Third Era Electricity

"Ere many generations pass, our machinery will be driven by a power obtainable

at any point in the universe.  This idea in not novel...We find it in the delightful

myth of Antheus, who derives power from the earth; we find it among the subtle

speculations of one of your splendid mathematicians...

Throughout space there is energy . Is this energy static or kinetic?

If static our hopes are in vain; if kinetic - and this we know it is, for certain -

then it is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery

                                                        to the very wheelwork of nature."

-Nikola Tesla addressing the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 1891
       Tesla, Man Out of Time, Margaret Cheney, Prentice-Hall, 1981, ISBN 0-13906859-7

Is man now in a third era of electricity production?  Are we approaching the "very wheelwork of Nature" in new energy sources?  Nanotechnology materials production grows. Solar, wind, and subatomic chemisty launch what may be another revolution, turn of the worm.

First it was Bell and Edison. Then Tesla wrecked the expected electricity landscape with his discovery of alternating current.  When the Niagara Falls Power Commission decided to go with Tesla and Westinghouse over Edison's direct current transmission plans, the history of electricity was forever changed.  Tesla's creation harvested tremendous amounts of hydropower from the mighty Niagara Falls and transmitted electricity to the City of Buffalo. Lights on folks.

Tesla's colorful reference to Antheus helps one picture his friendship with Mark Twain. Science and poetry had  everyihng to do with each other in Tesla's vision.  Antheus (Latin: Antaeus) was a son of Zeus and Gaia, deriving his energy from his contact with earth. He regularly thumped Hercules (Latin: Heracles,) bowling him to the ground. Hercules finally conquered his tormentor by lifting Antheus up in a bear hug, draining his power while in the air.