Re: Was Tesla correct about wireless power transmission?

Hello George: Tesla is sometimes referred to as the father of radio. His 
original intent was distributing power by wireless means. Tesla knew that 
air is a poor conductor of electricity; he hoped to transmit power by 
magnetic induction. The problem with magnetic induction is that the field 
strength decreases exponentially with distance, making power transmission 
totally impractical.
It is interesting to note that once he realized the problem, he teamed-up 
with Westinghouse and developed the first successful hydroelectric 
alternating current power plant at Niagara falls using 60 Hertz frequency 
and transmission lines. This dealt the lethal blow to Thomas Edison, a 
proponent of direct current.
By using alternating current, voltages can be stepped-up for transmission 
over long distances and stepped-down for local distribution. The beauty of 
high voltages over the long haul is that it minimizes power loss due to 
line resistance. Tesla calculated 60-Hertz to be the ideal frequency for 
distribution at a time when it would have been difficult to determine such 
a value through hand computation. In fact, the ideal frequency happens to 
be 58.7 Hertz. This Internet site is one of several that associate Tesla's 
inventions:
 http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/
ll_whoradio.html

If you have access to Britannica on-line, you can also find there good 
reference material on Tesla.

Your concern for high voltage is correct. Even nominal house voltage can 
be lethal. This is the reason why one should never grab a wire.  If
an electrician *must* grab a wire, he tests it with the back of his hand.
Electric current contracts the muscle tissue, so in the worst case of
touching a "live" wire the electrician may get a slap at his face!
Your MAD.SCI Micro.