this Tower was once the laboratory of a man that many might consider to be a mad
scientist this is a laboratory from another time it's construction and use occurred upon
the turn of the 20th century you see Nikola Tesla one of America's greatest inventors
built a research facility that shaped the technology we used today and although its
impact was Major it only stayed open for a year in that short time he made discoveries
and believed he was communicating with aliens today we discover the Lost Laboratories of
Nikola Tesla I'm your host Ryan sokash and you're watching it's history [Music]
Nikola Tesla was born in the Austrian Empire in what is now Croatia on July the 10th 1856 from an
early age Tesla showed an interest in technology and inventing he built wind turbines in elementary
school and dreamed of using Niagara Falls for power ultimately he immigrated to the United
States in 1884 and upon arrival immediately began working on his research four years after moving to
the states Tesla applied for his first patent he worked briefly for fellow inventor Thomas Edison
but their professional relationship ended shortly after business and communication disputes after
leaving this job Tesla worked on developing the first alternating current Motors realizing that
Edison's Vision was inefficient Tesla worked on a system that simultaneously sent multiple waves
of electricity in various directions along with other inventors such as Marconi Thomas Edison was
a rival of Tesla and they spent their careers competing to be the first to innovate wireless
communication technology Tesla's success varied between projects but his competition with peers
lasted as they fought for investor attention while many compare the inventions of Nikola
Tesla to Thomas Edison most would agree that there is at least one significant distinction Edison was
much more business oriented than Tesla while Tesla could still gain outside support for his various
projects he always seemed to need help in reaching financial success while both inventors focused
on similar fields of Technology Tesla worked much more independently than Edison who hired others to
work on various tasks simultaneously as a result Edison had over 1 000 patents by the end of his
life while Tesla had about 300. Edison had a much more capitalistic approach to his inventions while
Tesla contained his work mainly to himself Edison died in 1931 with tremendous financial success
whereas Tesla would pass broke and alone in a New York hotel room but more on that later the upside
is that both inventors contributed significantly to science and American history so what about
that bizarre laboratory I showed you at the top of the video well that was the key to Tesla's
most epic work the Tesla coil eight years before the opening of his laboratory Tesla invented the
Tesla coil in 1891. this invention could solicit much energy within an electric charge measured
in volts one Tesla coil can have over one million volts of power at a time with small ones usually
having about sixty thousand volts the Tesla coil is unusual because unlike other devices with this
voltage level it is much safer due to the energy flowing outside one's body instead of inside the
exception comes from the coil turning on and off rapidly creating high frequency electricity
the Tesla coil would continue to be relevant in the short life of the Tesla experimental
station although it was considered safer than other objects of similar voltage the Tesla coil
could still cause problems with power outages during Tesla's time in Colorado Springs this
bizarre laboratory was quickly built in May of 1899 immediately onlookers were captivated by
the exterior's appearance where a sizable 250 foot tall tower was protruding from the roof
covered in electrical cords at the top there was a ball this structure was designed with wireless
communication studies in mind Tesla told the press that he was focused on This research
Additionally the building was fully lit with bright lights so that the laboratory could be
seen from afar and often Sparks were visible as well locals to Colorado Springs were fascinated
by the unusual building never dared to come too close Tesla put up signs warning about
trespassing weary about his privacy during his research on November the 16th 1899 an issue of
the Evansville Courier and Press described the building as quote barn-like and quote
queer looking but emphasized the significance of Tesla's work it detailed Tesla's promise to show
showcase wireless communication between New York and Paris shortly in the following years reporters
would grow skeptical of Tesla's predictions but many were easily convinced in the early days of
the experimental station Tesla fiercely guarded the laboratory with additional structures such
as a significant engine by the entrance to protect the employees the core of the design is described
as quote cylindrical shaped contrivances made from wood with relatively small dimensions compared to
the tower above and it was this laboratory that was home to the world's most enormous
Tesla coil and almost 50 feet in diameter due to the high voltages emitted in the laboratory both
the giant Tesla coil and the many bright lights on account of the type of experiments unfolding
here the station did cause a power outage at one point but this did not stop Tesla's experiments in
fact this is where the story gets interesting by December of 1899 9 Tesla began receiving
unknown signals in the lab he believed this was possibly extraterrestrial communication which he
shared with a reporter on December the 8th he claimed to the media that aliens had spoken to
him after the laboratory was abandoned despite his adamancy to the Press Tesla was ridiculed
for his claims which were treated as Sensational the Chicago Journal via the San Francisco call
jokingly called Tesla quote the promiser and suggested that perhaps he accomplished more
before his claims would be believed despite the skepticism many reporters assumed that Tesla was
communicating with aliens specifically on Mars but we know now what he couldn't have known then
as later analysis of Tesla's claims suggests that he heard other researchers Transmissions
rather than anything from another world Tesla continued to share his supported discoveries in
1901 suggesting that the aliens he spoke spoke with could be from any nearby Planet yet sadly
his lack of business savviness would get the best of him and despite the technological advances in
the laboratory Nikola Tesla had to shut down his research facilities and return to New York City
in the following years he continued to struggle with debt and in 1904 the
Tesla experimental station was destroyed to pay back his investors and others he
owed money to and from this point mostly conspiracy theories about the lab remain
Tesla's beliefs in Alien communication led to conspiracy theories decades after his death
as public interest in outer space grew with the Space Race rather than one large Theory stemming
from Tesla's alien claims various conflicting theorists have attributed these signals within
the Tesla experimental station as the starting point for their specific ideas one Theory the
Black Knight satellite Theory sometimes claimed that the signals Tesla heard came from an alien
spacecraft orbiting our planet commonly called the Black Knight satellite NASA is debunking
this Theory and attributes various other unrelated UFO sightings as evidence Tesla's
1899 Communications are considered one of the early appearances of this supposed aircraft the
Black Knight satellite is most likely space debris and no verifiable evidence proves
its legitimacy Tesla's claims sparked interest from the public in the possibilities of nearby
alien life still despite the evolution of wireless communication technology there hasn't been any
solid evidence to support it after his tenure in Colorado Springs Nikola Tesla returned to New York
City and continued to struggle financially it despite his struggles he never lost passion for
inventing hence in 1901 he attempted to build a new structure the warden Cliff Tower also known
as the Tesla Tower the tower was built to be a wireless telecommunications and power transmission
station aiming to provide free wireless energy to the entire world Tesla began working on the Tower
project in 1901 with the backing of financer JP Morgan the tower was built in Shoreham New York
on a 200 Acre Site that Tesla had purchased it was designed to be 187 feet tall and was topped with
a large metal Dome given its odd appearance the laboratory complex surrounded the tower
in including a large building for experimental work and research Tesla's vision for the tower
was to transmit power wirelessly through the Earth and atmosphere using the natural resonant
frequencies of the planet he believed this could be achieved by creating a standing wave in the
Earth's atmosphere transmitting energy wirelessly without needing cables or wires he thought this
technology could revolutionize the world providing free energy to everyone Tesla encountered numerous
obstacles during the construction of his famous tower the project was expansive and Morgan who had
initially funded the project withdrew his support when he realized that Tesla's vision for the tower
needed to be financially viable Tesla had to raise additional funds to help complete the project in
his financial situation became increasingly precarious the building was finally completed
in 1905 but was never fully operational Not only was Tesla broke but he became embroiled in legal
battles with his investors the building fell into disrepair and Tesla eventually lost control of the
property the tower was ultimately dismantled in 1917 and the land was sold the laboratory
complex was demolished and the tower was scrapped for its valuable metal components today All That
Remains of the tower is the concrete foundation which can still be seen and I'd like to point out
that even though the tower was never fully operational this effort was not for nothing
Tesla's vision for wireless power transmission inspires scientists and innovators to this very
day the concept of wireless energy transmission is still being explored and some believe it
One Day become a reality Tesla's Legacy as an inventor and Visionary continues to inspire
people worldwide after the fall of this lab Tesla continued to solicit donations but it was a lost
cause as investors were more interested in Marconi after he successfully transmitted a wireless
signal from England to Newfoundland although Marconi gained credit for this work Tesla pointed
out that many of his patents were used leading to Legal actions that reached the U.S Supreme
Court in later years of his life Nikola Tesla began to struggle with his mental health visibly
the Smithsonian claims that Tesla specifically showed signs of obsessive compulsive disorder and
potential neurodivergence they specifically used the term high functioning autistic as a fixation
Tesla publicly continued his work but became much more reclusive preferring the company of said
fixation to that of mankind despite his reclusion Tesla continued to be a significant figure in the
public eye for example he appeared on the cover of Time magazine for his 75th birthday in 1931.
despite his lack of retirement Tesla continued to live in debt for the rest of his life and his
passing wouldn't be cinematic as he left this world in a locked room of the New Yorker Hotel
on January the 7th 1943 the cause of death was heart failure he was 86 years old and an
employee of the hotel found him although Nikola Tesla died alone and in poverty his legacy lives
on in the technology we take for granted today however there is a silver lining here thanks to
the marketing work of Elon Musk his name has now become an important figure cemented in our culture
although its physical remains are lost the Tesla experimental station shaped
our daily lives case in point you're likely watching this video on a cell
phone a device that evolved from Tesla's 1899 research in the Colorado Springs Laboratory