From Observation to Insight

In the early days of automobiles electric power was widely used in the cities. The electric car contained many batteries and a direct-current (D.C. ) motor. The downfall was that the batteries required charging every night, and the range was low. It’s speed was also low, which caused it to lose popularity in a time where speed was so desired.

In the early 1900s, Tesla suggested a design that would make cars efficiently run off of electricity. He replaced the gasoline engine of a Pierce-Arrow company’s car with a alternating-current (A.C. ) electric motor. There was no external power source.  No recharging was necessary. 

Specifically, the gasoline engine was replaced by a 80- horsepower A.C. electric motor. The A.C. motor was 40 inches long, 30 inches wide, and its power leads were left in the air, no external power source. After observing the car for some time, he went to a store and bought vacuum tubes, wires, and resistors. He put them within a circuit box 24 inches long, 12 inches wide, 6 inches high, with a pair of 3 inch rods sticking out of the box. 

When he ran the car for test runs, he pushed the rods forward. The car was able to reach a maximum speed of 90 m.p.h. which was superior to other cars from this time; especially other electric vehicles, which only reached speeds of 15-20 mph in normal traffic conditions. 

 However, the question that the media asked was, ’ If it’s an A.C. motor, with no batteries involved, then how did it attain power?’ When this was asked of him, he replied, ” From the Ethers all around us. “ 

Of course, people did not take this kindly. He was accused of being mad and of using black magic. Sensitive to this accusation, he removed the box from the car, and his invention died with him. 

How, exactly, this box worked, is not well understood. However, it’s believed that it used the Earth’s magnetic field, since he had been using such technology with some of his other inventions.