User:GLPeterson/Rewrite

Proposed rewrite of sentence one, paragraph six of Tesla's experiments
In order to represent fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without bias, all of the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on the topic of Tesla's wireless system, i.e., to maintain a neutral point of view, a proposal is made to rewrite sentence one, paragraph six of Tesla's experiments as follows.

"Years after Tesla's original research into World Wireless system technology,Corum, K.L. and J.F. Corum, “Bell Labs and the ‘Crucial’ 1936 Seneca Lake Experiment,” TEXZON Technologies, LLC. (Published in Nikola Tesla’s Electricity Unplugged as “Bell Labs and the Radio Surface Wave Propagation Experiment,” Thomas Valone, Ed., Adventures Unlimited Press, 2016.)

'In this article we recount the story of one of the least cited but broadly influential physics experiments conducted during the 20th century: Charles Burrows’ key 1936 experiment to delineate between Sommerfeld’s 1909 theory and Weyl’s 1919 theory of radiowave propagation. Burrows (Bell Labs) used a simple vertical doublet antenna disposed over a deep freshwater lake at a frequency of 150 MHz. Burrows (and others) declared that the ‘crucial’ experiment vindicated Weyl’s theory over Sommerfeld’s, and Kenneth Norton (FCC) used it to justify the famous “Sommerfeld sign error” myth that held sway in wave propagation theory for almost 70 years.

Tesla had served two years (1892-1894) as Vice-President of the AIEE and his published lectures had introduced Zenneck to RF technology 15 years earlier [H. Pratt, “Nikola Tesla,” Proceedings of the IRE, 44, No. 9, September 1956, pp. 1106-1108.]. The two became warmhearted friends. (This was just prior to Zenneck’s being detained at an Ellis Island facility (and later at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia) as a prisoner of war during WWI.) A year later, in 1916, Tesla, whose propagation experiments appeared to contradict the Hertz wave theory, confided to his own attorney,

Note, for instance, the mathematical treatise of Sommerfeld, [40,43] who shows that my theory is correct, that I was right in my explanations of the phenomena, and that the profession was completely mislead. [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 75n.]

And,

The effect at a distance is due to the current energy that flows through the surface layers of the earth. That has already been mathematically shown, really, by Sommerfeld. [40] He agrees on this theory; but as far as I am concerned, that is positively demonstrated. [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 133.]

[Be aware that Tesla is speaking of the electrodynamic propagating currents associated with what we now call surface waves, not the simple ohmic diffusion [J. A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Theory, McGraw-hill, 1941, pp. 278-279]) ground current mechanism proposed by Karl Steinheil (1801-1870) or James Bowman Lindsay (1799-1862) in the mid-19th century.]

Finally, note that the Norton field strength over water varies inversely with distance as 1/r, whereas the Zenneck surface-guided field strength varies as e-ad/vd, where a depends on the medium’s conductivity. As demonstrated in Figures D.1 and D.2 one may, at will, swap back and forth between Burrows’ lower curve and upper curve!

James Wait, whose judgement we all deeply respect, asserted in a number of places that Burrows’ 1936 experiments justified 20th century conventional radiowave propagation thought. Burrows, himself, concluded the Bell Labs investigation with these carefully crafted words,

these tests prove conclusively that simple antennas do not generate a surface wave and that this time-honored concept must be given up

A century of wave propagation theory notwithstanding, the experimental evidence would now appear to challenge that assertion.' experimental replications using similar equipment have achieved the long range nonradiative wireless transmission of electrical energy.

'Wireless transmission of power through coupled electric fields [with earth return] is practical and easily demonstrated at high power levels over laboratory-scale distances.

We are currently developing several other proof-of-concept receiver coils, including the self-motive prototype shown in Figure 7. . . . The unit can move about in the area near the coils, powered completely by the electric fields. The metal wheels conduct the secondary RF ground currents to the concrete.

Tesla’s original patent [U.S. Patent No. 649,621, APPARATUS FOR TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY, May 15, 1900] resembles a far-field approach, given the large intended distance between stations compared to the station size. However, Tesla’s system minimizes radiated fields and instead relies upon actual conduction, replacing the transmission line with two non-wire conductors. In this case one conductor is the Earth, and the other appears to be either a capacitive path or a direct ionized path to the ionosphere according to different descriptions of the system.

Of the designs mentioned above, the approach outlined in this paper is perhaps most similar to Tesla’s system [U.S. Patent No. 649,621, APPARATUS FOR TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY, May 15, 1900], since it does not rely upon far-field or radiated power, or magnetic coupling. However this approach differs significantly from Tesla’s patented system [APPARATUS FOR TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY] in two important ways: A) There is no ionized path between the devices, and B) The receiver performs a synchronous detection of the received energy in order to optimize conversion efficiency. The transfer of energy in this approach occurs primarily through the electric fields between the receiver and transmitter.'

'The approach outlined in the Leyh-Kennan paper depends upon electrical conduction through the earth as set forth in U.S. Patent No. 649,621, APPARATUS FOR TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY, May 15, 1900. It differs from the system described in APPARATUS FOR TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY only in that, A) there is no highly ionized path between the Tesla coil transmitter and receiver, and B) the receiver performs a synchronous detection of the transmitted energy. Tesla’s patents, ART OF TRANSMITTING ELECTRICAL ENERGY THROUGH THE NATURAL MEDIUMS, May 16, 1900, U.S. Patent No. 787,412, Apr. 18, 1905 and ART OF TRANSMITTING ELECTRICAL ENERGY THROUGH THE NATURAL MEDIUMS, Apr. 17, 1906, Canadian Patent No. 142,352, Aug. 13, 1912 do describe a means by which Tesla's wireless system can be operated without the necessity of a highly ionized path between the two devices (as well as a means for synchronous detection of the transmitted energy).

As for wireless system performance, the Lightning Foundry Twin Coil Prototype used by Leyh and Kennan in their tests has helical resonator transmitting coil and receiving coil diameters of less than 0.57 meters. The resonator spacing for the tests, that is the transmission-reception distance, was 12 meters. This equates to a transmitting coil spacing-to-diameter ratio of more than 21:1. Mid-range coupling is between one and ten times the diameter of the transmitting coil. The Lightning Foundry Twin Coil Prototype coupling is greater than 21 times the diameter of the transmitting coil, more than twice the maximum possible mid-range coupling distance. (Typically, an inductive coupled system can transmit roughly the diameter of the transmitter. [Baarman, David W.; Schwannecke, Joshua (December 2009). 'White paper: Understanding Wireless Power' (PDF). Fulton Innovation. pp. 2, 4.])' Corum, K. L. and J. F. Corum, U.S. Patent Pending US20140252886 A1, 'Excitation and use of guided surface wave modes on lossy media.'

Corum, K. L. and J. F. Corum, U.S. Patent Pending US20160072300 A1, 'Excitation and use of guided surface wave modes on lossy media.'

Nevertheless, there is a lack of scientific consensus as to whether the World Wireless system would have worked. Some believe Tesla's wireless system would not have worked as he claimed and that the distance effects are attributable to electromagnetic radiation.

'Wheeler had been persuaded by a 1935 written statement from Kenneth A. Norton in which he asserts an error in sign in Arnold Sommerfeld’s 1909 paper “Über die Ausbreitung der Wellen in der Drahtlosen Telegraphie,” Annalen der Physik, vol. 28, 1909, pp. 665-695, and a seminal experiment that was conducted in 1936 by C.R. Burrows of Bell Labs that had justified Norton’s flawed analysis. These resulted in a conviction on the part of the electrical engineering community as to the non-existence of the Zenneck surface wave. This confusion was only resolved analytically in 2004 by Professor R.E. Collin who stated, “There is no sign error. . . The famous ‘sign error’ is a myth.' [”Collin, R.E., “Hertzian Dipole Radiating Over a Lossy Earth or Sea: Some Early and Late 20th Century Controversies,” IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, vol. 46, No. 2, April 2004, pp. 64-79.]

Tesla’s approach was to employ the radial cylindrical surface wave or radial form of Zenneck wave [Barlow, H., J. Brown, Radio Surface Waves, Oxford University Press, London, 1962.] while at the same time suppressing space wave electromagnetic radiation.

I am not producing radiation in my system; I am suppressing electromagnetic [space] waves. But, on the other hand, my apparatus can be used effectively with electromagnetic [space] waves. The apparatus has nothing to do with this new method except that it is the only means to practice it. So that in my system, you should free yourself of the idea that there is radiation, that energy is radiated. It is not radiated; it is conserved. [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 133.)]

Tesla's claim that his system is different from Hertz‘s is based on the fact that at low frequencies, and with small antenna in terms of wavelength, radiation of Hertzian type electromagnetic wave is small. Tesla's waves, if we are allowed to use such a name, are in fact surface waves in modern terminology. . . . In 'pure Hertzian' wave (in Tesla's terminology) there is no induced current in the Earth, except on reflection region which is not essential for the discussion. In contrast to the latter, guided surface. . . waves do not exist without current in the Earth crust. Having this in mind, we can conclude that there is a truth in Tesla's statements about specific behavior of low frequency, guided to the Earth waves. [Marincic, Aleksandar, “Research of Nikola Tesla in Long Island Laboratory,” Energy and Development at the International Scientific Conference in Honor of the 130th Anniversary of the Birth of Nikola Tesla, The Tesla Journal, Numbers 6 & 7, Tesla Memorial Society, 1990, pp. 25-28.]'     Others believe the guided radio surface wave propagation mode (the radial cylindrical surface wave or radial form of Zenneck wave) that Tesla described is valid,  'There are two ways of propagating. . . . [by] the earth and the ionosphere [or] you forget the ionosphere and the current is carried only by the earth. . . . (Tesla's) idea of propagation is perfectly valid. Tesla's intuition was absolutely unbelievable. . . . And Tesla, without knowledge of satellites or solar UV radiation, all those things, he could really visualize the correct mode of propagation.'

'Numerical analysis based upon Earth resistivity measurements show the net resistance between antipodes to be less than one ohm. ['Nikola Tesla and the Diameter of the Earth: A Discussion of One of the Many Modes of Operation of the Wardenclyffe Tower,' K. L. Corum and J. F. Corum, Ph.D. 1996] As to atmospheric conductivity, at an elevation of 50 km or 31 miles it is 'practically perfect'.

If you go high enough, the conductivity is so great that horizontally there is no more chance for voltage variations. The air, for the scale of times that we are talking about, becomes effectively a conductor. This occurs at a height in the neighborhood of 50 kilometers. This is not as high as what is called the 'ionosphere,' in which there are very large numbers of ions produced by photoelectricity from the sun. Nevertheless, for our discussions of atmospheric electricity, the air becomes sufficiently conductive at about 50 kilometers that we can imagine that there is practically a perfect conducting surface at this height, from which the currents come down. [Feynman, R. P., R. B. Leighton, M. Sands, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Addison-Wesley, 1964, Vol. 2, chapter 9; p. 629.]

I am not producing radiation in my system; I am suppressing electromagnetic [space] waves. [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 133.)]

Tesla’s approach was to employ a radial cylindrical radio surface wave [] while at the same time suppressing space wave electromagnetic radiation. The radial cylindrical radio surface wave or Zenneck surface wave exists as an exact solution to Maxwell's equations. It is supported by a planar or spherical interface between two homogeneous media having different dielectric constants. [Barlow, H., J. Brown, Radio Surface Waves, Oxford University Press, London, 1962.], [Hendry, Janice, “Surface Waves: What are they? Why are they interesting?,” Roke Manor Research Ltd., 2009.] In the case of terrestrial wireless power transfer, the upper medium is the insulating atmosphere and the lower medium is the earth below it, comprising a lossy spherical conducting transmission line. [Corum, K. L. and J. F. Corum, U.S. Patent Pending US20140252886 A1, 'Excitation and use of guided surface wave modes on lossy media.', [Corum, K. L. and J. F. Corum, U.S. Patent Pending US20160072300 A1, 'Excitation and use of guided surface wave modes on lossy media.'

About attenuation, the Zenneck surface wave field strength falls off exponentially at a rate of e-ad/&radic;d in the direction of propagation along the interface, where a is a frequency-dependent attenuation constant. [Goubau, G., “Über die Zennecksche Bodenwelle,” (On the Zenneck Surface Wave), Zeitschrift für Angewandte Physik, Vol. 3, 1951, Nrs. 3/4, pp. 103-107.] As the wavelength becomes greater the propagation attenuation decreases and the fields extend out over a greater distance. The field intensity of the bound wave is at a maximum at the earth-atmosphere surface. A pure Zenneck wave has no space wave component; the portion of field energy present in the upper half space or dielectric is evanescent.'

'In 1907 Jonathan Zenneck described an electromagnetic wave that travels over a flat surface bounding two homogeneous media of different conductivity and dielectric constants. [J. Zenneck,”Über die Fortpflanzung ebener elektromag netischer Wellen längs einer ebenen Leiterfläche und ihre Beziehung zur drahtlose n Telegraphie” (“On the propagation of plane electromagnetic waves along a planar conductor surface and its relation to wireless telegraphy”), Ann. Physik [4] 23, 846 (1907).] The Zenneck wave has a phase velocity greater than that of light and its field strength falls off exponentially at a rate of e-ad/vd in the direction of propagation along the interface, where a is a frequency-dependent attenuation constant. As the wavelength is increased the propagation attenuation decreases and the fields extend over a greater distance. The field intensity of the wave is at a maximum at the bounding surface, has a small attenuation in the direction along the interface, and high attenuation with height above the surface. [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 133n.]

In 1909 Sommerfeld performed a theoretical analysis of the propagation of radio waves around the earth, solving for the problem of a vertical dipole over a finitely conducting homogeneous ground. He divided the expression for the resulting field into 'space wave' and 'surface wave' components. The surface wave part had nearly identical properties to the unique plane surface wave solution to Maxwell’s equations that had been identified by Zenneck two years previously. The field amplitudes varied inversely as the square root of the horizontal distance from the source and decayed exponentially with height above the interface. [Sommerfeld, Arnold N., 'Uber die Ausbreitung der Wellen in der drahtlosen Telegraphie,' Annalen der Physik, March 16, 1909 (Vol. 28, No. 4), pp. 665-736.] [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 75n.]

From my circuit you can get either electromagnetic waves, 90 percent of electromagnetic waves if you like, and 10 percent in the current energy that passes through the earth. Or, you can reverse the process and get 10 percent of the energy in electromagnetic waves and 90 percent in energy of the current that passes through the earth. . . . This view, by the way, is now confirmed. Note, for instance, the mathematical treatise of Sommerfeld, who shows that my theory is correct, that I was right in my explanations of the phenomena. [Nikola Tesla On His Work With Alternating Currents and Their Application to Wireless Telegraphy, Telephony, and Transmission of Power, Leland I. Anderson, editor, Sun Publishing Company, 1992, p. 75.]' that the broadcasting and wireless telecommunications component of the World Wireless plan might have succeeded, and while the global transmission of electrical energy at industrial power levels is not practicable, that long range nonradiative wireless power transfer is physically possible." GLPeterson (talk) 20:25, 17 September 2016 (UTC)