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Tesla Special on PBS

Posted by michael on from the zzzap dept.

Halvy writes "Nicola Tesla was one of those men involved with experiments with electricity and radio waves that the goverment 'feared' so much that they still keep much of his work and ideas from the public. PBS is to broadcast a show on him this April. Goto pbs.org/tesla/ for local times and listing. It should be interesting to see what kind of tid-bits PBS came up with, considering that there is so little available about him, which just adds to his cult-like admiration in the scientific and tech fields."

77 comments

  1. Radio song... by gmaestro · · Score: 1

    Can anyone else just sense the other slashdotters trying to come up with a joke involving these guys?

    1. Re:Radio song... by pjl5602 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Not me... I'm too busy listening to their new album to come up with anything...

      On a serious note, year ago I read Margaret Cheney's book about Nikola Tesla and it was an interesting read. The man was talented, but he sure was a kook. I'll have my TiVo record this program for sure.

    2. Re:Radio song... by Andy_R · · Score: 1

      I guess I must be getting old, I was thinking of these guys

      --
      A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
    3. Re:Radio song... by phazei · · Score: 1

      Did anyone read that as Mariah Carry's book about Nikola Tesla?

    4. Re:Radio song... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The man was talented, but he sure was a kook.

      Kook is slang for crazy, but it is often applied to people who would be better described as eccentric, IOW anyone possessing a POV of significant variance from mainstream, traditional or otherwise acceptable collective protocols.

      The italicized quote above could apply to Linus Torvalds, Stephen Hawking, Einstein, Galileo, you name it.

      I hope you aren't judging your opinion of Tesla on the sensational news accounts of the day. Yes, he was portrayed as a "mad scientist" by the media of then, and why? Not because of any zero-point energy stuff, but at first because he claimed you could generate AC power from Niagara Falls. He was also ridiculed for 'believing' in radio transmission, that you could send information over magical invisible waves in the air. What a kook, right?

      Also keep this in mind when considering public perception: Thomas Edison, the Bill Gates of his day, was Tesla's nemesis. FUD is not a new phenomenon. Tesla the Genius's name has been dragged through the mud of history while Edison the Grifter's stands shining.

  2. Timely Information by WyerByter · · Score: 3, Funny

    Thanks for the info. It is showing on my local station on April 6 at 4am. I am going to make every effort to -- wait -- crap!

    --

    This signiture copied from somewhere.
    1. Re:Timely Information by Sepper · · Score: 1

      At least, you're still lucky, I don't live in the US!

      Granted, Vermont is a 30min drive south but still...

      --
      I live in Soviet Canuckistan you insensitive clod!
    2. Re:Timely Information by phazei · · Score: 0, Redundant

      same here

  3. Sometimes, I still think like a metalhead by Throat+constant · · Score: 1

    When I saw "Tesla" I thought of the band. Damnit. Anyway, they won't pass it here in Bumblefuck. However, I did notice the website does have enough information about him, but not enough to be the first link in google.

    1. Re:Sometimes, I still think like a metalhead by Thrymm · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I want to know more about his "Death Ray", communication with other planets, and splitting the earth like an apple: http://www.neuronet.pitt.edu/~bogdan/tesla/bio.htm

  4. bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The government is not keeping anything invented by Tesla secret.

    I suppose next you are going to tell me that some guy in the midwest invented a 100 mpg drip-feed carburetor and was kidnapped by oil companies, and that Texas A&M bought Nazi technology for making synthetic gasoline from grass after WWII and has it locked up somewhere gaurded by the Corp.

    These kinds of stupid psuedo-science mythologies are bad because they allow people to sit around and blame others instead of getting to work solving problems. They also obscur and distract from the real techno-conspiracies out there, such as chips in ink carts, region encoding, the Clipper Chip, a variety of schemes involving RFIDs, etc.

    1. Re:Bullshit by JohnLi · · Score: 2, Funny

      You must be new here. Welcome.

      --
      The / in /. would be more accurate if it leaned to the left. http://www.metricnut.com
    2. Re:bullshit by cpu_fusion · · Score: 5, Funny
      These kinds of stupid psuedo-science mythologies are bad [..] distract from the real techno-conspiracies out there, [..] the Clipper Chip, [..]

      Yeah but have you heard about the Clippy Chip? Word is that Bill Gates has millions of them stashed away in his Mt. Reinier bunker, just waiting for the first commerical human-brain interfaces...

      Clippy Chip: "I see your trying to go Offtopic. Would you like a corrective jolt? A distracting thought? A mental image of Natalie Portman?"

    3. Re:bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Naked and petrified with hot grits down her pants?

    4. Re:bullshit by aminorex · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Your title describes your comment well. I suppose next you are going to tell me that sneering and hyperbole prove your point.

      --
      -I like my women like I like my tea: green-
    5. Re:bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and while riding in a Beowulf cluster of Slashdot cruisers.

    6. Re:bullshit by rot26 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The government is not keeping anything invented by Tesla secret.

      How do you know? How COULD you know anything about that? I'm not saying that they are, only that it's absurd of you to make such a ridiculous unprovable statement.

      --



      To ensure perfect aim, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target
    7. Re:Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      With a five digit userID I'd hafta presume he knows his stuff :-/

    8. Re:bullshit by a+whoabot · · Score: 2, Informative

      As the post above me has pointed out: how do you know?

      You seem to have automatically disregarded zero-point energy systems as "pseudo-science". That goes completely against the scientific spirit. Keep an open mind. You don't believe big oil could keep something like it secret? That's naive. They have more money than you can dream of. Yes, don't automatically assume there's a conspiracy just because there's a couple webpages made by some engineer who put some schematics up. But don't assume there can't be as well.

    9. Re:Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Some of us have four and five digit UID accounts we've thrown away. Some of us hang out in AC mode for extended 'vacations' away from having a 'slashdot personality.' Sometimes it's because we end up gathering a pack of pesky kids who follow behind our comments slandering us and/or trashing anything we say. Or because we finally got a clue and aren't f-king Linux fanboys anymore, and are embarassed about our posting histories. There are a lot of possible reasons to trash a slashdot nick and move on. (I am not confessing to the above, just posting some example reasons).

      I remember, back in the 80's, that there was a particular Apple II BBS package that blatantly posted the users 'rank' at the head of any comment he/she typed. I remember what a fucking pit of self promotion and ego-tripping that BBS was in contrast to other BBSes.

      Really, Malda, you should do away with 'display User ID on every comment.' It served it's purpose; back when it was instituted it was because a handful of people were masquerading as Bruce Perens. It's now just something that certain types use to be snittish about their 'low number.' Fuck that. Get rid of it, Rob.

      Mae Ling Mak. If you don't remember her naked and petrified you haven't been around long. If your earliest memory is the Natalie Portman crapfloods, you're a newbie. For whatever that means. Who really cares?

    10. Re:bullshit by The+Gline · · Score: 1

      "That goes completely against the scientific spirit. Keep an open mind."

      Yes, but not so open your brains fall out.

      Zero-point energy systems are not considered feasible simply because in order for them to work they need to upset a good deal of what we know about how the universe works. If someone can show us how to do that, then they can line up and claim their Nobel Prize. (The presence of virtual particles is one thing. Tapping into something like that in a way that is remotely efficient or feasible is entirely another.)

      But a disturbing amount of the work done in this realm has been by people who seem more interested in garnering funding by selling shares in something that hasn't been invented yet than by putting their ideas up for peer review.

      Anyone who thinks that the oil companies, let alone the government, can keep secrets about quasi-unlimited power is themselves naive. Then again, if you're determined to believe someone's hiding something from you, you'll find a million ways to confirm it.

      If someone shows me a workable way to tap into zero-point energy, great. The problem is that involves undoing 100+ years of other people's work. Good luck.

      --
      Honorary Member of Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Process Servers
    11. Re:bullshit by a+whoabot · · Score: 1

      It would hardly undue it. Just like relatively doesn't undo Newtonian mechanics; it just shows that it doesn't apply to everything: it limits it's scope.

      I'm not a physicist so, I can't really help you. But one little search finds this:

      http://www.cheniere.org/techpapers/Final%20Secre t% 209%20Feb%201993/indexold.html

      I don't know, try it. That guy seems educated. He's got a MS and PhD in nuclear engineering.

    12. Re:bullshit by CycoChuck · · Score: 1

      How any years of others work was undone when we discovered that the world was round or that the Earth was not the center of the universe?

      Sure, the current laws of physics today allows me to have things that seem impossible years ago like the computer I'm typing on right now. But those laws are based on only our current understanding of our little corner of the universe.

      Who is to say down the road, our decendants won't be laughing at us and our "primative" science as we laugh at our ancessors that thought the world was flat?

      --
      Windows is as solid as quicksand.
    13. Re:bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
      If you postmodern relativists could even follow a rational thread in your own arguments, it might be worth a discussion, but this "there are no right answers" and "every point of view is just as valid" crap is killing math and science education.

      So are you suggesting a Wile E. Coyote universe where gravity doesn't kick in until after you realize you've stepped off the cliff? Is your computer going to suddenly stop working when some other laws of physics are discovered?

      The point the parent was making is that these zero-point and free energy people base their arguments on violation of some very fundamental tenents of physics. For them to be correct means that a whole lot of things we observe shouldn't be happening. This isn't like relativistic corrections to Newtonian physics that you have to look very carefully to observe, we're talking about "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria!" type of effects.

      And, as it has been pointed out, these people pushing these zero point energy devices are con men suckering people out of millions of dollars. If you don't believe me then feel free to purchase a "dealership" from Dennis Lee or invest in Randy Mills "hydrinos." If they're right, you'll end up very wealthy, but the smart money says you'll get a better return on your investment by flushing it down the crapper.

    14. Re:bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're most likely hanging out under a bridge eating goats.

      That said, there are numerous examples given in literature about Tesla's inexplicable and as of yet unduplicated technologies - the localized earthquakes caused by attaching a 'black box' to a building, the voice controlled submarine, the ball lightning control, etc . . . These were written about by people who were living at the time and assumed to be relatively objective. The fact that the man didn't believe in the electron, yet produced power without any obvious source is reason enough to believe that the powers that be didn't strongly desire for his knowledge to get out to the public. There was a burgeoning market for AC power generation, no matter how much safer DC was shown to be.

      Money talks, charity walks.

    15. Re:Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously you do, especially if you're actually timid enough to be *embarassed* by some former posts you have made. Some of us have been around for years and have never had a reason to start up a UID ... Way before the OSDN buyout. laff.

    16. Re:bullshit by bigpat · · Score: 1

      "Zero-point energy systems are not considered feasible simply because in order for them to work they need to upset a good deal of what we know about how the universe works."

      Come on now, all you need is a blackhole or something like it and just skim the energy off the top. It may not be practical, but it might be possible.

    17. Re:Bullshit by cr0sh · · Score: 1

      I know this is late, but I have copies of FOIA information related to Tesla - two large PDF files, in fact. I can't remember where I obtained them from (heck, maybe from the FOIA site?), but it definitely shows that the US government was very interested in his ideas (specifically his ideas on "death rays", which seem to be a method of using UV light to ionize the air, as a conductive path for electricity), and even with the FOIA release, there is still a lot more that our gov't hasn't released (as shown by the tons of redacted/blacked-out lines in the FOIA PDFs).

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
    18. Re:bullshit by CRCulver · · Score: 1

      You're quoting a Tom Bearden website to back up your point? He's a kook. From http://www.ka9q.net/crackpots/ we see:

      Tom Bearden is one of the best known crackpots in the field of "free energy", the modern incarnation of the age-old futile quest for perpetual motion. Bearden has published an amazing amount of utter nonsense. He is surrounded by a loyal band of cheering sycophants who go out of their way to threaten and silence their critics. This is rather ironic given their constant complaints that a vast conspiracy has successfully suppressed (and continues to suppress) all information about "free energy" because what it would do to established energy interests.

      We also see him linked to mental illness: http://groups.msn.com/HarvestVisionMinistries/bear densinfo.msnw Not the sort of guy who helps you look like you're making a solid argument.

    19. Re:Bullshit by bpowell423 · · Score: 1

      ray guns... you mean like this?

    20. Re:Bullshit by cr0sh · · Score: 1
      Yeah - something like that.

      If you ever see reproductions of period articles (or the real articles if you can find copies!), you always notice a few things when the article is about Tesla:

      1. Pictures of airships
      2. Large searchlights

      Invariably, these searchlights are "trained" on the airships - leading to a couple of possible conclusions, given the technology level of Tesla's day:

      1. The airships are somehow being powered by the "searchlights", or
      2. The airships are being "disabled" by the "searchlights"

      In reality, both theories stem from the same technology, which Tesla likely knew about, and possibly developed (though I haven't seen much on this - I think some things are mentioned in some of his studies).

      This technology would be using large, high-power arc-lamp searchlights, with UV filters over them, then using a Tesla coil to send energy (resonant, high-frequency AC current) down the "beam". The energy could both power the airships, transmit information wirelessly, and likely disable airplanes (and other airships), by disrupting their electrical systems (among other effects).

      Tesla spoke a lot about his "death ray" in his later years, up until his death. He made offers to the US government to develop this technology, but they wouldn't take him up on it (who knows why - maybe they thought he was a crackpot, too eccentric, too unreliable, or maybe they just wanted to get the tech after he died).

      When he dies, many of his papers were seized by the US Government (as well as by the Soviets, from Eastern Bloc countries (Czecloslovakia?)). The FOIA papers (pdf's) I have show a great interest in this "death ray" device, but most of what Tesla was thinking died with him.

      Interestingly, the US DIA site had some "artist renderings" of Soviet "star-wars" weaponry from the 1980's - much of it looked *very* similar to what has been portrayed around Tesla, and his "death ray" machine...

      --
      Reason is the Path to God - Anon
  5. Old News by profet · · Score: 4, Informative

    So Slashdot is going to start posting when reruns air?

    This special was already shown four years ago and is simply a rerun.

    1. Re:Old News by j-turkey · · Score: 1

      Yah, I found the same thing:

      "Tesla: Master of Lightning" originally aired on PBS in December 2000 and will be rebroadcast in April 2004.
      --

      -Turkey

    2. Re:Old News by WyerByter · · Score: 1

      More than just old news, from what I can tell it aired many places last night.

      --

      This signiture copied from somewhere.
    3. Re:Old News by Gryphn · · Score: 1

      Slashdot _never_ duplicates _any_ posts.

      --
      Fantasy and superstition should be used for entertainment purposes only.
  6. Watched most of it last night.... by Aquatic-TN · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...and it was informative, to say the least. For instance, Tesla had the first patent for Radio, not Marconi. I was stunned by this information. Sadly, Tesla didn't receive as much compensation as he should have for the radio patent or his AC (alternating current) related patents, all of which were worth *trillions* of dollars. Interestingly, Tesla became *really* driven after Edison screwed him. Edison promised Tesla $50K if he solved a particular problem. Tesla managed to solve the problem, and then Edison refused to pay up. I highly recommend watching the show - it's a great history lesson regarding the technology we all are using to view /. right now (electricity and it's economical transmission/use).

    1. Re:Watched most of it last night.... by Hee+Hee+Hee · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I saw a quote of Tesla's regarding Edison. I'm paraphrasing here - "He could have saved himself a whole bunch of time with a few calculations."

      Edison said "Invention is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Yeah, maybe if you ignore basic science.

      Edison got a lot of credit for ideas that he bulldozed into practicality. He had the ultimate work-ethic. Sweat your ass off - don't take too much time to think.

      --
      - Bill
    2. Re:Watched most of it last night.... by hubie · · Score: 1
      Re: Edision anecdote

      You might find this interesting.

    3. Re:Watched most of it last night.... by LastToKnow · · Score: 3, Informative

      If Mr. Edison had worked smarter, he wouldn't have sweat so much - Nikolai Tesla

  7. Slashdot readers... by b00m3rang · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...appear to be much better at predicting what jokes other slashdotters will post than they are at actually coming up with jokes.

    I'm curious what the ratio is of actual jokes to people who post "I can just see the xxxxxx jokes coming in now!" Or, "Here come the underpants gnome jokes." or "I wonder how long before someone corrects them on their usage of 'begs the question'?"

    Slashdot should open up a psychic hotline with all the soothsayers around here.

    1. Re:Slashdot readers... by vincent99 · · Score: 1

      So you're posting to say that.. you can see the "I can just see the jokes coming now" posts... coming now.

      --
      -- V
  8. That's the way it is. by BoomerSooner · · Score: 1

    That's the way it goes.

  9. Bullshit by Chasuk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Can you substantiate even a portion of this ridiculous statement?

    Nicola Tesla was... involved with experiments...that the goverment 'feared' so much that they still keep much of his work and ideas from the public.

    I didn't think so.

    Jesus, does even Slashdot need to cater to conspiracy nuts?

    --
    Neopets - the best free game on the Int
  10. Re:Tesla is a magnet for kooks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No shit eh? But aren't they fun!

  11. "...which just adds by Endive4Ever · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ..to his cult-like admiration in the scientifiction fan and angry underachiving technician fields."

    Face it. The first place I encountered books about Tesla was on the remainder tables at the bookstore. With the new-age drivel and public-domain editions of Shakespeare and Poe. (actually, not even the remainder tables, they were over on the next table with other junk-books self-published by Barnes and Noble)

    Tesla is more likely to be revered by the most loose crackpots at a Science Fiction convention than he is at any mainstream Science gathering.

    This comment will serve as a magnet for proof in evidence. There will be a handful of comments tacked to it about 'the conspiracy' and people flaming and ranting because Tesla was a visioniary, not somebody who slipped off the table of reason and degenerated into Science's Alestair Crowley.

    PBS is just the place for this kind of program. Or the Discovery Channel, sandwiched in between shows on UFOs.

    --
    ---
    1. Re:"...which just adds by rot26 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Face it. The first place I encountered books about Tesla was on the remainder tables at the bookstore

      Aha!!! Absolute proof that the man was a quack!! You're a genius, man.

      You obviously don't know a thing about the history of electrical distribution in the US.

      --



      To ensure perfect aim, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target
    2. Re:"...which just adds by Dachannien · · Score: 1

      Long live direct current!

    3. Re:"...which just adds by Endive4Ever · · Score: 1

      I know that Tesla was instrumental in the development of Alternating Current power generation and distribution. And that his life sloped severely downhill after that.

      There's even an 'evil antagonist' we can all hiss at: Thomas Edison. He also held a lot of patents! Boo hiss hiss!

      Oh, what a melodrama it all is!

      --
      ---
    4. Re:"...which just adds by rco3 · · Score: 1

      OK, I'll bite. Are you saying that Tesla is overrated? Or that the Barnes and Noble thing is proof of how thoroughly his contributions to modern society are discounted by mainstream history?

      Do you think his contributions were minor and meaningless, or seminal and suppressed?

      --

      Ce n'est pas un vrai mouvement de robot!
    5. Re:"...which just adds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, Tesla was nuts!
      Or does anyone here believe in stuff like "radios"?

    6. Re:"...which just adds by edhall · · Score: 1

      I think Charles Steinmetz had at least as much influence. His development of alternating current theory and the law of electromagnetic hysteresis were crucial underpinnings of AC power distribution engnineering. Tesla may have been an inspired inventor, but as a theoretician he was a lightweight compared to Steinmetz. For example, Tesla may have invented the induction motor, but it was Steinmetz's theories which showed how to make it efficient.

      -Ed
  12. Re:Tesla is a magnet for kooks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Couple?"

  13. his inventions by austad · · Score: 1, Informative

    I read something awhile back that described several of Tesla's inventions.

    One of them involved a device that was able to pull and electric charge out of the air somehow for free electricity, though it didn't produce that much, it could still be useful in remote areas.

    The other invention involved a power plant, and basically a step-up transformer to get millions of volts. This was then piped directly into the ground via a thick metal pole driven deeply into the ground. The other part of this was a device, possibly on the other side of the planet that would tap into the ground, pick up this high voltage, low current energy, and step it down into usable power.

    There was more explanation of it in the article, and apparently there are patents on both of these devices, but they do not provide enough information on how to build your own to play around with.

    The article had mentioned that the government was scared of his inventions, because some of them could potentially cause free or unregulated power to the people, and if that happened, the govt would lose control of it and also lose out on major tax money.

    Whether it's true or not, Tesla still had some pretty interesting inventions.

    --
    Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
    1. Re:his inventions by LWATCDR · · Score: 4, Informative

      Tesla was both a brilliant inventor and a nut case.
      His AC system is still used today.
      His electric motor is still used today.
      These two inventions make him the equal of Bell and or Edison. The difference is that he did not start his how company he worked for someone else. That company was called Westinghouse.

      Tesla's disk turbine is extermly inefficent compaired to axial or inpulse turbins or centrifical compressors. It is pretty much usless except for some pumps.
      His wireless power distribution system also does not work. But it is nice science fiction.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:his inventions by alleycat0 · · Score: 1

      I recall an article some time ago on /. regarding a plan to transmit power remotely to several Pacific Islands - in my failed attempt to locate more info on that one, i came across several references to an experimental project on Reunion Island to send power wirelessly across a mountain gorge to an isolated village (see, for example, http://www.house.gov/science/maryniak_10-24.htm).. .don't know what the results were, or whether the project is still on the drawing board...

      --
      I am not a number - I am a free man!
    3. Re:his inventions by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      The device wasn't made by Tesla.
      It is thought to have been in use in early Egypt B.C. There are many descriptions of the device. From the descriptions it is obvious what the device was. It was a capacitor, that charged itself by sitting in one spot.
      Thats right the earths magnetic field charged it. I have also read articles on the subject and some speculated that the Ark of the Covenant was such a device. Given drawings and also descriptions of the Ark it could be possible.
      TLC story on it.
      Another site on it, though I don't know how reliable.
      Though neither of these two sites are relating to the object I have described, surely you'll have to agree that this device was made well before Tesla.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    4. Re:his inventions by Kimpak · · Score: 1

      You can make a device to pull electricity through the air from an existing powerline. I belive its called an inductor or something like that. Unfortunately, power companys can detect this and hit you with a nasty lawsuit if they can nail it to you.

    5. Re:his inventions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tesla was both a brilliant inventor and a nut case.

      Bullshit; substantiate.

      "Perhaps it is better in this present world of ours that a revolutionary idea or invention instead of being helped and patted, be hampered and ill-treated in its adolescence ... by selfish interest, pedantry, stupidity and ignorance; that it be attacked and stifled; that it pass through bitter trials and tribulations, through the heartless strife of commercial existence. So do we get our light. So all that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed -- only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle."

      Are those the words of a "nut case," do you think?

      How do you find that an ordered process such as theoretical engineering could be accomplished by an insane person? Have you examined any of Tesla's numerous patents?

  14. I had an on topic comment by way2trivial · · Score: 1

    that was bound to hit +5 inisightful
    then you mention Natalie Portman, and all I'm left with is thoughts of Natalie Portman, and a possible +funny comment.

    --
    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  15. See previous post.. by Trikenstein · · Score: 1

    here

  16. Wardencliffe - broadcast power by TheOldBear · · Score: 2, Informative

    Part of my daily commute takes me past the site of Tesla's broadcast power experiment. Today, the only visible trace is the street sign 'Tesla St' conecting NY Rt 25a and North Country road.

    [about 3 miles from the LILCO/Shoreham nuke reactor site, and about 8 miles from Brookhaven National Lab]

    --
    Caution: Do not stare into laser with remaining eye.
  17. Re:Tesla is a magnet for kooks by dr7greenthumb · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You would think the inventor of radio would get a little more respect.

  18. Re:Tesla is a magnet for kooks by MikeMo · · Score: 2, Informative

    And the dynamic brake, and the 3-phase motor, and the AC distribution system, and many more.

  19. This stinks... by Drantin · · Score: 1

    neither of my two local PBS stations will be airing it...(according to the web site...)

    --
    Actio personalis moritur cum persona. (Dead men don't sue)
    1. Re:This stinks... by Telecommando · · Score: 1

      The 2 stations in my area already have, Monday night and 3AM this morning.

      Thanks Slashdot, for this timely reminder.

      NOT!

      --
      Beta sux! Join the Slashcott! http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4760465&cid=46173047
  20. Let me know when the torrent is out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (nuf said)

  21. No dumbass, by b00m3rang · · Score: 1

    I was replying to a post, _one_that's_already_been_posted_, that contained the afore-mentioned humor clairevoyance. If I'm replying to a post that's already there, I'm not predicting anything, am I?. Take an English class, then take a Logic class, then reread the thead.

    1. Re:No dumbass, by Hillman · · Score: 1

      You should take an anger management class

  22. I don't need to by b00m3rang · · Score: 1

    That's what slashdot is for!

    Slashdot, venting frustrations from your high stress job since 19.....

  23. Re:Tesla is a magnet for kooks by the+real+darkskye · · Score: 1

    And the dynamic brake, and the 3-phase motor, and the AC distribution system, and many more.
    So we have Tesla to thank for the ACs? Well at least he has some nice potential methods for getting rid of them again ...

    Back to slackdotting

    --
    Music is everybody's possession.
    It's only publishers who think that people own it.
    Fuck Beta
    ~John Lenno
  24. Recursion? by some+guy+I+know · · Score: 1

    I can see the complaints about posts complaining about posts that can see the jokes coming now coming now coming now coming now.

    --
    Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
  25. not 100 MPG by zogger · · Score: 1

    but pretty close, with lots of power, no emissions controls but surpassed the emissions requirements of the day. Run a google search on smokey yunick, and adiabatic engine. If you have access to a magazine microfiche, check out the cover story, april 1983 issue of popular science. He was the automotive editor at the time. Built an engine that was a v-2 config, 150 horse, 50-60 MPG and pretty fast. He had a few patents with it, but the combination itself of his adaptions (which is why it worked as well as it did) wasn't patentable. He was not just some urban legend, but a very credible engineer with a ton of professional racing wins and rewards to his credit. A famous guy, back in the day..

    I have a photocopy of the article, but I can't place my hands on it right now, but you can find references to it on the net, enough to prove the validity of it. His engines and cars they were put in were well photographed, inspected, etc, it's all documented, verifiable data, not "urban legend". You can even find references to the relevant patents and look them up yourself, I have, it's real, they are there.

    Yes, the globalists sit on things sometimes, you'll have to ask them why, my best guess is, it pays them to keep things expensive and complicated in the long run.

    umm, I would be happy with an engine like that today, but no one makes one. gee..wonder why....

  26. looks like... by zogger · · Score: 1

    ...mnicrowave transmission of power is what's being discussed in that paper. Quite possible, probably not a good idea, but it is a dandy stealth way to build impressive weapons platforms in space. Nothing like dual use and multi tasking! :)

  27. Ooooh the state we're in by slowhand · · Score: 0

    After digging pretty deep thru the Tesla threads I see several who are very well informed on his accomplishments, discoveries, and developments. The scarry part is reading and comprehending how many readers are clueless about basic science and ignorant of any aspect of scientific history. Is there a way to overcome such a lack of understanding?

    --
    Busy aligning my non-linear thoughts.
  28. Re:coils by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shouldn't rape fantasies include big black guys with muscles like steel?