# Tesla and broadcast power **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 8, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-and-broadcast-power/407315 "2007-06-08T21:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-and-broadcast-power/407315/1 "2007-06-08T21:46:44Z")
In [Cecil’s column](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_274.html), he discusses the concept of broadcast power, but dismisses it as a rather elaborate pipe dream: > [@Uncah Cece](#): > > In his first test of the coil Tesla burned out a generator at the Colorado Springs electric plant. Later there were reports that he managed to light 200 incandescent bulbs at a distance of 26 miles. But this was never confirmed and it is damned hard to believe. (Tesla coils, in my experience, can illuminate fluorescent bulbs, but usually at a distance of only a few feet.) Tesla never published a thorough description of his work and electrical engineers scratch their heads when told of his ideas today. Even if the thing worked it’s hard to see how you’d avoid wasting huge amounts of energy. It appears that MIT may have [something to say about that](http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/06/mit_discovery_c.html?p1=MEWell_Pos5): > [@](#): > > The latest technical advance out of MIT could dramatically change the drudgery of recharging portable devices: An MIT research team has figured out how to wirelessly illuminate an unplugged light bulb from seven feet away. Okay, not 26 miles, but it’s a start, isn’t it? > [@Cece again](#): > > Many people excuse Tesla’s failures by saying he was too far ahead of his time. I doubt it. Or maybe not? I’ll be watching this with interest. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-and-broadcast-power/407315/2 "2007-06-08T21:48:53Z")
Big deal. Tesla coils have been lighting up fluorescent tubes for decades. The power wastage is _still_ enormous. Impractical. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-and-broadcast-power/407315/3 "2007-06-10T23:50:37Z")
According to this article, the waste is relatively low because they use a “non-radiative magnetic field” and only resonant receivers get the power. Also, they’re talking about small scales, not using it for entire cities. > **[Goodbye wires!](https://news.mit.edu/2007/wireless-0607)** > > MIT team experimentally demonstrates wireless power transfer, potentially useful for powering laptops, cell phones without cords I did have a thread in GQ asking how this was possible, but it didn’t get any authoritative response. > **[New wireless electricity technique?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424143)** > > Like simple induction, but the coils resonate? The article says (emphasis added), “One of the coils, attached to the power source, is the sending unit. Instead of irradiating the environment with electromagnetic waves, it fills the space around it... If this really was the same as Tesla’s research, it’s odd that someone would be redoing it. And it could be that even if this is new, it may not be worth the trouble. But as I said in the thread, I’m not an expert. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-and-broadcast-power/407315/4 "2007-06-11T03:10:15Z")
This MIT research has been pulling the Teslaites out from under their tinfoil all over the internet. Why? Any reading of any of the articles would make it obvious that this technique is nothing whatsoever like anything that Tesla ever attempted even to people who knew no more than the most basic elements of electricity. Ah, I guess I just answered my own question, didn’t I? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-and-broadcast-power/407315/5 "2007-06-12T01:39:57Z")
There’s a wiki article about it: [WiTricity - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiTricity) (again, as a non-expert, I have no idea how accurate it is): “Unlike the conduction-based systems built by Nikola Tesla in the late 19th century, WiTricity uses resonant magnetic fields to reduce wastage of power.” Seems like this will be used at short distances, e.g., within a room, where the convenience outweighs the power waste.