Re: Tesla Car Article

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Brian" <ka1bbg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

DITTO; right on, cul brian f.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: Tesla Car Article


> Original poster: Mddeming@xxxxxxx
>
> In a message dated 1/11/05 7:22:53 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> tesla@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
> Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> It's interesting how many variants there are to this story, with
> different dates, car brands, and descriptions of the power source.  In
> some of the latter Tesla either "bought some tubes at the local radio
> store" or "removed some peculiarly-shaped tubes from a suitcase", etc;
> always twelve tubes though, even if their description is different in
> different stories.  This article is better written than many - lots of
> interesting details.  For instance, of the 12 tubes of "curious
> construction" three have been identified as "70L7GT (rectifier beam
> tubes)", which weren't developed or sold until many years later.  Time
> warp?  [Actually the 70L7GT contains a beam power amplifier and a
> separate rectifier, but guess the author is entitled to artistic
> license.]  Another interesting detail - the motor is described as "40
> inches long and 30 inches in diameter", which works out to be a volume
> of about 16.4 cubic feet.  If it were half steel with a weight of about
> 490 pounds/cubic foot, the weight would be around 8000 pounds or 4
> tons.  Remarkable car, remarkable motor!  [Hope I didn't slip a decimal
> point there.]
>
>    Is anyone aware of any direct statement about this car from Tesla
> himself?????
>
> Ed
>
>
>      Hi Ed, All,
>
>      This article has all the devices of 19th century Sci-fi, which is now
> emulated by most all the conspiracy-theory tabloids. The article just
> happens to come from such a conspiracy theory rag. (see nexusmagazine.com
> for the original). Their story-formula is as follows:
>
> 1) A remarkable event, defying all known science, occurred a number of
> years ago, involving some famous person
> 2) Everyone was sworn to secrecy.
> 3) The inventor/main character is dead or vanished.
> 4) The person who related the story to the writer is likewise dead or has
> disappeared.
> 5) The marvelous machine / magical book, etc., has likewise disappeared,
> been misplaced, been dismantled / confiscated, or secreted away in some
> close-by but unidentifiable place.
> 6) Only a tiny bit of technical information is available, often erroneous.
> 7) The story concerns an anecdote told to the writer ten to thirty years
> before he wrote the article.
>
> This kind of story device was used extensively by Jules Verne, H. G.
Wells,
> Edgar Rice Burroughs, and even Joseph Smith as far back as 1830!
>
>      The 70L7GT was, as you pointed out developed in the 1940s as an audio
> amplifier and rectifier in the same envelope, designed for more compact
> table-top radios. It operates on a peak plate voltage of 117 V. in the
> rectifier section, and 110V amplifier. The rectifier can handle up to 70
ma
> of current (8.2 watts max.) and the beam power section has a max output of
> 1.8 watts.
>
>      I'm afraid this is just another one of those pseudoscientific legends
> that keep the true believers faithful.
>
> Matt D.
>
>
>
>