transcript
"Marc J. Seifer is an acknowledged authority on the life of Nikola Tesla. He is also considered one of the world's foremost graphology experts. He is the author of more than seventy scientific articles, and his writings have been featured in numerous magazines. He teaches psychology at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island" (From the inside cover of his book Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla, Biography of A Genius)
|
If needed, click here for Adobe Flashplayer.
"What did you study as an undergraduate and post-graduate?"
"Well I studied…I was actually a finance major, I was going to make a million dollars and go to Wall Street. And then I studied a minor in psychology and major and business I went to three different graduate schools. I studied Graphology/Handwriting Analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York. I got a master’s degree at the University of Chicago and I studied Psychology and Neurophysiology of the Brain and then I went on to Saybrook University in California and that’s where I did my doctorate dissertation on Tesla in the Psychology Department." (Dr. Seifer)
"Your doctorial thesis was on 'The Psycho history of Nikola Tesla,'
what introduced you to Nikola Tesla and his works?"
what introduced you to Nikola Tesla and his works?"
"Well I have to go back to 1976, and I was teaching courses in higher states of consciousness at Providence College…alternate states of consciousness, parapsychology, ESP, and things like that. And I was writing articles for ESP Magazine, and Harold Smuckler was also teaching a course, actually teaching a course on UFOs. And he had a magazine and he said I want you to write some articles for me. So I said sure. So I was writing articles on this Tibetan lama his name was Lobsang Rampa, and he had written a book called, “The Third Eye.” And you don’t find out until the third book that he is really not Tibetan he was a British plumber and then Cyril Hodgkins wanted to die and he was depressed from World War II. Rampa, the Tibetan, was dying and he needed a body, so they switched souls. So Cyril Hodgkins’ soul goes to heaven and Rampa takes over Cyril Hodgkins body and he writes 15 books and they’re really great books, great books; it’s a wild story. And I was writing a feature article and I called it “In Defense of Lobsang Rampa” because I thought there was a lot of interesting stuff in his life. So I could explain that a British plumber would know all these things. So I went down to New York City and the public library. I found a book on avatars, enlightened beings people that come to the earth to save the earth. Once of these avatars was Jesus Christ and one was Lobsang Rampa and one was this guy named Nikola Tesla, who was born on the planet Venus and landed on earth in 1856 to gives us alternating current induction motors flourescent light, wireless communication, remote control, robotics, particle beam weapons…this is ridiculous..If one guy had invented all these things…wireless communication, alternating current. I would know who he was.
My dad fixed televisions in the 1950's and I grew up with electronic equipment all downstairs. We had tubes and everything. So I was in the library; so I looked him up and there was an article that he had written on high frequency phenomenon from about 1918 but it must have been 1890 when it was published. So I said, wow this guy really did exist. So I got back to RI and I told Howard hey I discovered this guy Tesla and he said oh Tesla and he said here and gave me his first major biography written on him and another book called Tesla and the Venusian Space Ship and Tesla was still alive living on a space ship and landing in people’s backyards. This was in 1970; so he would be like 130 years old. So those were the two books I started with and then I got a book of his patents and I have the book here. It wasn't this particular book because you could only get the book from UFO organizations. These are all of his patents, and we go back to utilizing effects that are transmitted at a distance and this is his radio patent. And I go holy crow, this guy is the really deal and he really has 75 patents. I better research this thing.
So I began to research it and I found out that he really was the inventor of all of those inventions.
He really invented the induction motor, he really invented the hydraulic power system, he really invented wireless communication, remote control which becomes remote control robotics.
The high technology for the whole new age. So what I wanted to do in my doctoral dissertation was to explain how could such a famous person, who was famous at the turn of the century, how could he disappear from the history books. And so I actually got different history books on the history of science and you would have Marconi mentioned Edison mentioned and Tesla wouldn’t be mentioned. And I would actually do studies that if I had 20 books Tesla was mentioned in only four of them. And in 15 of them he wasn’t mentioned. Even though Marconi and Edison would be mentioned and even though his inventions would be mentioned. So that was the heart and soul of the doctoral dissertation. To figure out how such a famous person could disappear from the history books. He was not little known at the time; he was world famous at the turn of the century. When his machines were put in at Niagara Falls he spoke as the inventor and articles were all over the world. He lectured in Europe and lectured in the United States. Thousands of people attended his lectures. He lived in the Waldorf Astoria, and he knew all famous people like Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, J.P. Morgan, John Jacob Astor. So he was the star of the guilded age so you have an amazingly famous person who was recognized at the time and having that guy disappear. It wasn’t like some little inventor who invented things, mailed his patents and secretly got all the money. This was a star of the guilded age.
So I knew I had a powerful idea here and so I kept working on the project and changed it into a biography. I wrote the doctoral dissertation and then just continued on the research." (Dr. Seifer)
My dad fixed televisions in the 1950's and I grew up with electronic equipment all downstairs. We had tubes and everything. So I was in the library; so I looked him up and there was an article that he had written on high frequency phenomenon from about 1918 but it must have been 1890 when it was published. So I said, wow this guy really did exist. So I got back to RI and I told Howard hey I discovered this guy Tesla and he said oh Tesla and he said here and gave me his first major biography written on him and another book called Tesla and the Venusian Space Ship and Tesla was still alive living on a space ship and landing in people’s backyards. This was in 1970; so he would be like 130 years old. So those were the two books I started with and then I got a book of his patents and I have the book here. It wasn't this particular book because you could only get the book from UFO organizations. These are all of his patents, and we go back to utilizing effects that are transmitted at a distance and this is his radio patent. And I go holy crow, this guy is the really deal and he really has 75 patents. I better research this thing.
So I began to research it and I found out that he really was the inventor of all of those inventions.
He really invented the induction motor, he really invented the hydraulic power system, he really invented wireless communication, remote control which becomes remote control robotics.
The high technology for the whole new age. So what I wanted to do in my doctoral dissertation was to explain how could such a famous person, who was famous at the turn of the century, how could he disappear from the history books. And so I actually got different history books on the history of science and you would have Marconi mentioned Edison mentioned and Tesla wouldn’t be mentioned. And I would actually do studies that if I had 20 books Tesla was mentioned in only four of them. And in 15 of them he wasn’t mentioned. Even though Marconi and Edison would be mentioned and even though his inventions would be mentioned. So that was the heart and soul of the doctoral dissertation. To figure out how such a famous person could disappear from the history books. He was not little known at the time; he was world famous at the turn of the century. When his machines were put in at Niagara Falls he spoke as the inventor and articles were all over the world. He lectured in Europe and lectured in the United States. Thousands of people attended his lectures. He lived in the Waldorf Astoria, and he knew all famous people like Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, J.P. Morgan, John Jacob Astor. So he was the star of the guilded age so you have an amazingly famous person who was recognized at the time and having that guy disappear. It wasn’t like some little inventor who invented things, mailed his patents and secretly got all the money. This was a star of the guilded age.
So I knew I had a powerful idea here and so I kept working on the project and changed it into a biography. I wrote the doctoral dissertation and then just continued on the research." (Dr. Seifer)
"Why do you think he was left out of the history books?"
"I think he was left out for about three major reasons.
The most important reason really was that he ultimately failed at Wardenclyffe. He had set up a wireless system on Long Island funded by J.P. Morgan and he was going to transmit voice pictures and power from Long Island to England and France and this was an enormous project and he ran out of money and he tried to get the money from Morgan to complete the project and Morgan wouldn’t give him the funds to complete the project. So while he was negotiating with Morgan to get the money, Marconi sent dot, dot, dot--he sent Morse Code across the Atlantic and gets a Noble Prize a couple of years later. So to simplify history people thought Marconi must be the inventor of the radio and since the guy who didn’t complete it didn’t do it so they just forget about him. So I think because he lost in wireless that was the main reason. But I also think that there are two other reasons.
One was when he sold his patents to Westinghouse then the Tesla motor became the Westinghouse motor. I grew up; I knew Westinghouse’s name, everyone knew Westinghouse’s name. But today people don’t know who Westinghouse is. It’s a funny kind of thing. I was trying to get some photographs from the Westinghouse Company and I couldn’t get the number. So I called the operator in Pittsburgh and asked for the number of the Westinghouse Company and she said there is no Westinghouse Company. It was bought by CBS. So kids your age don’t know the name Westinghouse. Because it’s gone. So Westinghouse was a household name up until about 15 or 20 years ago when CBS absorbed Westinghouse. So what happened to Westinghouse also happened to Telsa. The name got absorbed.
The third reason was the UFO thing. In 1899 Tesla received post-frequencies on his equipment. It added color on the screens He thought that they came from outer space, maybe they came from Mars. And there was the theory that because Americans or humans in the west were technologically advanced maybe there was advanced civilization that we were catching up to them and one of them would be the martians. And if the martians were going to contact anybody they would contact a great inventor. So they would contact Tesla. So Tesla said I received post-frequencies and maybe they came from Mars and so he got attached to UFO circles. And so his name kind of disappeared into the UFO literature, and he was attached to the occult and people stayed away from him. So it was interesting because he disappeared but the UFO circles kept his name alive. That’s where I got a big, giant book of his patents and that’s where the first major biography of him was kept alive. So that’s why I think those are the three reasons his name disappeared."(Dr. Seifer)
The most important reason really was that he ultimately failed at Wardenclyffe. He had set up a wireless system on Long Island funded by J.P. Morgan and he was going to transmit voice pictures and power from Long Island to England and France and this was an enormous project and he ran out of money and he tried to get the money from Morgan to complete the project and Morgan wouldn’t give him the funds to complete the project. So while he was negotiating with Morgan to get the money, Marconi sent dot, dot, dot--he sent Morse Code across the Atlantic and gets a Noble Prize a couple of years later. So to simplify history people thought Marconi must be the inventor of the radio and since the guy who didn’t complete it didn’t do it so they just forget about him. So I think because he lost in wireless that was the main reason. But I also think that there are two other reasons.
One was when he sold his patents to Westinghouse then the Tesla motor became the Westinghouse motor. I grew up; I knew Westinghouse’s name, everyone knew Westinghouse’s name. But today people don’t know who Westinghouse is. It’s a funny kind of thing. I was trying to get some photographs from the Westinghouse Company and I couldn’t get the number. So I called the operator in Pittsburgh and asked for the number of the Westinghouse Company and she said there is no Westinghouse Company. It was bought by CBS. So kids your age don’t know the name Westinghouse. Because it’s gone. So Westinghouse was a household name up until about 15 or 20 years ago when CBS absorbed Westinghouse. So what happened to Westinghouse also happened to Telsa. The name got absorbed.
The third reason was the UFO thing. In 1899 Tesla received post-frequencies on his equipment. It added color on the screens He thought that they came from outer space, maybe they came from Mars. And there was the theory that because Americans or humans in the west were technologically advanced maybe there was advanced civilization that we were catching up to them and one of them would be the martians. And if the martians were going to contact anybody they would contact a great inventor. So they would contact Tesla. So Tesla said I received post-frequencies and maybe they came from Mars and so he got attached to UFO circles. And so his name kind of disappeared into the UFO literature, and he was attached to the occult and people stayed away from him. So it was interesting because he disappeared but the UFO circles kept his name alive. That’s where I got a big, giant book of his patents and that’s where the first major biography of him was kept alive. So that’s why I think those are the three reasons his name disappeared."(Dr. Seifer)
"What interested you most about Tesla’s life?"
"Interesting question for me.
I think that my dad use to fix TVs and I’m talking about the early 1950’s. So I would go out as a kid and I would hold my dad’s equipment and he would climb up onto the roof and fix the aerials or fix the televisions and rebuilt or actually built televisions from scratch. So I grew up with all this electronic equipment. And we built when I was a boy scout I built a wireless radio and the radio, I’m not kidding, was made up of a jar and you wrapped wire around it and it had earphones and that was about it and it had a little capacitor he made out of tin foil and he eventually used an actual capacitor So I had earphones and had this jar with wire wrapped around it and I used acid to create a dial and I had a tin can which changed the stations and I could pick up the different radio stations. But when he set the whole thing up for me it didn't work. And he couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. Then wait a minute; I got it. And he takes another wire and attaches it to the radiator he said we need a ground connection. I listened to a lot of stuff on this radio. So when I was a kid, I knew that the ground connection was very important for the invention of radio. So it wasn't just going through the air; information was also traveling through the ground. I knew the difference for being in a car. AM stations were blanked out when you went through a tunnel but the FM stations would continue to be heard. Something that intrigued me was that Tesla was very involved with the ground connection. But that he was the actual inventor of this little device that I had when I was a kid.
I root for the underdog. The guy disappears from history; I kind of want to know why and that part of it. But the other reason wasn't just Tesla but it was him within his time. It was living in the Waldorf Astoria in the guilded age and you have the horse and buggy and Henry Ford comes in an invents the car. So you have this transformation from the 1890's to the 1900's from horse and buggy to the modern era, radio comes in and he was friends with all these famous people like Kipling and Mark Twain Stamford White was his designer or architect of the day. It would make a great movie. So my plan was to get a motion picture made. And one of my friends was a famous actor J.P. Walsh I said Jim I am interested in getting a film made on Tesla and his life but I am also working on my doctorate. He said why don’t you do both. Make Tesla the topic of your dissertation and write the screen play at the same time. So part of my reason for writing the biography was because I thought it would make a great film.
I knew it was a great story and I also knew it was an important story. And frankly, I also did it for history. I knew he deserved a major treatise written him where people couldn't deny his real spot in history. And when I wrote the book and was working on the book there were still a lot of enemies against Tesla. For instance the guy who wrote the review of my book for scientific American He has written his doctoral dissertation on Charles Steinmens and if you read the book you read that Steinmens stole Tesla’s inventions and wrote major textbooks on alternating current and left Tesla’s name out of it. (14:21) So I got the guy who writes his doctoral dissertation on one of the enemies of Tesla and he’s writing a review of my book for Scientific American. So my brother called me up and said Marc he’s pretty harsh in his review of you. I said hey but he called it a serious piece of scholarship. I don’t care what else he said. It doesn't matter to me. So I have over a thousand end-notes in the book so if you say I really don’t believe he was the inventor of this or that, you go look in the end-notes you can find the actual location. So I did it for history that was another major reason." (Dr. Seifer)
I think that my dad use to fix TVs and I’m talking about the early 1950’s. So I would go out as a kid and I would hold my dad’s equipment and he would climb up onto the roof and fix the aerials or fix the televisions and rebuilt or actually built televisions from scratch. So I grew up with all this electronic equipment. And we built when I was a boy scout I built a wireless radio and the radio, I’m not kidding, was made up of a jar and you wrapped wire around it and it had earphones and that was about it and it had a little capacitor he made out of tin foil and he eventually used an actual capacitor So I had earphones and had this jar with wire wrapped around it and I used acid to create a dial and I had a tin can which changed the stations and I could pick up the different radio stations. But when he set the whole thing up for me it didn't work. And he couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. Then wait a minute; I got it. And he takes another wire and attaches it to the radiator he said we need a ground connection. I listened to a lot of stuff on this radio. So when I was a kid, I knew that the ground connection was very important for the invention of radio. So it wasn't just going through the air; information was also traveling through the ground. I knew the difference for being in a car. AM stations were blanked out when you went through a tunnel but the FM stations would continue to be heard. Something that intrigued me was that Tesla was very involved with the ground connection. But that he was the actual inventor of this little device that I had when I was a kid.
I root for the underdog. The guy disappears from history; I kind of want to know why and that part of it. But the other reason wasn't just Tesla but it was him within his time. It was living in the Waldorf Astoria in the guilded age and you have the horse and buggy and Henry Ford comes in an invents the car. So you have this transformation from the 1890's to the 1900's from horse and buggy to the modern era, radio comes in and he was friends with all these famous people like Kipling and Mark Twain Stamford White was his designer or architect of the day. It would make a great movie. So my plan was to get a motion picture made. And one of my friends was a famous actor J.P. Walsh I said Jim I am interested in getting a film made on Tesla and his life but I am also working on my doctorate. He said why don’t you do both. Make Tesla the topic of your dissertation and write the screen play at the same time. So part of my reason for writing the biography was because I thought it would make a great film.
I knew it was a great story and I also knew it was an important story. And frankly, I also did it for history. I knew he deserved a major treatise written him where people couldn't deny his real spot in history. And when I wrote the book and was working on the book there were still a lot of enemies against Tesla. For instance the guy who wrote the review of my book for scientific American He has written his doctoral dissertation on Charles Steinmens and if you read the book you read that Steinmens stole Tesla’s inventions and wrote major textbooks on alternating current and left Tesla’s name out of it. (14:21) So I got the guy who writes his doctoral dissertation on one of the enemies of Tesla and he’s writing a review of my book for Scientific American. So my brother called me up and said Marc he’s pretty harsh in his review of you. I said hey but he called it a serious piece of scholarship. I don’t care what else he said. It doesn't matter to me. So I have over a thousand end-notes in the book so if you say I really don’t believe he was the inventor of this or that, you go look in the end-notes you can find the actual location. So I did it for history that was another major reason." (Dr. Seifer)
"Tesla was a bit antisocial. Do you think Tesla’s intelligence hurt him as a business man
and the way he presented himself?"
and the way he presented himself?"
"He’s a complicated guy. One of the things about Tesla was he had a great sense of humor. He had friends like Robert Johnson, the editor of Century Magazine. Century Magazine was the most important magazine of the day. Everybody would buy Century Magazine. Mark Twain would write for the Century. And Johnson’s wife was Catherine Johnson and she had this vicariously love affairs with Tesla. So Tesla would often go to dinner at the Johnson’s home and people like Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain. Kipling So he met all kinds of people. So Tesla had a lot of friends in very high places. And he had a great sense of humor. One of my favorite letters, he writes to Catherine, Kipling just took me to this ratty restaurant down in Greenwich Village where I was sure to find hair and cockroaches in the soup. He’s kind of a cleanliness nut. Part of him was a prima-donna and part of him did look down on people. But the people that he liked, he was in great repor with ultimately that is how he dealt in business. I think that he tried to do huge things but he snookered some of his financiers. For instance, John Jacob Astor, he was living at the Waldorf Astoria and at some point was probably living rent free because the guy who owned the hotel was his backer. So he stopped paying rent. Astor was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (today he’d be a billionaire) so I don’t think he cared that Tesla didn't pay him.
Astor had given him a hundred thousand dollars and Astor thought that Tesla was going to developed fluorescent lighting patents. Fluorescent lighting now is the law of the land; they just created a law to get rid of Edison’s incandescent bulbs. So Tesla knew then that lighting Edison’s bulbs were 95% heat and only 5% light; so why not have a bulb that just produces light. I have a fluorescent light over the kitchen sink; we never shut it off. It’s on day and night runs for 10 to 12 years. But if you have a light bulb this thing will run out in three or four months. So we got to change the light bulb. So this was an important invention and Astor expected Tesla to make these lights marketable and also make oscillators marketable, but Tesla took the money and went out to Colorado Springs and built a huge wireless tower to test his wireless equipment. So I think Astor was annoyed with Tesla that I gave you money for X and Y and you are using it for Z. And the reason why Tesla was using it for Z wireless communication was he knows that if this succeeds he will have more than enough money to go back and also do the lighting and also do the oscillators which were all part of a larger plan. So I think he lead Astor kind of down the garden path a bit. And in a sense he also did the same thing with Morgan. Morgan had given him $150,000 to build a wireless tower out on Long Island. And once Tesla found out that Marconi was stealing his patents Tesla decided to double the size of the tower because he felt if he built a larger tower I can control more of the earth and I will be able to block Marconi from setting up plants in Europe and South America. So when Morgan returned from Europe and found out that Tesla had built a larger tower than he had contracted Morgan was angry at Tesla for doing this for misleading him. And Tesla was saying I just need another $100,000 to $150,000 and the tower will be complete and we’ll be able to send wireless messages around the whole world. And Tesla came up with the ways of the world brain. What Tesla said was I will be able to convert the world into a brain which will feel in all its parts. So in 1904 Tesla envisioned what is today the internet. I know I built a larger tower than I should have built but look at what we’ve got here. And Morgan said well you didn’t follow the contract and I’m not going to give you the money. And Tesla says to him Mr. Morgan I harnessed Niagara Falls this is not a boast Mr. Morgan this is my credentials. What he is telling Morgan is you own General Electric. General Electric is making hundreds of millions of dollars a year on electrical power distribution all because Tesla’s my invention. So Tesla’s saying I made you a millionaire many times over I just need another $150,000 and I can complete this and Morgan won’t give him the money. One of the things I learned about Morgan, was Morgan is buying art at the time. So Morgan would buy a jeweled box for $40,000; he’d buy a painting for $120,000. What I am trying to say is that $150,000 is a lot of money for you and a lot of money for me but even way back then for Morgan it was a little bit more than pocket change. He could have easily given Tesla the additional funds. So, I do think that Tesla’s personality played a big role in launching huge projects but he was unable to turn his financier around and I think personality conflicts had a lot to do with it and communication. He couldn’t reach Morgan rapidly and he needed to make these changes. I agree his sense was his own worst enemy; he should have stayed with the contract. We contracted to do X let’s do X but he wanted to do the whole enchilada. He wanted to do the whole big thing." (Dr. Seifer)
Astor had given him a hundred thousand dollars and Astor thought that Tesla was going to developed fluorescent lighting patents. Fluorescent lighting now is the law of the land; they just created a law to get rid of Edison’s incandescent bulbs. So Tesla knew then that lighting Edison’s bulbs were 95% heat and only 5% light; so why not have a bulb that just produces light. I have a fluorescent light over the kitchen sink; we never shut it off. It’s on day and night runs for 10 to 12 years. But if you have a light bulb this thing will run out in three or four months. So we got to change the light bulb. So this was an important invention and Astor expected Tesla to make these lights marketable and also make oscillators marketable, but Tesla took the money and went out to Colorado Springs and built a huge wireless tower to test his wireless equipment. So I think Astor was annoyed with Tesla that I gave you money for X and Y and you are using it for Z. And the reason why Tesla was using it for Z wireless communication was he knows that if this succeeds he will have more than enough money to go back and also do the lighting and also do the oscillators which were all part of a larger plan. So I think he lead Astor kind of down the garden path a bit. And in a sense he also did the same thing with Morgan. Morgan had given him $150,000 to build a wireless tower out on Long Island. And once Tesla found out that Marconi was stealing his patents Tesla decided to double the size of the tower because he felt if he built a larger tower I can control more of the earth and I will be able to block Marconi from setting up plants in Europe and South America. So when Morgan returned from Europe and found out that Tesla had built a larger tower than he had contracted Morgan was angry at Tesla for doing this for misleading him. And Tesla was saying I just need another $100,000 to $150,000 and the tower will be complete and we’ll be able to send wireless messages around the whole world. And Tesla came up with the ways of the world brain. What Tesla said was I will be able to convert the world into a brain which will feel in all its parts. So in 1904 Tesla envisioned what is today the internet. I know I built a larger tower than I should have built but look at what we’ve got here. And Morgan said well you didn’t follow the contract and I’m not going to give you the money. And Tesla says to him Mr. Morgan I harnessed Niagara Falls this is not a boast Mr. Morgan this is my credentials. What he is telling Morgan is you own General Electric. General Electric is making hundreds of millions of dollars a year on electrical power distribution all because Tesla’s my invention. So Tesla’s saying I made you a millionaire many times over I just need another $150,000 and I can complete this and Morgan won’t give him the money. One of the things I learned about Morgan, was Morgan is buying art at the time. So Morgan would buy a jeweled box for $40,000; he’d buy a painting for $120,000. What I am trying to say is that $150,000 is a lot of money for you and a lot of money for me but even way back then for Morgan it was a little bit more than pocket change. He could have easily given Tesla the additional funds. So, I do think that Tesla’s personality played a big role in launching huge projects but he was unable to turn his financier around and I think personality conflicts had a lot to do with it and communication. He couldn’t reach Morgan rapidly and he needed to make these changes. I agree his sense was his own worst enemy; he should have stayed with the contract. We contracted to do X let’s do X but he wanted to do the whole enchilada. He wanted to do the whole big thing." (Dr. Seifer)
"Was there animosity between Tesla and Edison?"
"I think there was at first. I think Edison was Tesla’s hero. And Tesla worked for the Edison Company in Paris. I discovered a trip that Edison took to Paris in 1882/1883 that’s never been reported before. He met Tesla in Paris, and so when Tesla came to the United States, he came in 1884 to work for Edison. He was working for the Wizard of Menlo Park. He invented the light bulb, he invented the phonograph, he was the world’s greatest inventor.
And so this young man was working for the world’s greatest inventor. And he had with him an alternating current device which would become the hydroelectric power system, a clean energy system today that still runs a form of perpetual motion because it’s running on the waterfalls. So you never run out of fuel. So that’s what he had in his pocket and he brings it to Edison, and Edison doesn't understand it because it’s very complicated. And so Edison using direct current says I don’t want to hear about alternating current Westinghouse is alternating current and Thomson Houston is alternating current and I don’t like those guys and I don’t want to hear about alternating current. So Tesla says, I’ll redesign your direct current machines and make them more efficient and I can make them about 20 % more efficient. Edison says, if you can do that, there’s $50,000 in it for you. So Tesla goes ahead and does it; he doesn't really get 20% maybe he gets 12 or 11 percent and so he tries to get the money and Edison says I’m just teasing. I wasn't really going to give you $50,000 it’s American humor. So Tesla walks out on him.
So now you have the war of the currents. You have Edison using direct current and Tesla who sells his patents to Westinghouse using alternating current which is a much better device. But people don’t know that. If Edison had succeed at Niagara Falls, all of the industry for the whole northeast would have had to been located along Niagara Falls. If Tesla would have succeed with Westinghouse, all the industry could be anywhere throughout the whole northeast. You could put a factory in the middle of a forest as long as you could get a long-distance line. We live in New England, and when you drive along the rivers you see all factories well up until 1897 every factory had to be along the river because they had to be close to the power source. So that was the difference. There was no comparison between the two. But Edison as you know started to electrocute cats and dogs and even an elephant with the Tesla system trying to show that it was too dangerous to use, and of course, it wasn't too dangerous and he got it used in the electric chair.
So I think during the height of the war of the currents in the early 1890's, I think there was a lot of animosity between them. But at some point particularly after Morgan moved Edison out of his own company and changed the Edison Electric Company to GE. Edison had his comeuppance and I think he began to look at Tesla with different eyes. When Tesla’s lab 3 burnt to the ground in 1895 he had his temporary laboratory at one of Edison’s plants. So I think that they became friends and so Tesla eventually got the Edison Medal which Edison had to okay. So they were competitors--kind of like the Red Sox and the Yankees--but you really kind of have a love hate relationship. I think they had a love hate relationship but I think there was a lot of respect between the two of them as the years moved on." (Dr. Seifer)
And so this young man was working for the world’s greatest inventor. And he had with him an alternating current device which would become the hydroelectric power system, a clean energy system today that still runs a form of perpetual motion because it’s running on the waterfalls. So you never run out of fuel. So that’s what he had in his pocket and he brings it to Edison, and Edison doesn't understand it because it’s very complicated. And so Edison using direct current says I don’t want to hear about alternating current Westinghouse is alternating current and Thomson Houston is alternating current and I don’t like those guys and I don’t want to hear about alternating current. So Tesla says, I’ll redesign your direct current machines and make them more efficient and I can make them about 20 % more efficient. Edison says, if you can do that, there’s $50,000 in it for you. So Tesla goes ahead and does it; he doesn't really get 20% maybe he gets 12 or 11 percent and so he tries to get the money and Edison says I’m just teasing. I wasn't really going to give you $50,000 it’s American humor. So Tesla walks out on him.
So now you have the war of the currents. You have Edison using direct current and Tesla who sells his patents to Westinghouse using alternating current which is a much better device. But people don’t know that. If Edison had succeed at Niagara Falls, all of the industry for the whole northeast would have had to been located along Niagara Falls. If Tesla would have succeed with Westinghouse, all the industry could be anywhere throughout the whole northeast. You could put a factory in the middle of a forest as long as you could get a long-distance line. We live in New England, and when you drive along the rivers you see all factories well up until 1897 every factory had to be along the river because they had to be close to the power source. So that was the difference. There was no comparison between the two. But Edison as you know started to electrocute cats and dogs and even an elephant with the Tesla system trying to show that it was too dangerous to use, and of course, it wasn't too dangerous and he got it used in the electric chair.
So I think during the height of the war of the currents in the early 1890's, I think there was a lot of animosity between them. But at some point particularly after Morgan moved Edison out of his own company and changed the Edison Electric Company to GE. Edison had his comeuppance and I think he began to look at Tesla with different eyes. When Tesla’s lab 3 burnt to the ground in 1895 he had his temporary laboratory at one of Edison’s plants. So I think that they became friends and so Tesla eventually got the Edison Medal which Edison had to okay. So they were competitors--kind of like the Red Sox and the Yankees--but you really kind of have a love hate relationship. I think they had a love hate relationship but I think there was a lot of respect between the two of them as the years moved on." (Dr. Seifer)
"Did the rivalry between J.P. Morgan and Westinghouse effect Tesla’s work?"
"Yes, it did. When Niagara Falls was such a huge enterprise and Westinghouse Company won the bid, and the reason why the Westinghouse Company won the bid to harness Niagara Falls which would light up the entire northeast, this was a mammoth undertaking. It was because the scientists studied all the different inventions and they were astounded and they said I can’t believe this but it is Tesla’s system that’s the most important system. This is the one that should be used. And once they realized that it should be Tesla’s system, they went along with Westinghouse because he owned the system. But because the system was so huge, Westinghouse couldn’t do it alone so he had to form a union with the guy who had been suing him left and right every which way for the last 10 years which was Morgan. So he formed a deal with Morgan; Morgan gave Westinghouse electric trolley pads and Westinghouse gave Morgan access to the Tesla system. Tesla never saw a dime of it. And I think that Westinghouse could have somehow worked it in where GE, General Electric, would have paid the inventor something but he owned the patents so when you give up the patents that’s gone.
So now Westinghouse also owned electric trolley pads which enabled him to build the subways in New York City and electric railway. So the electric railway system is also a direct result of Tesla’s AC polyphase system. So when Tesla needed money, he went back to Westinghouse and he said your making a lot of money on the railroads through my invention which was beyond the scope of our original intent you were just buying a power system you weren’t buying electric railways as well and Westinghouse said it’s just too bad Mr. Tesla. I bought the patents; I can do whatever I wanted with them. So it did hurt and so in a sense it brought Westinghouse and Morgan together. And in a sense the two of them in a way conspired against making sure Tesla never got more money when they could have somehow figured out because they were making enormous amounts of money in electric power distribution and the railway system." (Dr. Seifer)
So now Westinghouse also owned electric trolley pads which enabled him to build the subways in New York City and electric railway. So the electric railway system is also a direct result of Tesla’s AC polyphase system. So when Tesla needed money, he went back to Westinghouse and he said your making a lot of money on the railroads through my invention which was beyond the scope of our original intent you were just buying a power system you weren’t buying electric railways as well and Westinghouse said it’s just too bad Mr. Tesla. I bought the patents; I can do whatever I wanted with them. So it did hurt and so in a sense it brought Westinghouse and Morgan together. And in a sense the two of them in a way conspired against making sure Tesla never got more money when they could have somehow figured out because they were making enormous amounts of money in electric power distribution and the railway system." (Dr. Seifer)
"What were some of Tesla’s mistakes? What could he have done better?"
"Two mistakes I can think of. One was during the height of the war of the currents, Edison had the name, the Wizard of Menlo Park. Everybody knew Edison, and Edison was saying direct current was the way to go. The public didn't know Tesla’s system was much better, but Westinghouse, who owned Tesla’s system, had a thousand power plants around the country that were all making money. So Westinghouse’s backers were saying, why should we scrap a thousand power plants that are making money to put in one power plant on different equipment we’re going to have to scrap everything . So they were in a crisis and we have to pay him a royalty on top of it. So Tesla said, look I’ll rip up the royalty contract you must put my system in I don’t want to pollute the earth with this inferior DC system and your inferior AC system. We must go with my system; money is not important to me. I’ll rip up the contract. I think that was his first major mistake. What he should have done was, he was getting $2.50 a watt. He could have reduced it down to a nickel a watt. Or he could have created a deferred payment. So that decision alone cost him in today’s money I would say a billion and one dollars. So I would say that was his first big mistake. When he was ripping up the contract, he should have renegotiated a much lower royalty payment or a deferred payment. If you should succeed then you can pay me x amount.
The second mistake he made I think was when he had a contract with Morgan to build a 90-foot tower he should not have built a 180-foot tower at Wardenclyffe. And when he built the 180-foot tower and Morgan wouldn't give him enough money to succeed. The third mistake I think Tesla made was if Wardenclyffe was going to go he should have made smaller systems. He could have had wireless telephones around New York City if he had wanted. That was too small for him. He wanted to do stuff for the whole world. I kind of liken it to the 1990's. There was a guy who could do a quad in ice skating you know you flip around 4 times. He was the only guy who could do a quad and it was the Olympics and I don’t even know his name. And he was going to do the quad and he fell and he didn't medal nothing ever happened to him. He could have done triple axles x, y and z around the block but he didn't do it. He wanted to do everything or nothing. And that was Tesla. He was either going to launch his world wireless system control the whole world with voice pictures and power or do nothing. And I think he should have ---once that was not viable--he should have worked on a smaller scale. He could have worked with the Navy to put in wireless planes on ships. He could have set up wireless telephones in New York City. I think those were the three major mistakes that he made." (Dr. Seifer)
The second mistake he made I think was when he had a contract with Morgan to build a 90-foot tower he should not have built a 180-foot tower at Wardenclyffe. And when he built the 180-foot tower and Morgan wouldn't give him enough money to succeed. The third mistake I think Tesla made was if Wardenclyffe was going to go he should have made smaller systems. He could have had wireless telephones around New York City if he had wanted. That was too small for him. He wanted to do stuff for the whole world. I kind of liken it to the 1990's. There was a guy who could do a quad in ice skating you know you flip around 4 times. He was the only guy who could do a quad and it was the Olympics and I don’t even know his name. And he was going to do the quad and he fell and he didn't medal nothing ever happened to him. He could have done triple axles x, y and z around the block but he didn't do it. He wanted to do everything or nothing. And that was Tesla. He was either going to launch his world wireless system control the whole world with voice pictures and power or do nothing. And I think he should have ---once that was not viable--he should have worked on a smaller scale. He could have worked with the Navy to put in wireless planes on ships. He could have set up wireless telephones in New York City. I think those were the three major mistakes that he made." (Dr. Seifer)
"Do you think Tesla’s alliance with Westinghouse had hurtful or helpful affects on him and his work?"
"I think the question is a great question because I think it had a hurtful and a helpful affect. Tesla did not have the ability to harness Niagara Falls on his own and not only that, he didn't want to. He was an inventor. I kind of see him as a surfer he’s riding this wave of inventions, a cornucopia of inventions. He’s got 50 or 70 major inventions behind him and he’s on the wave; he’s here and he knows he’s got to go here he can’t take the time to develop all of these things he’s giving them out to the world. And he keeps going on and on and on. So he’s got the AC Polyphase system in Europe. They show that they can send Ron Dobonowski… Send electricity 100 miles with the Tesla system in about 1892. Before that no one had sent electrical power more than 2 or 3 miles, 4 miles max.
With Tesla’s system, they sent it 100 miles. That was good enough for Tesla. He said look at them, look at Brown and Dobonowski, they proved my stuff go ahead. So he needed the Westinghouse Company to make sure that his system went into the world and the other thing is had it not come in when it did we would be in a whole different situation. I feel very strongly, I've written to Al Gore about this when he talks about global warming. Tesla’s the most important inventor, most important person, for preventing or slowing down global warming because what was happening before Tesla’s system Westinghouse had a thousand coal-operated power plants Thomson Houston had a thousand and Edison had a thousand and they were just getting started and that’s just in the New England area. Close to 3,000 little power plants to light up each village and it was just for lighting you couldn't run a refrigerator, the vacuum cleaners or anything like that you could only light houses. So Tesla’s system is clean energy; it doesn't pollute and it’s perpetual motion almost because it’s running on waterfalls; so it’s not zapping the earth of oil or coal. It’s not running on uranium all a nuclear power plant does is boil water. So nuclear power plant boils water creates steam to create the energy to cause the wheel to turn which is what a waterfall does. So it simulates the Tesla system.
So all that is happening; so he needed Westinghouse to send his system out but then the (Westinghouse) Tesla motor became known as the Westinghouse motor. And so he lost fame because of that and even statue because of that because he had sold his patents. So on the one hand Westinghouse was a great ally of his and they were friends throughout their lives but on the other hand the nature of capitalism once you take over someone else’s patents they lose all access to them and there is nothing they can do about it." (Dr. Seifer)
With Tesla’s system, they sent it 100 miles. That was good enough for Tesla. He said look at them, look at Brown and Dobonowski, they proved my stuff go ahead. So he needed the Westinghouse Company to make sure that his system went into the world and the other thing is had it not come in when it did we would be in a whole different situation. I feel very strongly, I've written to Al Gore about this when he talks about global warming. Tesla’s the most important inventor, most important person, for preventing or slowing down global warming because what was happening before Tesla’s system Westinghouse had a thousand coal-operated power plants Thomson Houston had a thousand and Edison had a thousand and they were just getting started and that’s just in the New England area. Close to 3,000 little power plants to light up each village and it was just for lighting you couldn't run a refrigerator, the vacuum cleaners or anything like that you could only light houses. So Tesla’s system is clean energy; it doesn't pollute and it’s perpetual motion almost because it’s running on waterfalls; so it’s not zapping the earth of oil or coal. It’s not running on uranium all a nuclear power plant does is boil water. So nuclear power plant boils water creates steam to create the energy to cause the wheel to turn which is what a waterfall does. So it simulates the Tesla system.
So all that is happening; so he needed Westinghouse to send his system out but then the (Westinghouse) Tesla motor became known as the Westinghouse motor. And so he lost fame because of that and even statue because of that because he had sold his patents. So on the one hand Westinghouse was a great ally of his and they were friends throughout their lives but on the other hand the nature of capitalism once you take over someone else’s patents they lose all access to them and there is nothing they can do about it." (Dr. Seifer)
"What do you think about restoring Wardenclyffe?
The Oatmeal raised $1.3 million. Why the sudden interest in Wardenclyffe and Tesla?"
The Oatmeal raised $1.3 million. Why the sudden interest in Wardenclyffe and Tesla?"
"I think Tesla has resurfaced for a number of reasons.
One is that I think you can’t dispute Elon Musk, who started PayPal and has a space ship, starts an electric car company and decides to call it Tesla Motors that resurrected Tesla’s name. So every time Elon Musk’s name is mentioned, Tesla is resurfaced. I think another reason is Tesla’s far out photographs. They certainly turned me on when I first saw them. You see him in Colorado Springs surrounded by lightening and go wow who was this campy, neat guy. I got to find out who he is. And you find out he wasn’t just a campy, neat guy; he also had all these inventions. And now with the internet with the press of a button all these amazing photographs are all over the place. So that becomes cool. There’s a rock group called Tesla, too.
And I’d like to think my book had something to do with it. It was reviewed in Scientific American and in the New York Times, and so I think that one of the things my book did was it made it indisputable that he really was the inventor of all these inventions. Before the book was written, the other books didn’t really--you could dispute it--because they didn’t really do everything that I had done to prove without a doubt he was that behind all these things. So I think that those factors all played into it. And what’s amazing about The Oatmeal website was they had 20,000 people from over 100 countries donate money to help Wardenclyffe. We have been trying to raise money for Wardenclyffe for about 15 years. I met with the counselor of Croatia. I wrote to President Obama and I got a letter back not directly from Obama but I got a letter back and President Obama mentioned Tesla’s name in his speech on immigration in 2010. He mentioned Einstein, Tesla, and Carnegy and Sergi Pren, the head of Google as important inventors and immigrants. So I think that Tesla started to become cool again. And also we’re now living in his world; he was saying let’s do away with the power lines we can have wireless--he was talking about wireless telephones. He is the inventor of cell phone technology; he’s the guy who came up with idea of creating multiple frequencies so that every single person on the planet could have their own cell phone. This all goes back to his patents from 1901.
So I think his name is resurrected for all those reasons. And the laboratory is still there it was designed by Stamford White who designed the Capitol in Providence, the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame, Rosecliff, and right in Narragansett The Towers. So you have a great architect who’s built this great laboratory that is still sitting there the site is still there it’s 16 acres and that we now have the money to create a science center. I think he’s just an important positive symbol for the world cause he really did dedicate his life to uplifting humanity. Tesla calculated how much man hours of labor his induction motor saved the world. So instead of plowing a field with a horse you now have a machine to do it. So humans he knew would go back to school instead of spending so much time in physical labor and that the level of intelligence of all of humanity would be raised through his efforts. And we see that in the internet and the Arab Spring ; so high technology has definitely made a huge impact on our lives. And it’s all…a lot of it stems back to him. So I think that that’s all those reasons as to why. But I think the photographs are that he is just such a cool guy." (Dr. Seifer)
One is that I think you can’t dispute Elon Musk, who started PayPal and has a space ship, starts an electric car company and decides to call it Tesla Motors that resurrected Tesla’s name. So every time Elon Musk’s name is mentioned, Tesla is resurfaced. I think another reason is Tesla’s far out photographs. They certainly turned me on when I first saw them. You see him in Colorado Springs surrounded by lightening and go wow who was this campy, neat guy. I got to find out who he is. And you find out he wasn’t just a campy, neat guy; he also had all these inventions. And now with the internet with the press of a button all these amazing photographs are all over the place. So that becomes cool. There’s a rock group called Tesla, too.
And I’d like to think my book had something to do with it. It was reviewed in Scientific American and in the New York Times, and so I think that one of the things my book did was it made it indisputable that he really was the inventor of all these inventions. Before the book was written, the other books didn’t really--you could dispute it--because they didn’t really do everything that I had done to prove without a doubt he was that behind all these things. So I think that those factors all played into it. And what’s amazing about The Oatmeal website was they had 20,000 people from over 100 countries donate money to help Wardenclyffe. We have been trying to raise money for Wardenclyffe for about 15 years. I met with the counselor of Croatia. I wrote to President Obama and I got a letter back not directly from Obama but I got a letter back and President Obama mentioned Tesla’s name in his speech on immigration in 2010. He mentioned Einstein, Tesla, and Carnegy and Sergi Pren, the head of Google as important inventors and immigrants. So I think that Tesla started to become cool again. And also we’re now living in his world; he was saying let’s do away with the power lines we can have wireless--he was talking about wireless telephones. He is the inventor of cell phone technology; he’s the guy who came up with idea of creating multiple frequencies so that every single person on the planet could have their own cell phone. This all goes back to his patents from 1901.
So I think his name is resurrected for all those reasons. And the laboratory is still there it was designed by Stamford White who designed the Capitol in Providence, the Newport Tennis Hall of Fame, Rosecliff, and right in Narragansett The Towers. So you have a great architect who’s built this great laboratory that is still sitting there the site is still there it’s 16 acres and that we now have the money to create a science center. I think he’s just an important positive symbol for the world cause he really did dedicate his life to uplifting humanity. Tesla calculated how much man hours of labor his induction motor saved the world. So instead of plowing a field with a horse you now have a machine to do it. So humans he knew would go back to school instead of spending so much time in physical labor and that the level of intelligence of all of humanity would be raised through his efforts. And we see that in the internet and the Arab Spring ; so high technology has definitely made a huge impact on our lives. And it’s all…a lot of it stems back to him. So I think that that’s all those reasons as to why. But I think the photographs are that he is just such a cool guy." (Dr. Seifer)
"Why was Tesla’s work on Alternating Current was a turning point in history?"
"I think that Tesla’s invention of alternating current was a huge turning point in history, a major turning point. When you go through drive through New England every single factory is along a river and the reason why it’s along the river is because of you need to be close to a power source had to have a water wheel that was up until 1897. Once Tesla’s system was put in at Niagara Falls, you no longer needed the water falls, the little local water falls. You had one giant water fall which could take care of the whole entire northeast. I’m old enough to remember the big blackout of the 1960s that was Tesla’s system. So from one spot you could illuminate the entire northeast. They keep talking about nuclear power let’s resurrect nuclear power. I think that’s a terrible idea for terrorism, it’s too expensive and the only reason you are doing it is to boil water to create steam. I think what they should do is build another power plant right next to the one they have at Niagara Falls. I mean find the major waterfalls and you could do that so we changed from an agrarian society to a electronic society with the invention of his hydro-electric power system and that along with electrical lighting changed the whole world entirely. So it’s a huge turning point." (Dr. Seifer)
"What is the biggest impact from Tesla’s usage of AC?"
"I think that Tesla has two major inventions. A hydro-electric power system which illuminates the whole world and runs electrical power for the whole world and it is clean energy it doesn’t pollute the earth. And the other is his system of wireless communication. Radio, television, and cell phones are all based on Tesla currents and not based on hertzien currents based on Tesla currents. Tesla had created a complex continuous current. Marconi was using a pulse frequency send dot dot dot in Morse Code. You can’t send complex information such as music on the radio; you couldn’t send it on Marconi’s system. You could send voice pictures and even some amounts of power through Tesla’s system. So I think it’s his two major inventions--the hydro electric power system and wireless communication that changed our world." (Dr. Seifer)
"Tesla made predictions, like saying one day we would be able to fight wars without men.
How do you think he would feel about modern society?"
How do you think he would feel about modern society?"
"I think we’re living in a Tesla world. I think he did envision a world where the globe would be interconnected through a wireless system. He said in one of his letters at the turn of the century that we’ll be able to talk to each other, like your and I are talking right now, but the person will be in Australia. And I have been working on projects in the last few years where literally we’ve been Skyping or connecting with people in England, California, and China all at once, and we’re all just communicating through the internet. So Tesla envisioned a global communication system. I don’t think anyone could have really envisioned the internet. But he did envision a world wireless system so we’re living in that world. He also did invent the first, what today we’d call the drone, the remote controlled robot. It was the torpedo and so we are now having wars without people. It would be great on both sides if there are not people. So I think that’s a huge change which is happening right now. I just read in the paper that all these high schools have robot wars. You know who can build the best robot, and I think that’s fantastic. I think we should change that I think the Olympics is a way to stop war. Tesla wanted peace and he did feel that if each country could protect itself with a star wars kind of electric shield then every country would realize there’s no point in having a war because if we invade that country it would be destroyed. So he did have this roundabout way of trying to stop war by building advanced weaponry systems and so unfortunately or fortunately we’re still living in that world. I think he foresaw a lot of what we have today." (Dr. Seifer)