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Old 6th Jan 2018, 11:46 am   #1
dave walsh
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Default Tesla's Electric Dreams

On Radio 4 today at 11.04 in "The Forum".

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Old 6th Jan 2018, 4:27 pm   #2
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

I listened to it whilst riding the motorcycle, good enough to need a detour to get to the end (the joys of satnav, ride at random until the arrival time coincides!), an interesting programme. "The Forum" is a World Service production hijacked by Radio 4, good job too. Now we have the World Service on DAB and Freeview it is a good alternative to Radio 4.
 
Old 6th Jan 2018, 8:58 pm   #3
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Yes pretty much an informative WS standard. A little disjointed and the AC/DC difference could nave been explained more effectively and earlier for the audience I thought eg if Edison had had his DC way, it would have been something like thick cables and a generating plant every 6 blocks or so!

They,ie commentators in general, never fully settle the Genius or Charlatan argument [because they can't!] He had so many undisputed patents and advanced ideas, even the WWW as was suggested-another "Wire-Less transmission". Withdrawing funding and blowing up the plant seemed a bit convenient for someone. If you wanted to send vital secret info to the enemy, it strikes me that you would have used something a little more inconspicuous!

As I recall, the [90's] Horizon Documentary re Tesla and the Niagra Falls Hydro Power Plant said he was thinking about Goethe's poetry when he came up with AC transformer multi-phase power transmission rather than the Induction Motor but I suppose it could have been both-it's all AC fields

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Old 25th Jan 2018, 5:00 pm   #4
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Further to Electric Dreams, Tesla was on the Radio again this week-no pun intended [Great Lives R4 Tuesday 23/1/18] nominated [surprisingly] by Lisa Tarbuck. Worth listening to just to hear her gently sparring with the expert witness and clearly not impressed by his approach or willing to defer

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Old 25th Jan 2018, 5:10 pm   #5
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Quite an interesting programme; difficult, of course, for the programme makers to engage with many technical details as this requires quite a 'pyramid' of knowledge of basic electrical concepts, let alone any more advanced ideas.

It's good that it didn't place him on the pedestal of the lone genius, which is sometimes a little lop-sided. Of course he was a prolific mind and also, didn't make many bucks out of his most significant contributions. That is a shame.

As some of you know, I've been building Tesla coils for years, but I still find that his conceptualisation and design of polyphase motors and AC power distribution among the most outstanding and interesting.
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 5:56 pm   #6
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Just wait until 'The Current War' comes out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Current_War
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Old 25th Jan 2018, 11:23 pm   #7
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

That was actually referenced on TV, in a very early episode of Murdoch Mysteries (originally shown on Alibi, long enough ago to be re-run on one of the free channels).
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Old 26th Jan 2018, 3:26 pm   #8
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Oh yes I do remember some reference to that film but it seems to have
gone orf my radar! I don't think there's likely to be any content that would link in to the "current" scandal but who knows

If you get any "release" info re the film WD40/julie would you flag it up please.

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Old 29th Jan 2018, 4:00 am   #9
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Quote:
Originally Posted by astral highway View Post
It's good that it didn't place him on the pedestal of the lone genius, which is sometimes a little lop-sided. Of course he was a prolific mind and also, didn't make many bucks out of his most significant contributions. That is a shame.
In that context, worth reading is the book by Christopher Cooper, “The Truth About Tesla – The Myth of the Lone Genius in the History of Innovation”, ISBN 978-1-63106-030-4.

Tesla was hardly alone in developing the polyphase and rotating field concepts, and the evidence is that Ferraris was slightly ahead of Tesla in this regard, although there is no suggestion that Tesla’s ideas were other than independently developed. It is simply a quirk of history that Tesla, but not Ferraris, is remembered for his polyphase and rotating field work.

Although both Ferraris and Tesla apparently allowed for more than two phases in their concepts, it was the two-phase system that was initially developed by Westinghouse. Objections to the need for duplicate circuits may have been why Tesla put some effort into developing the split-phase motor that could operate from a single-phase supply.

It was Steinmetz of GE who subsequently championed the three-phase system, and he may well have been the person who thought of the three-wire transmission system, which was the basis of GE’s approach. Whilst logical and simple in hindsight, this was really a masterstroke, in that a three-wire three-phase system could transmit 50% more power (at a given voltage) than a four-wire two-phase system, and three times as much as a two-wire single-phase system. Steinmetz also contributed much to the mathematics of AC power, including the use of operator j and complex numbers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dave walsh View Post
A little disjointed and the AC/DC difference could nave been explained more effectively and earlier for the audience I thought eg if Edison had had his DC way, it would have been something like thick cables and a generating plant every 6 blocks or so
Cunningham, in “New York Power”, provided a more prosaic view of the “current wars”:

“Much has been made of the bitter debate between Westinghouse and Edison over the safety of high voltage alternating current. In reality, engineering practice was determined by the immutable laws of physics rather than heated emotional rhetoric”.

Interestingly, according to Cunningham, Steinmetz was in favour of three-phase AC generation and transmission, but conversion to DC for final distribution, except where the load density was very low, in which case AC final distribution would be used. Conversion to DC was to be done by rotary converters (as distinct from motor-generators). The development of the rotary converter (apparently from an original Sprague idea) was done independently by Lamme of Westinghouse and Bradley of GE.

From 1896 onwards, and one could say inevitably so, the Edison DC system used rotary converter substations to convert from AC to DC, with existing power stations progressively converted to substations.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dave walsh View Post
As I recall, the [90's] Horizon Documentary re Tesla and the Niagra Falls Hydro Power Plant said he was thinking about Goethe's poetry when he came up with AC transformer multi-phase power transmission rather than the Induction Motor but I suppose it could have been both-it's all AC fields.
Cooper throws some doubt on the details of that alleged event. By then of course the transformer (Gaulard and Gibbs) and single-phase AC transmission were established concepts, although to some extent Tesla has been (mis)credited with the “invention” of AC per se.


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Old 23rd Feb 2018, 12:54 pm   #10
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Another program referencing Tesla and Free Energy today [although there is a disclaimer re any actual Nikola T connection]. Just finished on Radio 4.

"Out of the Ordinary Free Energy". Very well balanced [that's the Beeb for you]. Presented by Jolyon Jenkins who actually knows about Science, has a Workshop and builds things-extraordinary. The experiments with his generator are interesting in themselves. Lots of things are covered in thirty minutes including Zero Point energy and there was very fair comment re the individual [literally] experimenters at the end.

These men in black stories might seem laughable to some and the suggestions that the laws of Physics are a human construct but it does now seem to be established that we are actually in a Quantum world with more variables and energy fields related to the electro magnetic spectrum than was previously acknowledged. Cerne is not a single use device. It particularly interests me that "crazy stuff" morphed into Will Smith films and is going almost mainstream. Plenty of technical/electrical content to chew on. I Player.

I will be interested to hear Al's view from the Astral Highway and hope he's doing ok.

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Old 23rd Feb 2018, 7:38 pm   #11
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Default Re: Tesla's Electric Dreams

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the heads-up! I’ll give it a listen over the weekend; looking forward to it!

Cheers
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