Thread: Soviet super weapon legend

Originally Posted by Sandman

...a particle beam weapon based on Nicola Tesla's "Scalar" work.

There is more misunderstanding and myth surrounding this than practically anything else Tesla ever did.

There is no such thing as a "Scalar".

If you study Tesla's notes and patents, you will come to understand that Tesla's use of the term was as an adjective describing electrostatic potential. IOW, he used the term literally- something is "scalar" when it varies only in magnitude (or scale). Tesla abbreviated it "SEP" in his notes (for Scalar Electrostatic Potential). He recognized that electrostatic potential is always the same no matter how it's generated, the only variable is the intensity of the charge (what we call voltage).

He coined the term because it was descriptive, and he was a pioneer in a new field that needed new language.

It's not a thing, it's a description of a thing. Temperature is "scalar" for the same reason.

Tesla was a genius, and understood electromagnetism as well as anyone that has ever lived. He also thought there were little green men living on Mars, and even built a radio to talk to them.

and I always thought 'SEP' meant Somebody Elses Problem

Originally Posted by highsea

Tesla was a genius, and understood electromagnetism as well as anyone that has ever lived.

Of course, Tesla was a Serb.

Originally Posted by highsea

He also thought there were little green men living on Mars, and even built a radio to talk to them.

You are nitpicking now.

In the late 1930's he sold some reasearch to the Soviets for $30,000.
Some think it was involving this work, if I remember correctly wherever I read it.

Conspiracy theories abound. Lol.

Tesla was distressed about the chances of war in Europe, and in the mid-late 30's he wrote a paper claiming he could create a defensive screen that could shoot down 10,000 planes at 250 miles, or something like that. The so-called "death ray". No one really takes this too seriously today, the power requirements would make it impractical. There are no known patents or notes surviving today on this invention.

In any case. he presented his ideas to the US gov't and representatives from a number of allied countries. Eventually a company in New York called Amtorg Trading Company showed some interest. This company was reputed to be a front for Soviet arms dealers, but who knows. Tesla had already offered his information directly to the Soviet Union anyway, since they were an ally at the time, and received the same papers that France, England, Canada, and the US had received. In 1939, Amtorg paid Tesla $25,000.

That pic you posted is claimed to be a satellite photo, but it has the artists signature clearly visible in the lower left!

But SRB's comment earlier is true, in the 80's both the US and Russia were zapping each other pretty regularly with lasers in tit-for-tat exchanges.

Thanks Highsea. I agree with the conspricy theory idea, and if you look at the date, 1980, it was in the middle of the Cold War scare, much of which was legit, but some like this was used for raising funding by making the Sovs look 10 feet tall. I still wonder though if there is any link to partical beam weapons, and if this 'artist rendition' is a plausable depiction of an early particle beam weapon or experiment.

Reminds me of the old game Command and Conquer: Red Alert, and the Tesla Coils.

A defensive structure built like a christmas tree of electrically charged rings with a large sphere on top, it projects an extremely high voltage current of electricity at a target...very nasty things indeed...especially for infantry who were became fried chicken.