Tesla's electric car that took electricity from air

Hello ATS members.
I was reading the link from this thread and I saw some interesting info on that webpage about Nicola Tesla.
We all know that he was a brilliant and unconventional scientist, but this is the first time
that I have read that he made a prototype of a 1931's car that run on electricity and didn't
had internal power-source.

Here is what he used:

Another point we should note is the list of components :
· 1) 12 Vacuum Tubes (70L7-GT rectifier beam power tubes)
· 2) Wires
· 3) Assorted Resistors
· 4) 1/4" diameter rods 3" in length
NOTE, NO CAPACITORS! The wires could have been simply for connection or
wound as coils. The 1/4" rods were either BUS BARS for power output taps OR
more likely ANTENNAS! Resonant circuits can be constructed using several
techniques. You can achieve the same effect from :
· 1) Resistors AND capacitors
· 2) Capacitors AND coils
· 3) Coils AND resistors
So, in the case of the Tesla Power Box, he either wound his own coils or simply used
the wire to connect the resistors with the vacuum tubes. I am of the opinion that he
used the wire ONLY for connection and DID NOT USE COILS! I also think he used
a DIODE somewhere in the circuit in order to tap ONLY one polarity.

Link this link explains it in great detail.
Also here is a link from a .pdf file
This file was originally posted on the KeelyNet BBS on January 30, 1993 as
TESLAFE1.ASC.

Here are the technical drawings.






To be honest my electrical engineering skills are very basic.
I found the article in The Dalas Morning News here it is if someone wants to purchase it.
I really want to try and make this (to see if it is real), but I don't have the skills or the money to do so.
Being the 1930's technology it shouldn't be to hard or expensive right.
What are your thoughts ?

His energy designs were pre1930, around 1913 or so.

It was called radiant energy. It collects energy from molecules in the air, it was his original idea.

Pretty amazing stuff..

I did not know he incorporated it into a car though..but then again its not that surprising.

My thoughts are the source you saw the original article in is not credible in the least. The quoted post in the OP is about magnets and has nothing to do with "what was used".

Beyond that, I encourage anyone who wants to, to try and build the magic car that runs off vacuum tubes and aether

Looking forward to the results.

Yes I quoted the wrong text I edited it now.
And I found a pdf that describes the 70L7-GT rectifier beam power tubes. If that helps somehow.

reply to post by defiler


It may take me a while to totally understand the pdf but I think it is a glorified and superior version of his "Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy" patent #685,957.

a version that serves as its own ground, no need to bury a condenser or hang a huge antenna.

Speculation but this vehicle is rumored to have disappeared into thin air,(Stolen) and then suppressed by tptb.

reply to post by defiler


Good post OP.

I am a Tesla fan and an Electrical Engineer.

The concepts are very cool and are being rekindled today with the advent of wireless power.

From what I recall about this car is that Tesla had used a power transmitter. The car's antenna pulled the power via the airwaves similar in principle to how your cell phone communicates with the local cellular tower/antenna sending low powered signals via the airwaves.

Oms law states Voltage = Resistance x Current.
Resistors are necessary in all circuits in order to create voltage.

Diodes are akin to valves preventing the current from flowing backwards.

Vacuum tubes are amplification devices, so the power recv'd is being amplified in a cascading fashion boosting the power to the point in which it is providing sufficient DC power to run the electric motor.

Similar in principle as far as the motor is concerned as if a DC power source such as a battery were connected.

John D Rockefeller and his newly created Standard Oil (today named Exxon) didn't want any competition to his monopoly upon the auto industry and the oil dependent internal combustion engine.

So this electric car was never heard about again. And relegated to the realm of impossible....more of the illusion to maintain the status quo and the general population's complacent ignorance.

Vacuum tubes are hard to get these days, would it be possible to use transistors and if so what type would be usefull? What kind resistors would be used (ohms, watts, etc)

When you build tesla coil put a bulb next to it it glow. The magnetism around the coil that makes it shine. Right?

Hi guys/gals, this is my first post ever so be patient with me if links and stuff don't work.
I'm a huge fan of Mr Tesla and due to certain herbs aka "tree of life" I like to think a lot. Any way this electric car has amazed me for a very long time. I have many personal theories on how to draw energy from the air as such, one being the suns electromagnetic rays. just like M.I.T are doing with there induction wireless power systems. Harmonics are very powerful and not fully utillised in my opinion. This however is not what comes to mind for me anymore after reading about the US Navy's new weapon... the FEL laser. www.lightsources.org.... From what i've read about this it oscilates super charged electrons to any wavelength and inturn creates more electrons. Now im no electrician but isn't that a current of electricity? Therefor would that make it some sort of over unity device if it creates more electrons as it oscilates? Anyway the FEL laser goes to show the US has and is using Teslas patents as this is very close to the description of teslas own death ray ( he was mocked for this too) davidszondy.com....

Good subject mater by the way OP

And earth already has magnetic field so only thing need to be done is to make electronics that can operate at less volts or built a power supply that pick up earth magnetism then output. we designed electronics that require more volts than whats already put out by earth thus when you need to to switch on a 110v bulb you actually include whats already hear. Earth+110volt=shine would this mean if you take the 110v bulb plus battery you used away far into space it wont work because the power will be to little without the power already on earth?

The components are simple enough but a number of vital bits of information are missing like what kind of motor (AC or DC), where was the source of the energy, how was it tuned and how was the motor controlled.

The best anecdotal evidence suggests it was a basic 3 phase 60Hz induction 'squirrel cage' motor (a large one) 'off the shelf' so we can safely assume it was rated for 110V phase-neutral or about 190V phase-phase. Such a motor would require a variable frequency control to be used in this application (driving a car) even with use of the clutch and gearbox but some PWM control would help immensely. So the contents of his 'box of bits' would have to implement a high power tuned circuit for reception & rectification, followed by a variable frequency generator with PWM (or at least variable phase switching) for torque and speed control. Considering this was something like a 60kW motor which would demand around 200A/phase at full output, and a locked rotor current around twice that, his box was a virtual substation OR he was running that motor at a very small fraction of its actual capability.

As to where the power came from, my thought is he was transmitting it wirelessly from his Colorado Springs lab which makes the whole demonstration a sensational feat that's never been seen since. In terms of EMR health concerns he wouldn't even be permitted to attempt it these days (makes cell tower worries look puny by comparison).

The power couldn't have been gained from amplification because that implies an onboard source of energy and there wasn't any, all the energy being received on his improvised antenna.

Still, the reports pretty much confirm he actually did it.

Originally posted by Pilgrum
The components are simple enough but a number of vital bits of information are missing like what kind of motor (AC or DC), where was the source of the energy, how was it tuned and how was the motor controlled.

The best anecdotal evidence suggests it was a basic 3 phase 60Hz induction 'squirrel cage' motor (a large one) 'off the shelf' so we can safely assume it was rated for 110V phase-neutral or about 190V phase-phase. Such a motor would require a variable frequency control to be used in this application (driving a car) even with use of the clutch and gearbox but some PWM control would help immensely. So the contents of his 'box of bits' would have to implement a high power tuned circuit for reception & rectification, followed by a variable frequency generator with PWM (or at least variable phase switching) for torque and speed control. Considering this was something like a 60kW motor which would demand around 200A/phase at full output, and a locked rotor current around twice that, his box was a virtual substation OR he was running that motor at a very small fraction of its actual capability.

As to where the power came from, my thought is he was transmitting it wirelessly from his Colorado Springs lab which makes the whole demonstration a sensational feat that's never been seen since. In terms of EMR health concerns he wouldn't even be permitted to attempt it these days (makes cell tower worries look puny by comparison).

The power couldn't have been gained from amplification because that implies an onboard source of energy and there wasn't any, all the energy being received on his improvised antenna.

Still, the reports pretty much confirm he actually did it.

Yes I also think that he did it. There are some evidence to back it up.
And I want your opinion, how much it would cost to build something like that, excluding the car and the components for it. Just the electrical motor, the antennas and the other hardware that "takes energy from the ether", assuming we have all the parts. The vacuum tubes will be expensive if not impossible to get here.
What are the missing parts ? Just the contents of the mysterious box... or ?

The motor was "80-H.P. 1800 r.p.m electric motor installed to the clutch and transmission. The A.C. motor measured 40 inches long and 30 inches in diameter AC current".
The closest thing to the 1930's motor I found was 1000RPM, 50Hz, 3 phase 25 hp, for 360$.
The vacuum tubes 70L7-GT are 20$ for 4 of them.
I have no idea how thick were the cables or the antennas and how much they will cost.

reply to post by defiler


I wouldn't go sinking any cash into chasing this setup for several reasons, the main one being that the best accounts I've seen of the event stated that he used 'about a dozen' vacuum tubes which included just 3 70L7GT tubes. Now those particular tubes are combination rectifiers/power tetrodes which could easily be configured as a the control 'front end' of a variable frequency driver at the voltage rating of the motor (~115V) but the power rating of the plates is only 5W maximum so, as a 3 phase drive, they could supply only 15W maximum which would not be sufficient to run a 50kW motor or even a 100W motor.

It could be a suitable driver for a bank of powerful thyratrons (invented in the 1920s) though which *might* be capable of getting the motor to turn (just barely).

All the above can be achieved now in an order of magnitude, and far more efficient, smaller circuit using SCRs, TRIACs, HEXFETS, IGBTs etc etc but even a bank of high voltage power FETs with a massive heatsink isn't going to get that motor to run if it requires something like 200A/phase for full power at rated speed.

The first thing to work out about the whole affair is where he got the energy from and how. After that, everything is relatively simple.

As to cable size, you need (very approximately) 1mm^2 of copper per 10A of current so a 200A cable (per phase) would need to have a cross-sectional area of 20mm^2 which would be a 5mm diameter round solid conductor - virtually a small busbar. The rectangular solid wire used in welder transformer secondaries would suffice for this say 4mmx5mm as a minimum size.


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reply to post by Pilgrum


I was checking the prices to see if it was feasible to recreate it. There is no way I will be able to do that with my knowledge and budget for now at least. Eventually I will do it.
I thought that it would be easier it if was done with old technology than if it works it can be upgraded to today's standards.
As I have seen in this thread there are some people that can contribute to this.
We all have hobbies, I hope there are enough interested people.

I have found some videos on youtube that explain how to do a similar thing.
Check them out. They require only 2$ of parts excluding the wire for the antenna.