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Nikola Tesla and the Tesla Turbine
In 1913, Nikola Tesla obtained a patent for the Tesla turbine. He had over 300 patents to his name during his lifetime including for inventions like alternating current and the induction motor. For his numerous inventions he received the nickname "The man who invented the 20th century."1 His 100th patent, the Tesla turbine happened to be what he called "the greatest of all his inventions.”2 And yet, since its invention, it has not received widespread use.
Tesla built his first model of the Tesla turbine in 1906 and it weighed less than 10 pounds and was only six inches long, yet was still able to generate 30 horse power.3 In the 1911 October edition of Motor Cycling and Motor, it stated:
Extreme simplicity is indeed the great feature of the Tesla turbine, and, compared with the costly and complex types of turbines with the tens of thousands of blades used in the rotors hitherto employed, it is evident that Tesla has eliminated some of the greatest defects from this system of motor.4
Nikola Tesla and the Tesla Turbine - YouTube Short
The Tesla turbine could be described as a number of discs grouped together functioning together as steam impacts their edges while it spirals towards the center where the steam exhaust is expelled. Tesla believed that theoretically, his turbine allowed for very low energy loss due to the fluid being controlled from the entry to the exit of the turbine and that this would prove his turbine's efficiency superior to others. The turbine's function depends on viscosity and the adhesion of the steam to be attracted to the turbines but to resist molecular separation which causes the discs to rotate and turn the turbine's shaft.5 One person described it as operating much smoother with almost none of the jerking associated with other engines. This was by design as Tesla understood that when using a fluid to generate mechanical power, its economy depended upon "changes in velocity and direction of the movement of the fluid should be as gradual as possible."6 Tesla's turbine, which used centrifugal force, did just that.
For those interested in the physics that are involved, one source explained that the resistance to the steam passing through the discs is proportionate to the square of the relative speed, which increases as the steam reaches the center exhaust.7
Tesla was quoted as saying this about his turbine where where he made clear that he knew that his turbine would be fighting an uphill battle against the established turbine models.
My turbine is an advance of a character entirely different. It is a radical departure in the sense that its success would mean the abandonment of the antiquated types of prime movers on which billions of dollars have been spent.8
Nikola Tesla and the Gas-Powered Tesla Turbine
In 1920, Nikola Tesla received another patent which was called the "valvular conduit." The valvular conduit was a patent which was critical for Tesla to create the gasoline version of his same turbine. Just like his steam powered turbine, the gasoline turbine was described similarly by one source:
The turbine thus shown, presents the advantages of extreme simplicity, cheapness, and reliability, there being no compressor, buckets or troublesome valve mechanism.9
Nikola Tesla was quoted as saying this about his gas powered turbine engine and its combustion:
I have been able to speed up the rate of such explosions until the sound of exploding gases produced a musical note. The device is by far the simplest I have ever seen and I consider myself indeed fortunate in perfecting it at this time.10
Tesla believed one application for his turbine would be to produce geothermal energy, given that geothermal energy is produced using thermal steam. Ironically, in the same year his turbine received its patent, the first geothermal energy plant began to operate commercially in Lardarello, Italy. The Lardarello geothermal plant, however, shows no record of using Tesla's turbine. Today, there are various reports that the Tesla turbine is receiving use and experimentation in such applications as aeronautics, electric automobiles, and geothermal energy, as Tesla believed that it one day would.
Sources:
“Five Facts about Nikola Tesla.” Legacy.com, August 4, 2020. https://www.legacy.com/news/culture-and-history/five-facts-about-nikola-tesla/.
Motor World Wholesale. United States: Chilton Company, 1911. 23.
Popular Science. Bonnier Corporation. September 1955. 232.
Motor Cycling and Motoring. United Kingdom: Temple Press Limited, 1911. 440.
Motor Cycling and Motoring. 441.
Science Conspectus. United States: The Society, 1911. 9.
Motor Cycling and Motoring. 441
Tesla, Nikola. My Inventions and Other Writing and Lectures. United States: Dover Publications, 2021. 40.
Electrical Experimenter. United States: Experimenter Publishing Company, 1920. 316.
Electrical Experimenter. 316.