The previous post I think describes the effect somewhat as Tesla intended, enormous amounts of energy could be transmitted using fairly small inexpensive equipment,
with the use of HF and high voltage the capacitance need only be relatively small.
With the advances in semiconductors and electronic components the transmitter would not need a spark gap and be better off without one.
With the smaller devices, a resonant receiving coil doesn't need to be a "Tesla" type coil and Tesla mentions near the beginning of his Colorado Springs Notes
that for the transmission of greater amounts of energy a large ratio of transformation alone is actually better, the Magnifying Transmitter being better for smaller amounts of
energy "signals".
He also states, this is just from memory, "that the higher the frequency the more energy can be transmitted" this is true of course theoretically, and he also states
that "the highest practical frequency would be in the order of 35 000 cycles per second", but also that "lower frequencies are more efficient and that higher frequencies can be used"
they are just not as efficient. He says I think 6 cycles per second would be the lowest.
Page 3 line 27 in the patent below has some info.
http://www.google.com/patents?id=oSo_AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q&f=falseMore is in his work on alternating currents book. and other sources.
This patent says a lot of good stuff.
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=1119732And the Colorado Springs Notes I can get a quote from if anyone wants me to.
The point is that the receiving of significant transmitted energy using only a ground connection is entirely possible and Tesla proved it.
The point of the circuit to test would be the ground connection between the receiving coil and the Earth.
I haven't even tried to do any transmission of energy using the ground though because of several reasons. Mainly frequency.
I have done a few experiments though and I think it is possible though the effectiveness "efficiency" could depend on many factors.
I'm not a very technical person, but one of the things I like to do is try to recreate some of the effects Tesla shows in drawings and Photo's
but in miniature, there's one below I think looks a bit like the discharge shown on page 346 of the Colorado Springs Notes I think.
Discharge in bottom right corner from secondary to ground, the top is the extra coil discharge.
Tariel Kapanadze's devices: How they might be faked
25 watt bulb lit between the Earth and secondary bottom terminal.
Tariel Kapanadze's devices: How they might be faked
Cheers
P.S. Here's a video showing low voltage transmission using a single conductor, because of the frequency and low voltage using the ground for that one conductor is out of the question.
However the transmitter is running from a 12 volt battery and the receiver produces 24 volts which is nothing special, just info. IF I had used lower frequency and higher voltage
I could have used the ground for the single conductor and the receiver would have no apparent source of input if I did not show the transmitter. Even though it is low powered and
dodgy and I am not a professor, probably more so because of my lackings I think that is a demo that speaks volumes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1nfWnjufZoEDIT: THose coils in the video of mine were operating at between 440 and 460 kHz and developing a few hundred volts at the top terminal maybe 400 or so volts.
Any ground wire that looks like a ground wire could in fact be a transmission wire. And a clamp meter will go silly, it won't read a 100 kHz current well.
Oh and as far as I can tell the transmitter should be producing a continuous wave, which is why I don't think spark gap transmitters are practical, too difficult to get the really nice neat sine wave.
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