Tesla's oscillator

Tesla's Oscillator refers to a mechanical oscillator conceived of an invented by Nikola Tesla in 1898. It is also referred to as the "Earthquake Machine." The machine which Tesla tested was small, around seven inches long, and weighing only one or two pounds; something "you could put in your overcoat pocket". In 1898, Tesla's New York lab was nearly shaken to pieces with this little device, operated by only five pounds of air pressure acting against a special pneumatic piston device. The whole assembly was designed to be powered by steam pressure.

Houston Street Lab

established a laboratory on Houston Street in New York at 46 E. There, at one point while experimenting with mechanical oscillators, he allegedly generated a resonance of several buildings causing complaints to the police. As the speed grew he hit the resonance frequency of his own building and belatedly realizing the danger he was forced to apply a sledge hammer to terminate the experiment, just as the astonished police arrived.( O'Neill, "Prodigal Genius" pp162-164)

The Discovery Channel's popular MythBusters show examined Tesla's claim that he had created an "Earthquake Machine" in their 60th episode. They tested the physical phenomenon known as mechanical resonance on a traffic bridge, which today are built to withstand such forces. While a single I-beam of steel was deflected several feet in each direction by their oscillator, and they reportedly felt the bridge shaking many yards away, there were no "earth shattering" effects. It is worth indicating that, in the time of the event undertaken by Tesla, buildings were not built to withstand such resonance.

Possibly Related Patents

Tesla's patents

See also: List of Tesla patents

• "Electrical Transformer Or Induction Device". U.S. Patent No. 433,702, August 5, 1890
• "Means for Generating Electric Currents", U.S. Patent No. 514,168, February 6, 1894
• "Electrical Transformer", Patent No. 593,138, November 2, 1897
• "Method Of Utilizing Radiant Energy", Patent No. 685,958 November 5, 1901
• "Method of Signaling", U.S. Patent No. 723,188, March 17, 1903
• "System of Signaling", U.S. Patent No. 725,605, April 14, 1903
• "Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy", January 18, 1902, U.S. Patent 1,119,732, December 1, 1914 (available at U.S. patent 1,119,732 and tfcbooks' Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy)

Others' patents

• J. S. Stone, U.S. patent 714,832, "Apparatus for amplifying electromagnetic signal-waves". (Filed January 23, 1901; Issued December 2, 1902)
• A. Nickle, U.S. patent 2,125,804, "Antenna". (Filed May 25, 1934; Issued August 2, 1938)
• William W. Brown, U.S. patent 2,059,186, "Antenna structure". (Filed May 25, 1934; Issued October 27, 1936).
• Robert B. Dome, U.S. patent 2,101,674, "Antenna". (Filed May 25, 1934; Issued December 7, 1937)
• Armstrong, E. H., U.S. patent 1,113,149, "Wireless receiving system". 1914.
• Armstrong, E. H., U.S. patent 1,342,885, "Method of receiving high frequency oscillation". 1922.
• Armstrong, E. H., U.S. patent 1,424,065, "Signalling system". 1922.
• Gerhard Freiherr Du Prel, U.S. patent 1,675,882, "High frequency circuit". (Filed August 11, 1925; Issued July 3, 1928)
• Leydorf, G. F., U.S. patent 3,278,937, "Antenna near field coupling system". 1966.
• Van Voorhies, U.S. patent 6,218,998, "Toroidal helical antenna"
• Gene Koonce, U.S. patent 6,933,819, "Multifrequency electro-magnetic field generator". (Filed October 29, 2004; Issued August 23, 2005)

See also

• 833A
• Bifilar coil
• List of Tesla patents
• Tesla turbine

Further reading

Operation and other information

• Armagnat, H., & Kenyon, O. A. (1908). The theory, design and construction of induction coils. New York: McGraw.
• Haller, G. F., & Cunningham, E. T. (1910). The Tesla high frequency coil, its construction and uses. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co.
• Iannini, R. E. (2003). Electronic gadgets for the evil genius: 21 build-it-yourself projects. TAB electronics. New York: McGraw-Hill. Pages 137 – 202.
• Corum, Kenneth L. and James F. "Tesla Coils and the Failure of Lumped-Element Circuit Theory"
• Nicholson, Paul, "Tesla Secondary Simulation Project" (Current state of the art in rigorously describing Tesla Coil Secondary behavior through theoretical analysis, simulation and testing of results in practice)
• Beaty, Bill, "Nikola Tesla Coil Information".
• Vujovic, Ljubo, "Tesla Coil". Tesla Memorial Society of New York.
• Hickman, Bert, "Tesla Coil Information Center"
• Cooper, John. F., "Magnifying Transmitter early-type circuit diagram; Later-type circuit diagram". Tesla-Coil.com

Electrical World

• "The Development of High Frequency Currents for Practical Application"., The Electrical World, Vol 32, No. 8.
• "Boundless Space: A Bus Bar". The Electrical World, Vol 32, No. 19.

Other publications

• A. L. Cullen, J. Dobson, "The Corona Breakdown of Aerials in Air at Low Pressures". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 271, No. 1347 (February 12, 1963), pp. 551–564
• Bieniosek, F. M., "Triple Resonance Pulse Transformer Circuit". Review of Scientific Instruments, 61 (6).
• Corum, J. F., and K. L. Corum, "RF Coils, Helical Resonators and Voltage Magnification by Coherent Spatial Modes". IEEE, 2001.
• de Queiroz, Antonio Carlos M., "Synthesis of Multiple Resonance Networks". Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. EE/COPE.
• Haller, George Francis, and Elmer Tiling Cunningham, "The Tesla high frequency coil, its construction and uses". New York, D. Van Nostrand company, 1910.
• Hartley, R. V. L., "Oscillations with Non-linear Reactances". Bell Systems Technical Journal, Sun Publishing. 1992.
• Norrie, H. S., "Induction Coils: How to make, use, and repair them". Norman H. Schneider, 1907, New York. 4th edition.
• Reed, J. L., "Greater voltage gain for Tesla transformer accelerators", Review of Scientific Instruments, 59, p.2300, (1988).
• Curtis, Thomas Stanley, High Frequency Apparatus: Its Construction and Practical Application. Everyday Mechanics Co., 1916.