[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: Golka, was Tesla Coil Operation

Ed and all,

As you have figured out, Robert Golka has a way of making enemies.  But he
is the only person (to my knowledge) that attempted to replicate Tesla's
Colorado Springs coil, first in Utah and then in Leadville, Colorado.  The
coil worked moderately well in Utah, but never worked in Leadville
(altitude? lack of tuning? smaller metal skinned building?)  After making
some more enemies, he was forced to load his stuff on some semi trailors and
head for Florida.  He was unable to pay for the shipping so his stuff wound
up under other ownership in Texas.  I was offered his stuff for sale (or
perhaps pay the shipping and go in as a partner) by Golka while the trucks
were headed for Texas, and again in a separate package by the new owners in
Texas.  I did not have a place to put the stuff at the moment, so passed on
the opportunity.

Gary Johnson
>
>See below:
>----------
>> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
>> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>> Subject: Re: Tesla Coil Operation - was "Harmonics"
>> Date: Sunday, February 07, 1999 6:00 AM
>> 
>> Original Poster: Ed Phillips <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net> 
>> 
>> "I read in Cheney's book (I know, I know -lot's of mysticism here)about
>> a
>> man who was working in Utah to replicate Tesla's work, but ran out of
>> funding to go further - anyone know his results?"
>> 
>> 	Golka, per chance?  Someone here should have comments on his work.
>> 
>> Ed
>> 
>> 
>RE:  Golka, I posted this some time ago, but here is some of it again ...
>
>As many of you know, Robert K. Golka has probably invested more time and
>money to generate ball lightning than any other person.  His huge tesla
>coil in an airplane hanger at Wendover Air Force Base allegedly did succeed
>in producing ball lightning.  Quoting from an old newspaper article Golka
>generated "bead lightning inside a lightning discharge channel opening off
>his large Tesla coil at Wendover.  At that time, a moving film showed the
>beads, which lasted only a tenth of a second."  Then he had rental problems
>with the Air Force and had to abandon the effort.  See also the June 1976
>edition of Radio-Electronics magazine for another writeup and pictures.
>
>The next attempt by Golka is really amazing, and may relate to the
>Discoverer channel show.  I will quote excerpts from the newpaper article
>again.  "'I was working on a high-current plasma experiment, using a diesel
>locomotive from the Boston-Maine Railroad.'  The railroad let him borrow
>two locomotives, a string of boxcars and a mile and a half of track.  He
>used one locomotive as a giant moving generator and created ball lightning
>in the cab when he threw a circuit breaker.  'From one engine I was able to
>develop over a million watts of power', he said.  Golka also borrowed two
>circuit breakers from a naval yard which came off a World War II submarine.
> One was mounted on the floor of the locomotive cab.  'I did form a
>fireball once.'  For a second and a half, the fireball glowed before him. 
>'It goes off quickly enough that it's almost like an explosion.  It was
>white.  It was very bright.  It was about 10 inches across.  The circuit
>breaker was on the floor of the cab of the engine, and it came up about
>three feet.  It kind of spattered apart; it blew apart.  The locomotive was
>reacting to this, kind of violently jumping around or moving around...the
>wheels would kind of stop momentarily.'  He was able to take a picture of
>the ball lightning.  His photo shows the ball lightning about to blow
>apart.  Plasma is shooting out of the bottom, but the top is still
>spherical and stable."
>
>Wow!  Golka must have been one gutsy guy to throw a short across a megawatt
>generator, holding onto a camera to take a picture while also being careful
>to not run the train off the end of the track!  Has anyone heard of any
>further experiments by Golka?
>
><SNIP>
>
>If you browse the Tesla Ring sites, you can find some awesome pictures of
>Golka's coil in operation in the hanger at Wendover, Utah.
>
>--Steve Young
>
><<<< I have to ask that this subject concerning Robert Golka be limited to
>his work and not to personal feelings about him.  I know there are persons
>who don't like him but that is not a subject that is pertinent to this list
>- Terry >>>> 
>
>