SUPPORTING SCIENCE
Nikola Tesla – The Tesla Coil
Image source: Smithsonian Magazine
In the late 19th century, Nikola Tesla revolutionized how we think about energy. During his experiments with high-frequency electricity, he encountered limitations with traditional iron-core transformers. To overcome this, he invented a new kind of transformer—one without an iron core. This allowed the secondary coil to freely oscillate, generating extremely high-frequency radio waves.
This invention became the infamous Tesla Coil (1891), an air-core resonating transformer that laid the foundation for the Radio Age. It marked one of the first major steps in the development of wireless technology.
Though Tesla coils as spark radio transmitters were phased out by the 1950s, their miniaturized descendants are now embedded in nearly all modern electronics—from televisions and radios to VCRs and beyond.
Energy for the 21st Century and Beyond
You can think of the coil like a stringed musical instrument: when plucked, the string vibrates at a specific frequency depending on its length. This is known as its resonant frequency. Just as music is rooted in the science of vibration, so too is Tesla’s work in electricity.
The Science of Resonance
Reimagining the Ground as a Source
In conventional electrical engineering, the ground is treated as an energy sink—a destination where current returns. But Tesla asked: What if the ground itself could become a source of energy?
When electricity is discharged into the ground, it travels like ripples in water—spreading through the earth and eventually bouncing back to its origin. Tesla discovered that by precisely timing the discharge of a Tesla coil, these electrical "ripples" could amplify themselves, building into powerful currents.
“Electric current, after passing into the earth travels to the diametrically opposite region of the same and rebounding from there, returns to its point of departure with virtually undiminished force. The outgoing and returning currents clash and form nodes and loops similar to those observable on a vibrating cord. To traverse the entire distance of about twenty-five thousand miles... the current requires a certain time interval, which I have approximately ascertained... So astounding are the facts... it would seem as though the Creator, himself, had electrically designed this planet just for the purpose of enabling us to achieve wonders...”
— Nikola Tesla
Image source: National Geographic
A Visionary Mind
To Tesla, the earth itself was a more effective conductor of energy than air. He pioneered ideas of mechanical and electrical resonance, and continually explored new methods of transmitting energy. Tesla wasn’t just an inventor—he had a unique, almost intuitive connection to the future.
His visionary thinking paved the way for technologies that power the modern world. The Dial-Tesla Coil honors this legacy, exploring energy principles that are just as relevant today as they were in Tesla’s time.