Nathan Stubblefield Earth battery/Self Generating Induction Coil Replications

[Pirate88179]

@ Hans:

Wow, I am going to have to study this latest picture.

If you look closley at the enlargment I posted of your picture, you can see the horizon reflected in two of the spheres.  you can see trees and what appears to be an open field.  Even the glazed ceramic insulators won't do that I don't think.  This is what led me to think brass or aluminum maybe?  The M.E. that examined Stubblefield's body said that there were two metalic spheres in the room providing heat.  I wonder if they were larger versions of these devices?  I didn't want to zoom in any more as I wanted to show the coils but, if you enlarge it yourself and look into the reflections I think you will see what I mean.  What do you think?  From what I have read on his telephone patents, might these be the "earth transmitters" and "receivers"  In other words, antennas?  I have not made it to the museum as of yet, but I am going to go.

Bill

[hansvonlieven]

@ Bill,

The ceramic insulators at the time were made from glazed porcelain. They were shiny when new. Depending on how the light hits them they will give a mirror effect. Polished brass however would not last long in the open with a shine. They would dull very quickly. At this stage it is still anyone's guess.

Hans von Lieven

[Freezer]

Enhanced it a bit more, still hard to see exactly whats happening there.  Seems like there's only one wire?  So it looks as though a rod is placed through a coil, but whats the function of the domes?  If we have the right image we could perhaps tell what direction north is in the picture based on the sky, if that helps.

On another note, I finished 8 cells, and am waiting to get some containers to link them all.  The distance between the plates made a good deal of difference, now giving 16mA per 4-plate cell.  I think with about 100 of these cells I could actually have a real battery. 

[jeanna]

The ceramic insulators at the time were made from glazed porcelain.

Hans von Lieven

Hans or anyone,
Do you know what those ceramic insulators had inside them? Not Stubblefield's I mean from the tel company when it started? I think I remember seeing some things like that when I was a child. What was the purpose of the insulation? Was this a capacitor of some sort?

these pictures are great. What comes to my mind immediately is something Dr. Who might step into. 

Thank you, Hans. And Bill and Freezer for the magnifications.



jeanna

[Pirate88179]

@ Jeanna:

We used to machine ceramics for the electronics and defense industries.  We made many styles of stand-offs (using much higher tech materials) which were used as insulators.  Generally, they had an ID that a fastener could pass through, like a bolt, and the dielectric strength of the material insulated the voltage from passing to the bolt from the O.D.

Now, in the old days, they used porcelain, which is a very low-tech porous material which is why they needed to glaze it (coat it with glass) to keep moisture out of it.  Over time, the moisture would reduce the insulation value of the stand-off.
So, my guess, if Hans is right about them being ceramic, is that they just have a hole in the center through which he (Stubblefield) passes what appears to be a rod.  All of this is just a guess, except for my ceramic experience with the insulators.

@ Freezer:

Great close-up and enhancement.

Bill