he Tunguska Event, or Tunguska explosion, was a powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya (Lower Stony) Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia, at around 7:14 a.m.[1][2] on June 30, 1908 (June 17 in the Julian calendar, in use locally at the time).[2]

Although the cause of the explosion is the subject of debate, it is commonly believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of 5–10 kilometres (3–6 miles) above the Earth's surface. Different studies have yielded varying estimates of the object's size, with general agreement that it was a few tens of metres across.[3]

Although the meteor or comet burst in the air rather than directly hitting the surface, this event is still referred to as an impact. Estimates of the energy of the blast range from 5 megatons[4] to as high as 30 megatons[5] of TNT, with 10–15 megatons the most likely[5]—roughly equal to the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear explosion set off in late February 1954...

In June 2007 it was announced that scientists from the University of Bologna had identified a lake in the Tunguska region as a possible impact crater from the event. They do not dispute that the Tunguska body exploded mid-air, but believe that a one meter fragment survived the explosion and impacted the ground. Lake Cheko is a small bowl shaped lake approximately 8 kilometres north-north-west of the hypocenter.[31] The hypothesis has been disputed by other impact crater specialists.[32] A 1961 investigation had dismissed a modern origin of Lake Cheko, saying that the presence of metres thick silt deposits at the lake's bed suggests an age of at least 5,000 years;[19] however, more recent research suggests that only a meter or so of the sediment layer on the lake bed is "normal lacustrine sedimentation", a depth indicating a much younger lake, about 100 years.[33] Acoustic-echo soundings of the lake floor provide support for the hypothesis that the lake was formed by the Tunguska event. The soundings revealed a conical shape for the lake bed, which is consistent with an impact crater.[34] Magnetic readings indicate a possible meter-sized chunk of rock below the lake's deepest point, which may be a fragment of the colliding body.[34] Finally, the lake's long axis points to the hypocenter of the Tunguska explosion, about 7.0 km away.[34] Work is still being done at Lake Cheko to determine its origins.[35]

The explosion's effects on the trees near ground zero was replicated during atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s. These effects are caused by the shock wave produced by large explosions. The trees directly below the explosion are stripped as the blast wave moves vertically downward, while trees further away are knocked over because the blast wave is travelling closer to the horizontal when it reaches them.

Had Tesla's Death Ray devastated Tunguska?

The mechanism behind Tesla's death ray is not well understood. It was apparently some sort of particle accelerator. Tesla said it was an outgrowth of his magnifying transformer, which focused its energy output into a thin beam so concentrated it would not scatter, even over huge distances. He promoted the device as a purely defensive weapon, intended to knock down incoming attacks - making the death ray the great-great grandfather of the Strategic Defense Initiative.

It is not certain if Tesla ever used the death ray, or indeed if he even succeeded in building one. But the following is the often-related story of what happened one night in 1908 when Tesla tested the foreboding weapon.

At the time, Robert Peary was making his second attempt to reach the North Pole. Cryptically, Tesla had notified the expedition that he would be trying to contact them somehow. They were to report to him the details of anything unusual they might witness on the open tundra. On the evening of June 30, accompanied by his associate George Scherff atop Wardenclyffe tower, Tesla aimed his death ray across the Atlantic towards the arctic, to a spot which he calculated was west of the Peary expedition.

Tesla switched on the device. At first, it was hard to tell if it was even working. Its extremity emitted a dim light that was barely visible. Then an owl flew from its perch on the tower's pinnacle, soaring into the path of the beam. The bird disintegrated instantly.

That concluded the test. Tesla watched the newspapers and sent telegrams to Peary in hopes of confirming the death ray's effectiveness. Nothing turned up. Tesla was ready to admit failure when news came of a strange event in Siberia.

On June 30, a massive explosion had devastated Tunguska, a remote area in the Siberian wilderness. Five hundred thousand square acres of land had been instantly destroyed. Equivalent to ten to fifteen megatons of TNT, the Tunguska incident is the most powerful explosion to have occurred in human history -- not even subsequent thermonuclear detonations have surpassed it. The explosion was audible from 620 miles away. Scientists believe it was caused by either a meteorite or a fragment of a comet, although no obvious impact site or mineral remnants of such an object were ever found.

Nikola Tesla had a different explanation. It was plain that his death ray had overshot its intended target and destroyed Tunguska. He was thankful beyond measure that the explosion had - miraculously - killed no one. Tesla dismantled the death ray at once, deeming it too dangerous to remain in existence.

Posted by Alan Taylor on September 02, 1998

1900 Tesla begins Wardenclyffe Transmitter
1903 Tesla runs out of money
1904 Marconi awarded patent for radio
1905 Wardenclyffe forced to close operations
1906 Tesla announces Bladeless Turbine
1907 During the financial panic of 1907, Tesla agrees to release Westinghouse from paying royalties on every induction motor
1909 Marconi wins Nobel Prize for Radio
1910-11 Tesla's bladeless turbines are tested in New York
1915 Tesla signs over Wardenclyffe deed to pay his debts
1915 Tesla files lawsuit against Marconi
1916 Tesla declares bankruptcy
1917 Wardenclyffe Tower is demolished

Originally posted by imd12c4funn
The article excerpts are the first I've seen. Excellent. S*F

I did however read awhile back that George Bush, aka Curious George, had access to Tesla and his lab and that after Tesla's death, Prescott had sent George to the FBI and was given many of the seized documents regarding his discoveries and inventions.

I can't remember the source and have not searched at this time, but that is what I read.

Have you heard of this event?

[edit on 10-7-2009 by imd12c4funn]