The Nikola Tesla Death Ray brought to life by scientists

Nikola Tesla is widely known for his ground-breaking contributions to the fields of electrical engineering and wireless power transmission. Amongst these fascinating ideas and inventions lies one that has consistently captivated the imagination of people for decades following his death, the so-called ‘Death Ray.’ Recently, scientists, such as Professor Adrian David Cheok at iUniversity Tokyo/University of Adelaide and Nikola Tesla Technologies Corporation have brought this concept back to life once more.

Often shrouded in mystery and a whole load of speculation, the Death Ray represents Tesla’s ambition for a weapon which could ultimately end all war, something he personally dubbed the ‘teleforce.’ Being theorised in 1934, just prior to the deadliest conflict in human history, and following the relent of the First World War, such a concept would have been a great deterrent invention and could have saved (or taken) many lives.

The birth of an idea

Nikola Tesla's fascination with harnessing and controlling energy led him to conceive the idea of a devastating weapon that could project concentrated beams of immense power. His inspiration came during the early 20th century, a time when military advancements were gaining momentum, and the world was embroiled in conflicts. Tesla envisioned a weapon that could surpass conventional artillery, offering unprecedented destructive capabilities and range.

The science behind the Death Ray

While Tesla spoke publicly about his Death Ray, he remained relatively secretive about its inner workings. However, based on his other inventions and patents, experts have speculated on the possible scientific principles behind the concept. One theory suggests that Tesla intended to employ his earlier invention, the magnifying transmitter, to generate and focus an intense beam of electromagnetic energy.

However, in 1984, the plans of the ‘teleforce’ surfaced at the Nikola Tesla Museum archive in Belgrade. These concepts described the weapon as an open-ended vacuum tube with a gas jet seal that would allow particles to exit. This would allow for electrically charged slugs of metals such as tungsten to be directed down streams via electrostatic repulsion.

Bringing the Death Ray back from the dead

However, not all is lost, and over 80 years following his death, Tesla’s ‘Death Ray’ has been brought back to life by Professor Adrian David Cheok. A researcher and inventor in the field of mixed reality and human-computer interaction, Cheok worked alongside a team of professors at the University of Adelaide for almost ten years to produce the device, which required four newly developed pieces of technology.

In order to recreate the ‘Death Ray’ Tesla described all those years ago, Professor Cheok and his team had to create a device for creating the concentrated rays, one for generating massive electrical forces, one to amplify these forces, and finally, one to produce a powerful electrical repelling force. Put these together and you now have your very own Nikola Tesla ‘Death Ray,’ capable of “bringing down planes at a distance of up to 500km, and killing soldiers without a trace,” according to the release statement of the invention. Operating entirely in silence, the device sends concentrated particles through the air to the intended target at a range “the curvature of the earth would permit.”

Detecting the Death Ray