Tesla also used one of those "tubes" filled with iron filings. (Can't
remember their name though, began with a C...contractor?...compactor?...my
brain hirts!). As the RF current flowed through, the filings would become
charged/uncharged, linking/delinking, letting parts of the signal through,
ie rectification. The one problem was that, after a while, they would stay
charged. This was solved by manual "tapping" the side of the tube every now
and again to earth it.
Tesla modified this: Same device, but had it "self tapping" by rotating the
tube so that it would touch the "tapping" part at regular intervals. This
is from memmory, so I hope this is right.
> you may be right about tesla using radioactivity to power his car
> but i think
> knowing
> tesla's work on wireless transmission it was probaly a device akin to a
> t.h.moray reciever. and took radiant EM energy from the
> atmospere.the tubes
> you spoke of must have acted as recievers and amplifiers. (marconi used a
> vaccum tube device full of iron fillings to recieve radio waves)
>