www.Tesla-Flying-Machine.com
www.TeslaFlyingMachine.com
Tesla's Flying Machine
Tesla's Flying Stove
"The Tesla Space Drive"
Fuel-Efficient Propulsion Systems for Spaceships
* "Not the airplane, the flying machine," responded Dr. Tesla. *
Nikola Tesla
1933
www.TeslaSociety.com
Tesla Memorial Society of N.Y.
a short biography page
Tesla's Autobography on-line
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"I am now planning aerial machines devoid of sustaining
planes, ailerons, propellers, and other external
attachments, which will be capable of immense speeds"
- Tesla's autobiography
"To a Westinghouse manager, Tesla wrote 'You should not be at
all surprised, if some day you see me fly from New York to
Colorado Springs in a contrivance which will resemble
a gas stove
and weigh as much. ... and could, if necessary enter and
depart through a window.'" (7-7-1912)
[ it will be a small box, not a huge "cigar" ]
pg. 198 Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney
Tesla intended the world to have a free, wireless, source of
power "My power generator will be of the simplest kind -- just
a big mass of steel, copper and aluminum comprising a
stationary and rotating part, peculiarly assembled."
According to museum officials at The Nikola Tesla museum in
Belgrade, "he left sketches of interplanetary ships. This
information, however, has not been made available to western
scholars." pg. 203
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How Tesla intended to power his flying machine
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"The flying machine of the future --
my flying machine -- will be heavier than air, but it will not be an
airplane. It will have no wings. It will be substantial, solid, stable.
You cannot have a stable airplane. The gyroscope can never be
successfully applied to the airplane, for it would give a stability
that would result in the machine being torn to pieces by the wind,
just as the unprotected airplane on the ground is torn to pieces by a
high wind. My flying machine will have neither wings nor propellers.
You might see it on the ground and you would never guess that it was a
flying machine. Yet it will be able to move at will through the air in
any direction with perfect safety, at higher speeds than have yet been
reached, regardless of weather and oblivious of 'holes in the air' or
downward currents. It will ascend in such currents if desired. It can
remain absolutely stationary in the air even in a wind for great length
of time. Its lifting power will not depend upon any such delicate
devices as the bird has to employ, but upon positive mechanical action."
[Here it is again: "mechanical"]
"You will get stability through gyroscopes?" I asked. "
Through gyroscopic action of my engine,*
assisted by some devices I am not yet prepared to talk about,"
he replied.
*
[notice that 'eccentrics' G,H,J, & K in the drawing below, DO
throw their weight around in a "gyroscopic action", like spinning tops.
The "device" could be the orientation of the 4 objects which generates an
unprecedented, physical law breaking, 5th spin, 5th orbit, without the
centripetal force physically needed to hold it there.]
Science: "The ability of a gyroscope to 'defy gravity' is baffling." and
"When a force is applied to try to rotate the spin axis of a gyroscope,
the gyroscope reacts to the input force along an axis perpendicular to
the input force" "according to the right-hand rule". This is called
"gyroscopic precession".
Dr. Tesla smiled an inscrutable smile.
"All I have to say on that point is that
my airship will have neither gas bag, wings nor propellers,"
he said.
"It is the child of my dreams, the product of years of intense and
painful toil and research. I am not going to talk about it any
further. But whatever my airship may be, here at least is
an engine that will do things that no other engine ever has done,
and that is something tangible."
from the book
Tesla's Engine -- A New Dimension For Power
Tesla had contracted with both Allis Chalmers and with Westinghouse's
railway and lighting division to build a 36,000 rpm turbine to "fly
from New York to Colorado Springs in a contrivance which will resemble
a gas stove" - July 7th 1912.
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Tesla, Man of Mystery is a book that has, along with
general info. on Tesla and a few fables, one diagram and enough
information about it, amid the theories, posturizing, and
misinformation - for us to duplicate the device.
Chapter 4 is titled the "Tesla Space Drive" and it appears to be the
heart of what Tesla had said would look like flying on "a gas stove"
and be "peculiarly assembled."
(above)
So, here it is:
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Tesla, Man of Mystery
chapter 4
The Tesla Space Drive
for interplanetary space vehicles
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The Flying Stove - Flying Machine
The Force Field Generator
page 31
Diagram from page 31 of
Tesla, Man of Mystery © 1992
Chapter 4: "The Tesla Space Drive"
"The first step in developing this system is to cause a
counter-clockwise (sense chosen arbitrarily) acceleration of the
center of mass of the four eccentrics (refer to diagram) in a
circular orbit about the X axis.
"... there is a common point about which the center of mass of the
eccentrics and the center of mass of the device as a whole gyrate."
pg.32
"The reaction to this angular acceleration is a linear
acceleration along the system axis (X) and directed outward from
the page. ... this system functions in accordance with the
right-hand rule.
... [ It will ] "wobble noticeably at low thrust levels. This effect
fades out, however, as the thrust is increased." pg.34-35
This "peculiar assembly" is phenomenal!
It does cause an acceleration of the center of mass of the four eccentrics
in a circular orbit about the X axis.
My first drawing made it much easier for me to "see" what it could look like.
Compare this with the original drawing above and the "blueprint" down below.
Unbalanced Forces
If you do not "see it", you are not alone.
1. can anyone "see" a centripetal, horizontal, force when a wire is wrapped into a
circular coil and laid FLAT on a table? If the coil is horizontal, the electricity
and the electrons are traveling horizontally. Where is the magnet in the center
to hold the electrons in orbit (?), the centripetal force to hold the electrons in the coil?
Next, if everything is in balance, where does any vertical force come from? And, the wire,
the coil, is still NOT moving. It is just sitting there. Would it help to spin the coil?
Without explanation, it is none-the-less
true, that electrons are accelerating around, in the coil, with no centripetal force
present, and an iron or steel rod in the center of an electrified coil, with enough
voltage and current, will be accelerated out at a right angle to the plane of the coil, - according to the left-hand rule.
2. With this "peculiarly assembled" frame, Tesla has created acceleration in a circle
with no centripetal force present, and with enough mass and speed (with the lighter the
mass of and the higher the speed of the "eccentrics"), the accelerating object, will be
accelerated at a right angle to the plane of its orbit, "in accordance with the
right-hand rule."
There is no bolt, no string,
nothing, providing centripetal force to keep the entire frame in its orbit.
The object, frame, is not spinning, like a coil does not spin, nor do any one of the
spinning weights match the orbit of the frame and yet, the center of mass of
the object is spinning, in orbit, generating a force according to the
right-hand rule
- if the object is centered around the 4 spinning weights. Like electrons in orbit in a
stationary coil - an area in which Tesla is already famous -
instead of acceleration by the left hand rule, as in electro-magnetism, the author says
it accelerates by the right hand rule.
Photo 1: First Construction
the motor was barely strong enough to spin these, smaller weights at
maybe 60 to 100 rpm and, they would not spin the slightly longer,
heavier, weights at all. I also needed stronger motors.
I traded them in for 1 hp 12 amp motors but was reminded by a friend that
household wiring could not handle 2 12 amp motors, so, I traded them for
smaller, lighter, 1/5th hp 10,000 rpm ele. motors on 1992-09-21. Nothing
rational about that. - but, later, I found that air motors worked better
anyway.
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No one seriously interested in a new, cheap, source of propulsion, or, one with such
acceleration that it could be used in space (?!), need question or dispute anything,
just build it and find out for ourselves. How much can it cost to build a frame for some
mounting blocks for the rods, get some rods, 2 motors - just strong enough to spin the
weights ("eccentrics") - and some right angle gears. ...
The first problem: The 4th line of the key to the drawing says
"L is the base plate to which the motors, gear boxes, and pillow blocks
(not shown) are fastened."
After building my first, wood, construction (Photos on the left and right)
it became clear to me that building it "on" the frame was not quite enough
because, on the next page, he says: "... there is a common
point about which the center of mass of the eccentrics and the center
of mass of the device as a whole gyrate."
(pg.32) Meaning: everything below the spinning weights
must have its counterpart above the spinning weights as well.
To be "centered" there must be both a top and a bottom plate for the
rods and gears etc. to be mounted between. (see Photo 2 below)
We need 4 vertical struts which we will place in a square arrangement to hold the
top and bottom plates. The 4 rods, drive shafts, will be mounted around the
center points of the 4 vertical struts with mitre gears (a.k.a. right angle gears)
at the corners. Again, as shown on the original diagram, we will mount 2 motors
out on 2 opposite sides - so that the center of mass remains at the center of the
device as a whole.
my best drawing, "blueprint", of the Force Field Generator
Confirm for yourself that this much easier to visualize!
Fig.1
Photo 2:
2nd Tesla Flying Machine design
2nd "Tesla Space Drive"
Since nothing is said about weight being an issue, my second
(all steel) frame was built to be rigid, not light-weight.
I estimated the weight to be about 30 lbs plus about 15 lbs
in motors, pillow blocks, steel drive shafts, etc.
After spending almost $300 to have this iron frame built
($275 paid on 2-18-1993), I tested it. The new
motors would spin the weights, washers on short bolts, but, one or two often
came loose at start-up. The ele. motors accelerated them too fast. It was
difficult to screw them on tight enough. When they were on tight enough and
they did spin, the frame did not bounce around or even vibrate significantly
but, it did not lift off either.
I realized there must be some, higher, necessary speed to enable the device
to move.
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the motors can be anything you can get hold of. Your only requirement
is that they be able to get your weights up to your needed speed.
However, the book, does not mention a speed requirement
(for the eccentrics) except to say:
[ It will ] wobble noticeably at low thrust (rpm) levels.
This effect fades out, however, as the thrust (rpm) is increased.
To see the motor in slow motion,
(on the third page)
click here.
observe that each opposite pair sets up a back and forth motion
on a plane and the 2 oscillations combined describe a circle.
the images total a little over 1 meg
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KEY to drawing: (Fig.1)
1. Four identical Inertial Loads (weights, masses) (labeled 1
through 4) are mounted on 4 identical arms (of length 2R) which,
in turn, are mounted on 4 identical shafts arranged on a square.
The shafts are geared so that they stay synchronized: 1:1 ratio rt. angle
drives ("mitre" gears).
This unique arrangement for the 4 inertial loads is such that, as they
revolve about their axes, their collective center of mass (center of
gravity) takes on a circular orbit where the center of the orbit is
also the center of mass of the rest of the device. This aggregate
circular orbit is the first necessary condition and is labeled ILCoM
(the orbit of the 4 Inertial Loads Center
of Mass). (See NOTE #1 for
detailed exposition) It is the induced orbit in the center of gravity
of the stationary object, the frame, which forces a reaction from the
object, a linear acceleration according to the right-hand-rule.
2.
However the frame is built, the square array of shafts must be mounted around
the center of it. ... at the same distance from the top and from the bottom.
3.
If ILCoM is the orbit of the 4 Inertial Loads' (weights) Center of Mass
and if the weight of the entire system (device), the 4 loads included, is
10 times the weight of the 4 loads by themselves, then the radius of orbit
of the System's Center of Mass ( SCoM )
will be 1/20th of ILCoM. ( see NOTE #2 )
NOTE #1:
In the drawing (Fig.1) the centers of mass (aka gravity) of loads 1 and 2
are each marked with a '+'. As shown, the center of mass for load #1 is
at 'A'. The center of mass for #1 and #2 combined is exactly halfway
between their 2 individual centers, at point 'B'. The center of mass for
#3 and #4 combined is halfway between their 2 individual centers, at
point 'C' (since load 3 is the same distance down (2R) that load 4 is up,
'C' is at the center of the frame with respect to all 3 coordinates).
The center of mass for all 4 combined, is halfway between 'B' and 'C', at
point 'D' and that Radius, from C to D, is labeled R. Since 'B' is the
midpoint between #1 and #2 and is also always at the '2R' distance (the
radius of each individual mass) from the center 'C', 'R' (the radius of
ILCoM) is always 1/2 the radius of the individual weights. (because only
2 out of 4 are shifting in each direction - front to back or side to side)
NOTE #2:
Example: If the total system weight, the 4 inertial loads included, is
10 times the sum of the weight of the 4 inertial loads, by themselves,
then the ratio of the SCoM to ILCoM is 1:10 and the ratio of the SCoM to
the radius of any one of the loads, weights, is 1:20. If the arm, rod,
holding any one of the weights is about 3cm long, then the orbit
of the center of mass is 1/20 of that or, about 0.15cm
GENERAL NOTES
The 4 weights may not be the only loads on the system. If the 4 weights
revolve fast enough, the air resistance becomes an additional overhung load.
If the rpm of the weights is doubled, the radial load on
the shafts is quadrupled (mass x radius x rpm x rpm x K = force).
This model was a step in the right direction but, the frame was just a little flimsy
(the top was removed for the purpose of the photo, Sept. 4th, 1993)
Requirements of the
FORCE FIELD GENERATOR / MOTOR
By Greg Smith
This device converts inertial energy into centrifugal acceleration which,
according to the right-hand rule, generates linear acceleration. The
principal is the same for the way that the centrifugal acceleration of
electrons, in a coil, exert linear acceleration on a metal rod placed in
the center of the coil. Here, the acceleration is exerted on the frame.
An electric motor is the result of electrons in orbit; this motor
is the result of entire atoms, the entire device, in orbit.
The rotation (rpm) necessary to generate acceleration depends upon:
- the mass of the entire device
- the mass of the 4 rotating inertial loads, (4 masses),
- the radius of those 4 loads (aka 4 eccentrics, 4 masses)
- and, the force of gravity
- For example, if the mass of the 4 inertial loads totals 1/10th the total
mass of the entire device, then the radius of rotation of the center
of mass of the system (the entire device) is 1/20th that of the radius
of any one of the rotating loads. (not 1/10th. This is just
geometry but, I overlooked it for a time) (only 2 of 4 weights going
left to right and only 2 of 4 going front to back)
- It is the rotation of the entire system (device) that must get up
enough centrifugal acceleration to defeat gravity.
- Examples of that acceleration are:
On a 50 inch radius, something greater than 26.5 rpm
(a pendulum).
( experimentally 27 to 28 rpm spinning )
- Examples of that acceleration are:
On a 25 inch radius, something greater than 37 rpm
(a pendulum).
( experimentally 38+ rpm spinning )
This can be observed with a weight on a string. With a 50" string,
just swinging the weight back and forth like a pendulum,
gives the same rate of oscillation with very little,
almost no, arc as it does with significantly more - about 26.5 cycles
per minute (cpm). Since there is no energy being applied to the
pendulum and it will eventually come to a rest, it is intuitive that if
there is any (constant) energy entered into the system to maintain
spin, it will, be spinning at a rate greater than 26.5 rpm. In my
continued experimenting, I found it took about 27 to 28 rpm
to keep it spinning around, not just back and forth. With a
25" radius, as a pendulum, there were 37 ocilations and, spinning,
I had at least 38 rpm.
Note that if you take the square of 26.5 ocilations (for a 50" radius)
(702) and double it (1404), the square root of that, (37.5) is very
close to our 25" experiment of 37 ocilations and, taking the square of
27 rpm (729) and doubling it (1458), the square root of that, (38.2)
is, essentially, our experimental 38 rpm's.
if a 50" radius requires 27 rpm or more ( & 27x27 = 729 )
and a 25" radius requires at least 38 rpm (38 x 38 = 1444)
then a .25" radus requires at least 380 rpm (6.3 rps) ( 380 x 380 = 144,400 )
and about a 600 rpm minimum at a .1" radus ( 604 X 604 = 365,000 )
and about a 850 rpm minimum at a .05" radus ( 854 X 854 = 729,000 )
and about a 1,200 rpm minimum at a .025" radus ( 1,202 X 1,202 = 1,444,000 )
and about a 1,900 rpm minimum at .01" ( 1,910 X 1,910 = 3,645,000 )
and about a 2,700 rpm minimum at .005" ( 2700 X 2700 = 7,290,000 )
Example system for 2006: The mass of the 8 4.75" bolts totals
about 1.5(8) = 12 oz, and the total mass of the entire device
(including the spinning bolts) about 8.5 lbs, (136 oz) and
the center of mass of each of the 4 masses is out about 2.37" from
its shaft, and the net radius for the system is
(2.37") x (12oz/2)/136oz = .1045 = .1 and the needed speed is about 600+ rpm.
This example is about what I have with my most recent frame and 1/2 hp
air motors using only the 8 bolts, without extra weights. Question is,
can I find an air motor with enough torque to run at maybe 800 rpm,
(instead of just 600) just to be safe, under this load of the 8 5" bolts
or, would I be more likely to find one that could do 1,500 rpm
with 1/4 that load using 2.5" bolts.
Feb. 1994: the frame is rigid and the motors are very light weight
With the lighter-weight air-motors, the total weight of this 4th model
generator is less than the previous one with its electric motors.
This system, as shown, should require only 1 or 2 hundred rpm but,
the motors were not strong enough to spin it at all.
In March 1994, We tried it with 3, 2, and then only 1 crossbar. With 3
crossbars, 0. With 2 crossbars, it spun at maybe 60+ rpm. With only 1 crossbar,
I think we got 200 to 300 rpm out of the motors. A friend said "Something
is happening here." It started shaking more, not less, when we reduced
the weights (from 2 to 1 on each side) and got it spinning faster.
Instead of shaking less, it did the opposite. Something was happening.
All my experimenting, starting in 2006, is on the next page
To see the motor in slow motion,
(on the third page)
click here.
observe that each opposite pair sets up a back and forth motion
on a plane and the 2 oscillations combined describe a circle.
the images total a little over 1 meg
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Updated: 09/3/11 03:10 EST
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