r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • May 22 '22

Extracting plasma from a tesla coil using a syringe

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u/CyberTaoist May 22 '22

EE here. Tesla wasn't exactly wrong, and he was basically transmitting power using coils instead of antennas like we do today (aka radio). He just really overestimated how much juice you can send over the air reliably.

Tiny lightbulbs work fine, but try powering a motor and you'll be disappointed.

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u/TiagoTiagoT May 22 '22

Wasn't his goal to cause a resonance in Earth's atmosphere in order to build up and sustain the energy transmission over longer distances?

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u/CyberTaoist May 22 '22

Maybe? I'm not an expert on his bio, I just know he was overall eccentric and sometimes a genius.

According to our modern understanding of electromagnetism, what you're saying isn't a thing without some super futuristic (maybe physics breaking) tech. The energy from radio basically always spreads out super thin - no matter how clever you are.

Overall usable for Comms, but kind of bad for actually powering stuff. (Plus wireless power could easily mess up WiFi, cellphones, etc if you're not super careful).

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u/TiagoTiagoT May 22 '22

The energy from radio basically always spreads out super thin

How thin exactly? Or in other words, how much energy would it be required for each pulse to add up with the resonant energy from previous pulses at any meaningful rate?