Some time back, a mysterious tower resembling Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower appeared outside Milford, Texas, a rural community in north central Texas. The construction of the Tesla tower was noticed by citizens of Milford in 2017, but only more recently has it become a fixture of the landscape. Anyone heading down I-35 can get a clear view of it from the highway; it stands alone in a field, unusual and looming.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The similarities between Milford’s mysterious tower and the Wardenclyffe Tower are visually striking, but it hasn’t been nicknamed the Tesla Tower based on appearance alone – Tesla’s vision for the Wardenclyffe Tower involved wireless transmission. He was attempting to create the wireless telephone system that we live with today, even predicting inventions such as the Apple watch. Unfortunately, the Wardenclyffe Tower ultimately led to the engineer’s downfall; though the construction of it was finished in 1902, Tesla lost possession of it in 1915 because he was unable to afford the mortgages.
Viziv Technologies, the party responsible for the construction of the tower in Milford, has similar goals. If their experiments with the tower are successful, this would mean they can wirelessly transmit energy between any two points on the globe. Their aim is to utilize the Zenneck surface wave, an electromagnetic wave that uses the surface of the earth as a guide, enabling it to carry signals and electricity over long distances. (Electromagnetic waves are results of vibrations between electric fields and magnetic fields.)
The Zenneck surface wave is named after Jonathan Zenneck, a physicist and electrical engineer. He was among the pioneers that studied electromagnetic waves. Zenneck surface waves have not yet been experimentally observed, and Viziv is unique in that its technology only uses these surface waves, as opposed radiated waves.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Viziv Technologies’ goals can best be summed up in their mission statement: “Our mission is to bring surface wave technologies to market in a safe, environmentally conscious and reliable manner, improving living conditions across the globe.” There are populations in the world that don’t have access to electricity; if these experiments are successful, this could mean an environmentally conscious way to provide electricity or means of communication. It’s an exciting time for Texas. Viziv is bringing the technology of the future to our backyard and has assured nearby citizens that their experiments will not have harmful effects on them.
