mechanical gadgets could be controlled remotely using a
wireless principle. In Teslas own words we can recognize the
basis for what we call today Computers and even one step
further Artificial Intelligence: [it will be able to follow a
course laid out or obey commands given far in advance, it
will be capable between what it ought and what it ought not to
do and of recording impressions which will definitely affect
its subsequent actions.
(c) Vertical takeoff aircraft -VTOL (Patented in 1928). The
initial idea appears in 1921. He envisioned a vertical take-off
and landing aircraft, with combined helicopter and airplane
features. Although he gave a thrust analysis of VTOL, it was
never built by Tesla. However, VTOLs are in military use today
(V-22 Osprey, for example). Tesla also envisioned a horseshoe-
shaped VTOL with a horizontally placed turbine, which rides on
a thin layer of air. Tesla never built it, but similarly designed
hovercraft is commercially available today. [12]
(d) Use of geothermal power. In 1931 Tesla discussed the
design of the power plants based on the geothermal energy. The
geothermal power today has a great role as one of the renewable
energy sources.
(e) Vision of electrical future. Teslas prediction include: The
widespread use of hydro-electric power generation and of AC
for transmission; electrical control of atmospheric moisture (not
yet accomplished); use in appliances (refrigeration, etc.),
lighting, and propulsion; use in agricultural domain: pest
control, elimination of microbes, ; collision-preventing
instruments; In a time not too distant it will be possible to flash
any image formed in thought on a screen and render it visible at
any place desired; a voice-operated typewriter; picture/text
transmission (fax); electric guns and teleautomatic aerial
torpedoes (cruise missile?). [12]

2.2. Teslas views on energy and todays needs of sustainable
society
In his papers [20] on The Problem of Increasing Human
Energy (With Special Reference to the Harnessing of the Suns
Energy) that originally appeared in Century Illustrated Monthly
Magazine in J une 1900, on The Transmission of Electric
Energy without Wires, that originally appeared in The Electric
World and Engineer, in March 5, 1904, and on The Wonder
World to be Created by Electricity, that originally appeared in
Manufacturings Record in September 9, 1915, Tesla presented
his visions of sustainable society with affordable energy to be
transmitted wirelessly through the earth or air.
The Sun is the past, the Earth is the present, the Moon is
the future. From and incandescent mass we have originated and
into frozen mass we shell turn. Amazingly, Tesla pinpoints
more than 100 years ago the most important issues of concern to
the human race even today: the need for limitless energy, clean
water and healthy food.
This precious fluid, which daily infuses new life into us, is
likewise the chief vehicle through which disease and death enter
our bodies. It should be made a rigid rule which might be
enforced by law to boil or to sterilize otherwise the drinking
water in every household and public space. Millions of
individuals die yearly for want of food. Even in our
enlightened communities, and not withstanding the many
charitable effort, this is still, in all probability, the chief evil.
In this manner many compounds of nitrogen may be
manufactured all over the world, at a small cost, and in any
desired amount, and by means of these compounds the soul can
be fertilized and its productiveness indefinitely increased. An
abundance of cheap and healthful food, not artificial, but such
as we are accustomed to, may thus be obtained
While talking about the power of the future, Tesla clearly
analyses various energy sources know at that time, and points
out their advantages and disadvantages:
We have at our disposal three main sources of life-sustaining
energy fuel, water-power and the heat from the sun.
Engineers often speak of harnessing the tides, but the
discouraging truth is that the tidewater over one acre of ground
will, on the average, develop only one horse-power. Thousands
of mechanics and inventors have spent their best efforts in
trying to perfect wave motion, not realizing that the power so
obtained could never compete with that derived from other
sources. The force of wind offers much better chances and it is
valuable in special instances, but is by far inadequate.
Moreover, the tides, waves and winds furnish only periodic and
often uncertain power and necessitate the employment of large
and expensive storage plants If we use fuel (i.e., coal, oil gas -
JV) to get our power, we are living on our own capital and
exhausting it rapidly. This method is barbarous and wantonly
wasteful, and will have to be stopped in the interest of coming
generations.
The heat of the suns rays represents an immense amount of
energy vastly in excess of water-power. The earth receives an
equivalent of 83 foot-pounds per second for each square foot on
which rays fall perpendicularly. From simple geometric rules
applying to a spherical body it follows that the mean rate per
square foot of the earths surface is one-quarter of that, or
203/4 food-pounds. This is to say over one million horse-power
per square mile, or 250 times the water-power for the same
area. But that is only true in theory; the practical facts put this
in a different aspect. For instance, considering United States,
and taking into account the mean latitude, the daily variations,
the diurnal changes, the seasonal variations and casual
changes, this power of the suns rays reduces to about one-
tenth, or 100,000 horse-power per square mile, of which we
might be able to recover in high speed low-pressure turbines
10,000 horse-power.
To do this would mean the installment of apparatus and
storage plants so large and expensive that such a project is
beyond the pale of practical. The inevitable conclusion is that
the water-power is by far our most valuable resource. On this
the humanity must build its hopes for the future. With its full
development and a perfect system of wireless transmission of
energy to any distance man will be able to solve all the
problems of material existence. Distance, which is the chief
impediment to human progress, will be completely annihilated
in thought, word and action. Humanity will be united, wars will
be impossible and peace will reign supreme.

Tesla considered affordable and abundant energy as the base
of peaceful co-existence of human race. Recent definition of
sustainable energy specifies [21]: A living harmony between
the equitable availability of energy services to all people and the
preservation of the earth for future generations.
Lets see how todays comparison of energy sources looks
like (TABLE 1). It is interesting to point out that Teslas
analysis (excluding the nuclear power that did not exist at that
time) matches the brief analysis presented in this table. Tesla
believed that the hydro power is the most valuable and
affordable source and it is still the case today.
Figure 3 shows another way of comparing the real cost of
various power sources if their capacity factors are taken into
account. With very small capacity factors, cost per kWe of solar
and wind power is several thousand dollar higher that that of
coal and nuclear. An installed kW of wind power is not the same
as an installed kW of base load coal and nuclear power, which
run many more hours regardless of weather. So, the cost per
kWe must be adjusted for average capacity factor. The red bar
in Figure 3 represents the Effective Capacity, adjusted for
downtime. [24]
TABLE I PROS AND CONS IN THE CURRENT U.S. ENERGY
SUPPLY

Source

% of U.S.
Energy
Supply
Pros

Cons

Fossil Fuels
Oil
Natural Gas
Coal
71
3
16
52
Inexpensive to
construct (gas)
and operate
Domestically
available (coal)
Flexible
Significant
emissions
Insecure supply
(oil, gas)
Price volatility
(oil, gas)
Nuclear 20 Essentially non-
emitting
Inexpensive to
operate
Domestically
available
Radioactive
waste
Expensive to
construct
Safety and
proliferation
concerns
Hydropower 7

Essentially non-
emitting
Inexpensive to
operate
Domestically
available

Environmental
concerns
Few
opportunities
for domestic
expansion


Biomass


<1

Renewable
Domestically
available

Significant
emissions
Large land
requirements


Other
Renewables
(e.g. solar,
wind)


<1

Essentially non-
emitting
Renewable
Domestically
available
Inexpensive to
operate
Expensive to
construct
Large land
requirements
Intermittent

80% 90% 30% 90% 75% 30% 43% 60% 25% 24%
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$6,000
$7,000
$8,000
Coal-
IGCC
Nucl ear Gas Geo Biomass Wind Hydro Fuel cells Solar-
thermal
PV
$

p
e
r

K
W
e
$/KWe Eff. $/KWe Cap Factor
$12,000
$25,000

Figure 3. The Real Cost of Power Sources Effected by Capacity
Factors

A report by the German government's energy research
agency supported by the supply companies and the wind
industry has been withdrawn for re-editing due to its adverse
findings. Mr Trittin, the Green Party environment minister, said
that "we do not want the findings of this report to be
misinterpreted". The 490-page report says that if Germany
presses ahead to double the number of wind turbines as intended
by 2015, annual energy costs for consumers (who actually
subsidize wind energy) will rise from EUR 1.4 billion to EUR
5.4 billion. In addition the government will need to invest EUR
1.1 billion in grid infrastructure to cope with the fluctuation in
wind-derived supply. The report also questions the greenhouse
gas emission savings from increased wind power. News
Telegraph 2/2/05. Also, during the periods of cheep gas prices, a
large wave of gas turbines were built since 1998. However,
today much of the capacity is in bankruptcy, or idle due to high
gas prices. [24]
In Fig. 4 shows [25] different distribution of electricity
generation in developed countries, where coal, gas and oil still
dominate (the only exception is Canada with large hydro power
potential).

Figure 4. Percent of electricity generated by different sources
If todays energy use in the World were distributed equally
over the World population, each person would use about 60
trillion joules of energy [21]. Note that average US citizen uses
100 times more energy then the average person in Bangladesh,
and that the World population is increasing it has tripled since
the late 1930s. Thus, we have to make major changes in energy
efficiency and affordability, in order to satisfy demands of
sustainable society, reduce poverty, and reduce treat of climate
changes due to greenhouse gas emissions.

III. THE ROLE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY IN SUSTAINABLE
SOCIETY

When Wilhelm Rontgen discovered X-rays, Tesla has
already experimented with similar tubes and produced the first
X-ray images basically at the same time as Rontgen. However,
Tesla was not into nuclear physics, and when neutron was
discovered by Chadwick in 1932, Tesla was already 76 years
old. The first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction happened on
December 2, 1942, a month before Tesla died. Having this in
mind, it is not surprising that Tesla did not envision use of
another great source of power nuclear energy.
The main advantages of using nuclear power is high energy
density per kg of fuel. While the fossil fuel density is 2.9 x 10
7

J /kg, the fission energy density is 8.2 x 10
13
J /kg and the fusion
energy density is 3.4 x 10
14
J /kg. Table II gives a comparison of
1 kg of Uranium fuel to the amount of Fuel Equivalent mass
for different types of fuel. [24]
TABLE II Fuel Equivalent Mass Comparison
Fuel kg of fuel
Uranium 1
Natural gas 14,000
Crude Oil 15,000
Coal (East) 22,000
Coal (West PRB) 33,000
Dry firewood 45,000
Solar power 70 Sq. KM
Wind power 4000 turbines

Thus, fuel consumed by a 1000 MWe fission power plant is
3.2 kg/day, by a 1000 MWe fusion power plant is 0.6 kg/day,
while up to 10,000 tons/day of coal is necessary for a 1000
MWe coal-burning plant. These data also give us an idea about
the amount of waste that will be produced by each of these
sources. Figure 5 shows that the electricity production cost of
four major power sources.
U.S. Electricity Production Costs
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
9
9
1
1
9
9
3
1
9
9
5
1
9
9
7
1
9
9
9
2
0
0
1
C
e
n
t
s
/
K
W
h

(
2
0
0
1

d
o
l
l
a
r
s
)
Nuclear Coal Gas Oil

Figure 5. The electricity production cost in the USA

Nuclear production cost fell below coal (the cheapest is
hydro) over the last several years this is the average over the
103 nuclear power plants in the US (presenting 110,000 MWe
or 20% of electricity production). There are 440 nuclear power
plants (NPPs) in the world, corresponding to 367,000 MWe or
16% of worlds electricity production. It must be pointed out
that 440 nuclear power plants having no greenhouse gas
emissions, displace about 2.5 billion metric tons of CO
2
per
year. Over more then 50 years of commercial NPPs it has been
shown that they are safe, performance is proven, production of
electricity is cost effective and affordable, they present the base
load generation of electricity, contribute to the grid stability and
are emissions free (NPPs do not emit carbon dioxide nor other
important regulated environmental pollutants (e.g., SOx, NOx,
mercury). These facts are being realized by environmental
leaders who are now supporting expansion of nuclear energy.
Problem of highly radioactive spent fuel is being effectively
resolved by closed cycle, transmutation of transuranics, and
recycling of fissile fuel. One possible closed cycle is shown in
Figure 6 [23], in which spent fuel from light water reactors
(LWRs) is separated by UREX+process (ESD), transmutation
fuel is fabricated in Advanced Fuel Cycle Facility (AFCF) and
long-lived transuranics are burned in Advanced Burner Test
Reactor (ABTR). Currently, a sodium-cooled fast reactor is
proposed as ABTR.


Figure 6. Advanced closed fuel cycle, with fuel separation,
transmutation fuel fabrication, and consumption of long-lived
transuranics

Using the closed fuel cycle, the amount of radioactive waste
will be considerably reduced, so that only one Yucca Mountain
type repository will be needed, even if the US continues to add
new NPPs in the future. The main reason is that the only waste
that will go underground will be short-lived fission products, as
shown in Fig. 7 [26]. While in the open cycle (i.e., once-
though) scenario, the spent fuel is dominated by long-lived
actinides, that will continue decaying and contributing to overall
radiotoxicity and decay heat for hundreds of thousand of years,
in the proposed closed cycle, the fission products decay our
within the first few hundreds of years.
The new strategy in the US regarding the broader use of
nuclear power in the World is called the Global Nuclear Energy
Partnership (GNEP) [27], where a global system is envisioned
of nuclear fuel supplier nations (that have nuclear technology)
that will enable developing nations (that do not have nuclear
technology) to affordably use nuclear energy without increasing
the risk of nuclear proliferation. In addition, the new generation
of advanced reactors (Generation IV) is currently in the phase of
research and development, and most likely will be available
after 2020. Generation IV will emphasize sustainability, i.e.,
economical and safe generations of nuclear electricity, nuclear
heat (for district heating), and productions of hydrogen. The
nuclear waste will be minimized by reprocessing of spent fuel
and recycling of fissile fuel. Hydrogen production for the future
hydrogen economy could be produced efficiently either by
using cheep nuclear electricity in the process of electrolysis of
water, or by using the heat as the by-product in the nuclear
electricity generation, for a thermo-chemical production of
hydrogen.

Figure 7. Radiotoxicity of spent fuel for different underground
repository scenarios

IV. CONCLUSIONS
Tesla clearly saw more that 100 years ago advantages and
disadvantages of energy sources available at that time. He
wanted to a peaceful World in which all people have access to
abundant healthy food, clean water and affordable energy. Tesla
concludes his paper on The Transmission of Electric Energy
without Wires, [20] saying that the energy of a waterfall {will
be} made available for supplying light, heat or motive power,
anywhere on see, or land, or high in the air humanity will be
like an ant heap stirred up with a stick: See excitement
coming! In recently published book on sustainable energy [21],
the following definition was used: the energy technologies are
treated as sustainable if their net effects upon the biosphere do
not significantly degrade its capabilities for supporting existing
species in their current abundance and diversity. Thus, we
have to satisfy increasing demand for energy, make the energy
abundant and affordable for everybody, and we must not harm
our environment in that process. The only major power source
to fulfill these requirements is nuclear power, particularly new
advanced designs with the closed fuel cycle including
reprocessing and recycling of spent fuel. Thus, the answer to
Teslas dream of providing free energy to all in a sustainable
society is to rely on a SUSTAINABLE NUCLEAR ENERGY!

REFERENCES

[1] J ames Corum, On the Position of Nikola Tesla Among the
Founders of Modern Electrical Science And Technology,Lecture
for the course Eng 24: Nikola Tesla - The Genius Who Lit the
World, The University of California at Berkeley, CA, USA, Dec
4, 2000 (http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/dept/Courses/E-
24/e24.html)
[2] Margaret Cheney, Tesla, Man Out of Time, New J ersey:
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