Teleforce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2016-03-18 01:22

Teleforce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teleforce is a charged particle beam projector that Nikola Tesla claimed to have conceived of after studying the
Van de Graaff generator.[1][2] Tesla described the weapon as being able to be used against ground-based infantry
or for anti-aircraft purposes.[3][4]

Contents
1 Description
2 "Death ray" misnomer
3 Components of Teleforce
4 Practical application
5 References
6 External links

Description
Tesla described Teleforce's operation in 1934:
My apparatus projects particles which may be relatively large or of microscopic dimensions,
enabling us to convey to a small area at a great distance trillions of times more energy than is
possible with rays of any kind. Many thousands of horsepower can thus be transmitted by a stream
thinner than a hair, so that nothing can resist."[5] The nozzle would send concentrated beams of
particles through the free air, of such tremendous energy that they will bring down a fleet of 10,000
enemy airplanes at a distance of 200 miles from a defending nation's border and will cause armies
to drop dead in their tracks.[3][4]
In a letter that was written to J. P. Morgan, Jr. on November 29, 1934, Tesla described the weapon:

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I have made recent discoveries of inestimable value... The flying machine has completely
demoralized the world, so much that in some cities, as London and Paris, people are in mortal fear
from aerial bombing. The new means I have perfected afford absolute protection against this and
other forms of attack. ... These new discoveries, which I have carried out experimentally on a
limited scale, have created a profound impression. One of the most pressing problems seems to be
the protection of London and I am writing to some influential friends in England hoping that my
plan will be adopted without delay. The Russians are very anxious to render their borders safe
against Japanese invasion and I have made them a proposal which is being seriously considered.[6]
In 1937, Tesla wrote a treatise, "The Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-dispersive Energy through the Natural
Media",[7] concerning charged particle beam weapons.[8] Tesla published the document in an attempt to
expound on the technical description of a 'superweapon" that would put an end to all war." This treatise is
currently in the Nikola Tesla Museum archive in Belgrade. It describes an open-ended vacuum tube with a gas
jet seal that allows particles to exit, a method of charging particles to millions of volts, and a method of creating
and directing non-dispersive particle streams (through electrostatic repulsion).[8] Tesla tried to interest the US
War Department,[9] the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia in the device.[10]
During the period in which the negotiations were being carried on, Tesla claimed that efforts had been made to
steal the invention. His room had been entered and his papers had been scrutinized, but the thieves, or spies, left
empty-handed. He said that there was no danger that his invention could be stolen for he had at no time
committed any part of it to paper. The blueprint for the Teleforce weapon was all in his mind.[11]

"Death ray" misnomer

Teleforce was mentioned publicly in the New York Sun and The New York Times on July 11, 1934.[12][13] The
press called it a "peace ray" or death ray.[14][15] 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 ..."[5]
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.[16]

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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.[5][17]
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.[16]
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.[16]
"Whether Tesla's idea was ever taken seriously is still a matter 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."[16]
Tesla claimed to have worked on plans for a directed-energy weapon from the early 1900s until his death.[18][19]
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."[2]

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

"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.
"A Machine to End War". Tesla - Master of Lightning. PBS.
Tesla FAQ (http://www.tfcbooks.com/teslafaq/q&a_011.htm). Retrieved 2013-12-03
THE NEW ART OF PROJECTING CONCENTRATED NON-DISPERSIVE ENERGY THROUGH NATURAL
MEDIA (http://www.teslaradio.com/pages/teleforce.htm) -- System of Particle Acceleration for Use in National Defense.

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8. Seifer, Marc J (2001). Wizard: the life and times of Nikola Tesla: biography of a genius. Citadel. p. 454. ISBN 978-08065-1960-9.
9. "Aerial Defense 'Death-Beam' Offered to U.S. By Tesla" 12 July 1940
10. Seifer, Marc J. "Tesla's "death ray" machine". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
11. O'Neill, John J. "Tesla Tries To Prevent World War II (unpublished Chapter 34 of Prodigal Genius)". PBS.
12. "Beam to Kill Army at 200 Miles, Tesla's Claim On 78th Birthday". New York Herald Tribune. July 11, 1934. Retrieved
2007-07-21.
13. "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."
14. "Tesla, at 78, Bares New 'Death-Beam' ". New York Times. 11 July 1934.
15. "Tesla Invents Peace Ray". New York Sun. 10 July 1934.
16. "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."
17. "Death-Ray Machine Described". New York Sun. 11 July 1934.
18. "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 (http://patimg2.uspto.gov/.piw?
Docid=01329559&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2FnphParser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml
%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D1329559.PN.%2526OS
%3DPN%2F1329559%2526RS%3DPN%2F1329559&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=Vie
w+first+page) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Patent No. 1,329,559
19. "TESLA, AT 78, BARES NEW 'DEATH-BEAM' ". New York Times. 1934. Retrieved 29 June 2012. same article at
rastko.rs (http://www.rastko.rs/rastko/delo/10887)

External links
Tesla Tries To Prevent World War II by John J. O'Neill (http://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/res_art12.html)
The New Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-dispersive Energy Through Natural Media by Nikola Tesla
(http://www.teslaradio.com/pages/teleforce.htm)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teleforce&oldid=700155710"
Categories: Inventions by Nikola Tesla Systems engineering
This page was last modified on 16 January 2016, at 19:22.
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