Weird science enthusiasts will come out of the woodwork to convene in Phoenix, Arizona, this weekend at an alternative energy conference given by the International Tesla Society Inc. The 1998 Tesla Technology Series will feature an array of hard-to-believe science and technology demonstrations -- including a car that does not produce exhaust.
Nikola Tesla was a prolific, turn-of-the-century inventor whose ground-breaking inventions include radio, radar, fluorescent lighting, and alternating-current power transmission. Tesla inexplicably became a taboo in 20th century academic discourse, while a cottage industry of pseudoscience sprung up around the more fantastic -- and often speculative -- aspects of his work.
Concluding with a UFO presentation, this conference is exactly the kind of "science" that critics insist has nothing to do with the great Tesla, and should be prefaced with "pseudo" in its name.
"I'm going to be revealing a new type of fuel source," said self-proclaimed design engineer Bruce Perrault, a featured speaker at the conference.
Perrault said that he will reveal the common factor of all free-energy devices -- a special kind of capacitor. Free-energy enthusiasts say that an "overunity" device can be created whose output creates more power than the input used to drive it. Theoretically, it would then be possible to channel some of the output back to the input, so that the device would then run continuously using no external power but its own "free energy."
"You can practically get the materials to build it from any supermarket," Perrault said. His plan is to show how to construct one at the conference, and demonstrate by powering a small motor with it.
"This is a totally overlooked source of energy and if developed, could take us to the stars," Perrault said.
But after a second's hesitation, he rephrased that last one: "I don't know if I'd go as far as the stars, but at least we could explore some of our planets and solar systems."
As expected, there are skeptics.
"I'll bet you a case of beer there is no working overunity device that is testable by others or for sale as an operating unit, a kit, or working plans to build it yourself," said Jerry W. Decker, operator of KeelyNet, a site devoted to developments in free energy -- a field Decker has been tracking for 30 years.
While Decker has never found a working, self-sustaining overunity device, his drive is fueled by the hope that one day it will be found. But until it can be seen, he'll remain a skeptic.
"When inventors or experimenters make a claim and offer to explain or demonstrate it at your conference, if there is any possibility of something that might work, you jump on it," he said. "But I wouldn't ever count on it as fact."
"I don't call anything overunity or free energy ... I call it 'natural energy,'" said International Tesla Society president J. W. McGinnis. "I think for a long time, people have been using those adjectives, and this has become the base for criticism from the mainstream. I do not believe in [showcasing] technologies which are very questionable or have no scientific basis at all. In this case, we have a collection of what I feel are the best independent researchers in America."
Other gems in McGinnis's lineup include a demonstration on how to "draw power straight from the ground," which is based on some of Tesla's own work, and a feature on Brown's gas, a phenomenon invented by Yull Brown in the early 1970s. It purports to be a new method of water electrolysis, the means of separating water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen by use of an electric current. Proponents claim that Brown's gas can be used to efficiently burn welding torches to weld glass, and to cast iron, copper, and other materials. Critics say it's nothing special.
"As near as I can tell, any provable difference between Brown's gas and a mixture of the gases expected from plain old electrolysis has yet to be convincingly shown," said microcomputing pioneer and science consultant Don Lancaster.
Lancaster has tracked and written extensively about the claims of pseudoscience for many years. His recently published documents include a meta study of Brown's gas and a guide to bashing pseudoscience.
"There are obviously sides to every issue," he said. "However, the proponents often fail to address traditional scientific and engineering beliefs, and they tend to operate outside of those beliefs. In doing so, they lose tremendous amounts of credibility."
Third-grade schoolteacher John W. Wagner has been waging a campaign to resurrect Tesla and his achievements by donating bronze busts of Tesla to leading engineering universities. Raising the capital through the sale of Tesla T-shirts, his effort has scored seven busts -- US$42,000 worth -- so far.
Wagner does not think highly of the International Tesla Society's agenda, or its way of promoting Tesla's work. And he's not afraid to say it.
"Sponsoring fantastic science does a great disservice to Tesla's memory, because it tends to alienate him from the so-called legitimate academic scientific community at a time when he needs to be welcomed back into the fold," he said.
"I believe they are too blinded by all the sparks of Tesla's coil to recognize that we are the vanguard of all efforts to preserve Tesla's memory," said Wagner. "All these little boys with their Tesla toys need to wake up to the fact that we are providing the only opportunity to pay proper respect to Tesla."
