Nikola Tesla: Lecture Before the New York Academy of Sciences April 6, 1897: The Streams of Lenard and Roentgen and Novel Apparatus for Their Production [Paperback]

Nikola Tesla (Author), Leland I. Anderson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 096360127X | ISBN-13: 978-0963601278 | Publication Date: December 1, 1994

Following Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents, this book is the second in a three part Tesla Presents series offering the reader what has been, up until now, unavailable material on the pioneering work of Nikola Tesla in field of radio frequency electrical engineering. While first delivered under the title "On the Streams of Lenard and Roentgen with Novel Apparatus for Their Use" the information carried within the text of the lecture goes far beyond this topic. In addition to his opening remarks on X-ray discovery, a major portion of Tesla's commentary deals with the specially designed high frequency resonators that were used in conjunction with his work, plus clear descriptions of stroboscopic instruments he designed for measurement of frequency and phase. Other topics addressed include wireless receiving methods and the genesis of Tesla's particle beam projector of 1937. During the talk Tesla had displayed approximately 120 drawings of specially constructed vacuum tubes, many being of the Lenard type and also the single-electrode type of his own design. Also among the drawings were renderings of various tubes used in his wireless communications experiments. Enhanced photographs of these images are among the 30 illustrations which fill out this fine volume.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tesla's lecture of 1897 was never published in full. In this monograph..., Anderson has reconstructed the lecture from a partial typescript and from two articles by Tesla in the May 5 and August 11, 1997, issues of Electrical Review (N.Y.). Tesla begins by recounting his observations of emanations from dozens of differently designed Crooks tubes using a variety of powerful high frequency supplies of his own design... He provided evidence that Roentgen-rays were produced where the cathode rays first struck, e.g., the glass wall of the vacuum tube... In "The Hurtful Actions of Lenard and Roentgen Tubes," Tesla describes his own experiences with damage to the skin produced by both, and includes sensible advice for minimizing the damage. In addition to its historical interest, Tesla's presentation of experiments that revolutionized physical science provides a fascinating view of the analogies and metaphors guiding the thoughts of one important contributor to the revolution." --CHOICE, July/August 1995, Vol. 32, No. 11/12

From the Back Cover

"Suddenly, without any preparation, Roentgen surprised the world..." So begins one of the most sought after of Tesla's treasures - his unpublished 1897 X-Ray lecture before the New York Academy of Sciences. Several puzzles become clear with this historical document. Tesla's independent discovery of X-Rays, unlike Roentgen's, was primarily based on sources which produced X-Rays by vacuum high field emission and the process now known as bremsstrahlung. While Roentgen employed a gaseous discharge tube utilizing electron avalanche, Tesla's cold cathode tubes worked best with high vacuum. Tesla's distinctive approach presaged the way for high energy particle accelerators, permitting the utilization of megavolt potentials, single electrode tubes, atmospheric bremsstrahlung, and a variety of intense beam techniques. As usual, he was years ahead with his inventions: Fowler and Nordheim's quantum mechanical considerations, necessary to understand Tesla's sources, were not available for another 32 years! (By then Tesla was developing a macroscopic charged particle beam.)

This broad lecture provides a remarkable amount of collateral information. He not only discussed his approach to X-Ray experimentation, but also included a surprising amount of information on high frequency RF techniques, coupled oscillators, magnetic receiver technology, the development of fluorescent, lighting, and the creation of a stroboscopic measurement apparatus. The stroboscopy, tachometry, and chronography alone would have made the lecture a classic! The lecture demands careful study and balanced evaluation.

Drawing on a lifetime of historical investigation and scholarship, Leland Anderson has once again contributed a splendid record of documentation to the scientific community. His unique insight into electrical history has not only furnished us with another unusual primary source in the history of science but, in this critical publication, Mr. Anderson has molded a singular instrument for the serious analysis of Tesla's professional activities. -- Kenneth and James Corum

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Product Details

• Paperback: 123 pages
• Publisher: Twenty First Century Books (CO) (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096360127X
• ISBN-13: 978-0963601278
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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