Note 11 — Chapter XXXIV

Mr. Tesla's experiments, as the careful reader of his three lectures will perceive, have revealed a very important fact which is taken advantage of in this invention. Namely, he has shown that in a condenser a considerable amount of energy may be wasted, and the condenser may break down merely because gaseous matter is present between the surfaces. A number of experiments are described in the lectures, which bring out this fact forcibly and serve as a guide in the operation of high tension apparatus. But besides bearing upon this point, these experiments also throw a light upon investigations of a purely scientific nature and explain now the lack of harmony among the observations of various investigators. Mr. Tesla shows that in a fluid such as oil the losses are very small as compared with those incurred in a gas.