1 00:00:03,180 --> 00:00:05,490 Prince: We're looking for the missing pieces. 2 00:00:05,491 --> 00:00:07,007 It's got to be here. 3 00:00:07,008 --> 00:00:08,524 - We hit something. - What is that? 4 00:00:08,525 --> 00:00:11,283 - Oh, wow. - Dude, we got something. 5 00:00:11,284 --> 00:00:13,938 Murphy: Nikola Tesla was... and a lot of people will tell you this... 6 00:00:13,939 --> 00:00:17,455 The greatest inventor in American history. 7 00:00:17,456 --> 00:00:22,593 A.c. Power, electric motors, fluorescent lights, x-rays... 8 00:00:22,594 --> 00:00:26,490 Tesla paved the way for all of these technologies. 9 00:00:26,491 --> 00:00:29,559 Prince: Tesla was taking several of his inventions 10 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,248 and putting them together to become this superweapon. 11 00:00:33,249 --> 00:00:36,179 He called it the death ray. 12 00:00:36,180 --> 00:00:38,731 Narrator: Now a military investigator... 13 00:00:38,732 --> 00:00:41,007 Murphy: But we're gonna have to go around some of these obstacles. 14 00:00:41,008 --> 00:00:42,179 Narrator: An historian... 15 00:00:42,180 --> 00:00:43,524 Prince: Holy [bleep] 16 00:00:43,525 --> 00:00:45,938 Narrator: And an engineer of Tesla technology... 17 00:00:45,939 --> 00:00:47,835 We're gonna build Tesla's death ray. 18 00:00:47,836 --> 00:00:50,524 Narrator: Unlock the mysteries behind what could be the greatest 19 00:00:50,525 --> 00:00:53,042 cover-up of the 20th century. 20 00:00:53,043 --> 00:00:54,248 We need to go deeper. 21 00:00:54,249 --> 00:00:56,386 Do you think Tesla finished the death ray? 22 00:00:56,387 --> 00:00:59,800 If something fails, there's going to be an explosion. 23 00:00:59,801 --> 00:01:02,386 Murphy: Tesla moved from lab to lab. 24 00:01:02,387 --> 00:01:04,524 He left a paper trail all over the world... 25 00:01:04,525 --> 00:01:05,628 How can we get in there? 26 00:01:05,629 --> 00:01:06,938 Trunks of information. 27 00:01:06,939 --> 00:01:08,524 Have these documents ever been published? 28 00:01:08,525 --> 00:01:10,524 No. 29 00:01:10,525 --> 00:01:12,145 Murphy: Did Tesla invent the world's first 30 00:01:12,146 --> 00:01:13,628 weapon of mass destruction... 31 00:01:13,629 --> 00:01:14,938 3, 2, 1. 32 00:01:14,939 --> 00:01:16,559 And was he murdered for it? 33 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,455 ♪♪ 34 00:01:20,456 --> 00:01:24,110 Narrator: In this hour, an in-depth look at Nikola Tesla, 35 00:01:24,111 --> 00:01:27,869 the mysterious genius who invented the 20th century. 36 00:01:27,870 --> 00:01:28,973 He was a visionary. 37 00:01:28,974 --> 00:01:31,076 Tesla could see how things worked 38 00:01:31,077 --> 00:01:32,973 in his mind before he actually made them. 39 00:01:32,974 --> 00:01:36,593 Narrator: A brilliant inventor who revolutionized industry, 40 00:01:36,594 --> 00:01:39,524 but whose ideas and acclaim were often stolen... 41 00:01:39,525 --> 00:01:42,559 Flacco: Here was somebody basically capitalizing on a patent 42 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,076 Tesla had already done years before. 43 00:01:45,077 --> 00:01:47,214 Narrator: A man who became more secretive 44 00:01:47,215 --> 00:01:49,869 as his inventions became more incredible. 45 00:01:49,870 --> 00:01:53,317 Prince: It's rumored that he kept his notes in code 46 00:01:53,318 --> 00:01:56,145 to protect them if they fell in the wrong hands. 47 00:01:56,146 --> 00:01:59,490 Narrator: With special sneak previews of the new investigative series, 48 00:01:59,491 --> 00:02:01,145 premiering January 2. 49 00:02:01,146 --> 00:02:04,179 Captions by vitac... www.Vitac.Com 50 00:02:04,180 --> 00:02:07,317 captions paid for by discovery communications 51 00:02:07,318 --> 00:02:10,421 the U.S. power grid is a modern wonder, 52 00:02:10,422 --> 00:02:13,076 painstakingly built over a century 53 00:02:13,077 --> 00:02:15,869 by connecting a complex network of power plants 54 00:02:15,870 --> 00:02:20,179 and transformers using more than 450,000 miles 55 00:02:20,180 --> 00:02:22,524 of high-voltage transmission lines. 56 00:02:22,525 --> 00:02:27,007 The actually electricity comes from places like this. 57 00:02:27,008 --> 00:02:28,835 This is Niagara Falls 58 00:02:28,836 --> 00:02:31,835 and the location of the largest hydroelectric power plant 59 00:02:31,836 --> 00:02:33,835 on the east coast. 60 00:02:33,836 --> 00:02:35,386 Carey: The hum that we're hearing right now 61 00:02:35,387 --> 00:02:37,421 is literally the sound of power... 62 00:02:37,422 --> 00:02:39,697 115,000 volts. 63 00:02:39,698 --> 00:02:41,835 Narrator: The technology that makes all this possible 64 00:02:41,836 --> 00:02:46,042 wouldn't exist without the rebel genius of Nikola Tesla. 65 00:02:46,043 --> 00:02:48,869 It's just amazing from a history standpoint. 66 00:02:48,870 --> 00:02:51,317 Tesla helped create the foundation 67 00:02:51,318 --> 00:02:54,731 of our electrical grid. 68 00:02:54,732 --> 00:02:58,869 Narrator: Nikola Tesla's incredible career began in 1884, 69 00:02:58,870 --> 00:03:01,938 after he boarded a ship to the United States. 70 00:03:01,939 --> 00:03:05,559 Tesla arrived on the ship with four cents in his pocket 71 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,007 and a bundle of clothing. 72 00:03:07,008 --> 00:03:10,628 Shortly after arriving here, he goes to see Thomas Edison. 73 00:03:10,629 --> 00:03:13,214 Narrator: Edison, perhaps one of the most famous inventors 74 00:03:13,215 --> 00:03:14,662 in the world at the time, 75 00:03:14,663 --> 00:03:18,076 gave the young inventor his first job in his new home. 76 00:03:18,077 --> 00:03:20,179 Tesla was 28 years old. 77 00:03:20,180 --> 00:03:23,042 He walked into an america that was in a golden age 78 00:03:23,043 --> 00:03:25,042 of expansion and optimism. 79 00:03:25,043 --> 00:03:28,386 Narrator: Despite the industrial boom, once the sun went down, 80 00:03:28,387 --> 00:03:31,248 the world was lit by candles and lanterns. 81 00:03:31,249 --> 00:03:35,110 Thomas Edison had just invented the first commercially available 82 00:03:35,111 --> 00:03:36,662 electric light bulb. 83 00:03:36,663 --> 00:03:38,973 But there was no system for delivering electricity 84 00:03:38,974 --> 00:03:40,283 to the masses. 85 00:03:40,284 --> 00:03:44,421 Edison's solution was D.C. power, or direct current. 86 00:03:44,422 --> 00:03:47,593 He imagined this current would be wired into every home 87 00:03:47,594 --> 00:03:50,214 in america and light his electric lamps. 88 00:03:50,215 --> 00:03:52,559 The idea was initially to make a power plant 89 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,352 every block or two and then to send power out. 90 00:03:55,353 --> 00:03:58,490 Narrator: But his innovation had serious problems. 91 00:03:58,491 --> 00:04:03,421 The D.C. power generators were fragile and prone to break down. 92 00:04:03,422 --> 00:04:06,731 Edison took the problem to his newly hired scientist, 93 00:04:06,732 --> 00:04:07,938 Nikola Tesla. 94 00:04:07,939 --> 00:04:10,179 Edison immediately gives him a challenge. 95 00:04:10,180 --> 00:04:12,421 "I have all these generators failing all over the city. 96 00:04:12,422 --> 00:04:14,731 Nobody can fix them. So you do it. 97 00:04:14,732 --> 00:04:18,662 If you do it, I'll give you a $50,000 bonus." 98 00:04:18,663 --> 00:04:21,386 Narrator: It seemed like an insolvable problem. 99 00:04:21,387 --> 00:04:23,524 But the rookie inventor attacked it 100 00:04:23,525 --> 00:04:26,145 with the mind of a seasoned genius. 101 00:04:26,146 --> 00:04:28,145 Flacco: Tesla goes out for a couple of months, 102 00:04:28,146 --> 00:04:30,490 works on all those generators, gets them all fixed, 103 00:04:30,491 --> 00:04:33,179 says, "I've done exactly what you asked, 104 00:04:33,180 --> 00:04:34,628 and I need that $50,000." 105 00:04:34,629 --> 00:04:37,110 Edison says, "I don't think you understand 106 00:04:37,111 --> 00:04:39,007 the American sense of humor. 107 00:04:39,008 --> 00:04:41,697 That $50,000 was just a little joke." 108 00:04:41,698 --> 00:04:44,214 Welcome to the age of the robber baron. 109 00:04:44,215 --> 00:04:46,317 Narrator: Betrayed by his famous boss 110 00:04:46,318 --> 00:04:48,455 after only a few months on the job, 111 00:04:48,456 --> 00:04:51,490 Nikola Tesla struck out on his own. 112 00:04:51,491 --> 00:04:56,904 He quit because it wasn't just that he felt cheated by Edison, 113 00:04:56,905 --> 00:05:00,214 he felt soiled by Edison's greed. 114 00:05:00,215 --> 00:05:03,352 Narrator: Seeing the problems of D.C. power distribution 115 00:05:03,353 --> 00:05:06,731 inspired Tesla to come up with a better solution of his own. 116 00:05:06,732 --> 00:05:09,731 For years, he had thought that alternating current, 117 00:05:09,732 --> 00:05:12,214 or a.C., was a better method. 118 00:05:12,215 --> 00:05:15,214 Edison's direct current travels through a power line 119 00:05:15,215 --> 00:05:18,179 in a single direction at a constant voltage. 120 00:05:18,180 --> 00:05:21,386 By contrast, Tesla's alternating current 121 00:05:21,387 --> 00:05:25,352 periodically changes direction and can vary voltage. 122 00:05:25,353 --> 00:05:28,110 And Edison's design had one critical flaw. 123 00:05:28,111 --> 00:05:30,145 Flacco: It will only go about three-quarters of a mile 124 00:05:30,146 --> 00:05:32,869 to a mile before it fades out entirely. 125 00:05:32,870 --> 00:05:35,421 Narrator: A.c. Has no such limitations. 126 00:05:35,422 --> 00:05:37,283 It can run at higher voltages, 127 00:05:37,284 --> 00:05:39,869 allowing it to be transmitted for hundreds of miles 128 00:05:39,870 --> 00:05:41,283 without losing power. 129 00:05:41,284 --> 00:05:44,076 There's been a lot of development since Tesla's time, 130 00:05:44,077 --> 00:05:47,317 but overall, we use the same theory 131 00:05:47,318 --> 00:05:49,352 of harnessing electrical power. 132 00:05:49,353 --> 00:05:51,628 It's amazing to see the evolution. 133 00:05:51,629 --> 00:05:54,248 Narrator: But at the time, what Tesla envisioned 134 00:05:54,249 --> 00:05:57,386 was considered impossible by mainstream science. 135 00:05:57,387 --> 00:06:01,007 Tesla's rebellious streak came in rebelling against 136 00:06:01,008 --> 00:06:03,800 the whole of established science at the time. 137 00:06:03,801 --> 00:06:06,593 It was thought that there was no way to harness 138 00:06:06,594 --> 00:06:09,593 alternating current and ever make it practicable. 139 00:06:09,594 --> 00:06:11,973 Narrator: After years of struggle and hard work, 140 00:06:11,974 --> 00:06:14,800 Tesla's a.C. Solution finally caught the attention 141 00:06:14,801 --> 00:06:17,110 of a wealthy investor. 142 00:06:17,111 --> 00:06:20,042 Flacco: George westinghouse, who was already a millionaire 143 00:06:20,043 --> 00:06:24,179 because he invented air brakes on trains, goes to Tesla. 144 00:06:24,180 --> 00:06:27,248 And he says, "alternating current, huh? 145 00:06:27,249 --> 00:06:29,076 That sounds good." 146 00:06:29,077 --> 00:06:31,179 Narrator: Westinghouse's plan was simple... 147 00:06:31,180 --> 00:06:34,697 Make an alliance with Nikola Tesla and his a.C. Power. 148 00:06:34,698 --> 00:06:38,317 And so began what the press called "the war of the currents" 149 00:06:38,318 --> 00:06:41,939 between Tesla's a.C. Power and Edison's D.C. 150 00:06:43,318 --> 00:06:46,214 To the winner would go the prize of lighting the world 151 00:06:46,215 --> 00:06:48,353 and a limitless fortune. 152 00:06:50,353 --> 00:06:53,835 In 1893, the deciding blow in the war of the currents 153 00:06:53,836 --> 00:06:57,042 was delivered by Tesla when his a.C. Power system 154 00:06:57,043 --> 00:06:59,421 made its international debut. 155 00:06:59,422 --> 00:07:03,076 It was Thomas Edison's worst nightmare. 156 00:07:03,077 --> 00:07:05,662 Everybody assumed that Edison would get the contract 157 00:07:05,663 --> 00:07:08,248 to wire it and to power the first world's fair 158 00:07:08,249 --> 00:07:09,766 powered by electricity. 159 00:07:09,767 --> 00:07:11,869 And to everyone's surprise, westinghouse, 160 00:07:11,870 --> 00:07:15,662 using Tesla's patents, won the contract. 161 00:07:15,663 --> 00:07:19,800 And I think to really appreciate how important that moment was, 162 00:07:19,801 --> 00:07:23,110 you have to think back to what it was like at that time. 163 00:07:23,111 --> 00:07:24,766 The only way to light your home 164 00:07:24,767 --> 00:07:27,697 was with a candle or with a gas lamp. 165 00:07:27,698 --> 00:07:31,662 So you come to the world's fair and... flash... 166 00:07:31,663 --> 00:07:35,317 I mean, literally, 100,000 light bulbs lit up. 167 00:07:35,318 --> 00:07:38,386 I mean, nothing like this had ever been seen before. 168 00:07:38,387 --> 00:07:42,007 It was truly transformational. 169 00:07:42,008 --> 00:07:43,973 Narrator: By the time Thomas Edison returned 170 00:07:43,974 --> 00:07:48,352 from the 1893 Chicago world's fair, he was in a rage. 171 00:07:48,353 --> 00:07:50,800 He counterattacked Tesla's success 172 00:07:50,801 --> 00:07:53,248 by launching a brutal smear campaign, 173 00:07:53,249 --> 00:07:57,973 one of the nastiest in the history of American industry. 174 00:07:57,974 --> 00:08:01,904 Flacco: Edison had already lost, but he didn't accept it. 175 00:08:01,905 --> 00:08:04,007 Edison published pamphlets 176 00:08:04,008 --> 00:08:06,731 that warned about the dangers of a.C. Power. 177 00:08:06,732 --> 00:08:11,214 His associates electrocuted dogs and horses 178 00:08:11,215 --> 00:08:13,869 and even an elephant on the streets of New York 179 00:08:13,870 --> 00:08:17,352 to try to convince people that a.C. Power was too dangerous 180 00:08:17,353 --> 00:08:19,076 and should not be used. 181 00:08:19,077 --> 00:08:21,490 Narrator: In addition to executing animals, 182 00:08:21,491 --> 00:08:24,973 Edison promoted the idea of an a.C.-Powered electric chair 183 00:08:24,974 --> 00:08:30,042 to provoke fear about the dangers of Tesla's a.C. Current. 184 00:08:30,043 --> 00:08:32,386 But the campaign of terror could not derail 185 00:08:32,387 --> 00:08:34,386 the brilliance of Tesla's work. 186 00:08:34,387 --> 00:08:38,386 Undeterred and in possession of the superior technology, 187 00:08:38,387 --> 00:08:41,835 westinghouse and Tesla set out to light america. 188 00:08:41,836 --> 00:08:44,559 To do that, they needed a power source, 189 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:47,145 and Tesla had an audacious one in mind. 190 00:08:47,146 --> 00:08:51,559 ♪♪ 191 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:54,421 He wanted to harness the power of Niagara Falls 192 00:08:54,422 --> 00:08:57,835 and ship it south to buffalo, New York. 193 00:08:57,836 --> 00:09:00,628 Flacco: What they essentially did was carve hundred-foot, 194 00:09:00,629 --> 00:09:03,455 vertical shafts in the rocks 195 00:09:03,456 --> 00:09:06,938 for water to fall down and spin turbine blades 196 00:09:06,939 --> 00:09:08,559 and create electricity. 197 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,938 He started with 8 million volts there, 198 00:09:10,939 --> 00:09:14,904 which at the time was considered astounding. 199 00:09:14,905 --> 00:09:18,179 Narrator: The plant opened on August 25, 1895 200 00:09:18,180 --> 00:09:22,490 and provided power until it was shut down in 1961 201 00:09:22,491 --> 00:09:24,386 to make room for its successor, 202 00:09:24,387 --> 00:09:26,490 just a few miles down the river. 203 00:09:26,491 --> 00:09:29,283 But the basic solutions Tesla came up with 204 00:09:29,284 --> 00:09:30,904 are still in use today. 205 00:09:30,905 --> 00:09:34,628 ♪♪ 206 00:09:34,629 --> 00:09:37,317 Carey: This is inside one of our generating units. 207 00:09:37,318 --> 00:09:40,248 The whole unit is about 1,000 tons. 208 00:09:40,249 --> 00:09:43,628 Water is actually flowing right underneath us right now. 209 00:09:43,629 --> 00:09:45,352 It's spinning the turbine. 210 00:09:45,353 --> 00:09:46,697 The turbine spins. 211 00:09:46,698 --> 00:09:48,076 The shaft spins. 212 00:09:48,077 --> 00:09:50,766 They're both spinning at 120 rpm. 213 00:09:50,767 --> 00:09:53,800 From there, this is connected up to our rotor. 214 00:09:53,801 --> 00:09:57,904 The rotor's also spinning at 120 rpm. 215 00:09:57,905 --> 00:10:01,938 Overall, this massive structure is a real engineering marvel. 216 00:10:01,939 --> 00:10:05,007 The technology involved is phenomenal. 217 00:10:05,008 --> 00:10:07,904 I think Nikola Tesla is just brilliant. 218 00:10:07,905 --> 00:10:09,973 It's because of his idea 219 00:10:09,974 --> 00:10:13,007 that you can generate electricity 220 00:10:13,008 --> 00:10:15,386 and transmit it long-distance. 221 00:10:15,387 --> 00:10:21,007 The power grid is the greatest invention of the past century. 222 00:10:21,008 --> 00:10:24,835 Rusch: We use Nikola Tesla's power grid today. 223 00:10:24,836 --> 00:10:27,938 It is the way that we power our lives. 224 00:10:27,939 --> 00:10:30,559 So we really have him to thank for having 225 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:33,386 the electricity to turn on the lights and plug in our computers 226 00:10:33,387 --> 00:10:35,077 and charge our cellphones. 227 00:10:36,974 --> 00:10:39,593 Narrator: With the ability to bathe whole cities in light, 228 00:10:39,594 --> 00:10:43,179 Tesla became the most famous inventor in the world. 229 00:10:43,180 --> 00:10:45,455 Tesla had beaten Edison, 230 00:10:45,456 --> 00:10:47,179 but he was not satisfied, 231 00:10:47,180 --> 00:10:50,766 and that ambition would push him to more brilliant inventions, 232 00:10:50,767 --> 00:10:54,731 but also into war with some of the world's most dangerous men. 233 00:10:54,732 --> 00:10:56,421 [ Whistling ] 234 00:10:56,422 --> 00:10:57,905 [ Explosion ] 235 00:10:59,594 --> 00:11:02,766 And now a sneak peak at the new investigative series 236 00:11:02,767 --> 00:11:06,214 "Tesla's death ray: A murder declassified," 237 00:11:06,215 --> 00:11:09,835 premiering January 2 on discovery. 238 00:11:09,836 --> 00:11:11,628 Murphy: We're looking for two things... 239 00:11:11,629 --> 00:11:13,697 One, did Tesla invent the world's 240 00:11:13,698 --> 00:11:15,524 first weapon of mass destruction? 241 00:11:15,525 --> 00:11:18,352 And, two, was he murdered for it? 242 00:11:18,353 --> 00:11:22,076 I've been going over newly declassified FBI documents 243 00:11:22,077 --> 00:11:24,593 that could rewrite American history. 244 00:11:24,594 --> 00:11:26,800 So, this FBI document here 245 00:11:26,801 --> 00:11:30,662 says that when Tesla died, that his safe was broken into. 246 00:11:30,663 --> 00:11:34,386 It was forced open by parties unknown. 247 00:11:34,387 --> 00:11:36,662 Koscho: Tesla theorized this weapon of his 248 00:11:36,663 --> 00:11:41,283 could take out military aircraft 250 miles away. 249 00:11:41,284 --> 00:11:43,559 He thought that this could be a device 250 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:47,145 capable of delivering 1.5 gigawatts of power to a target. 251 00:11:47,146 --> 00:11:49,455 It really was absurd at the time, 252 00:11:49,456 --> 00:11:51,973 and frankly, it still is absurd now. 253 00:11:51,974 --> 00:11:54,076 That means we're taking a bolt of lightning, 254 00:11:54,077 --> 00:11:58,110 pointing it at something, and blowing it up. 255 00:11:58,111 --> 00:12:01,352 Murphy: These documents prove that Tesla was working on the death ray, 256 00:12:01,353 --> 00:12:03,800 and they show that the events surrounding his death 257 00:12:03,801 --> 00:12:06,559 are highly suspicious. 258 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:09,835 Aron, as an engineer, do you think there's enough technology 259 00:12:09,836 --> 00:12:11,455 and there's enough information out there 260 00:12:11,456 --> 00:12:14,248 for you to assemble Tesla's death ray? 261 00:12:14,249 --> 00:12:16,697 Yes, I think it's possible to build something 262 00:12:16,698 --> 00:12:18,007 like what he was after. 263 00:12:18,008 --> 00:12:20,662 But, you know, there's a lot of data missing from this. 264 00:12:20,663 --> 00:12:22,766 If Tesla's weapon was real, 265 00:12:22,767 --> 00:12:25,042 then we could have found a possible motive 266 00:12:25,043 --> 00:12:27,284 to assassinate Nikola Tesla. 267 00:12:34,594 --> 00:12:37,110 Narrator: Using recently declassified FBI files, 268 00:12:37,111 --> 00:12:39,869 three experts... A military investigator... 269 00:12:39,870 --> 00:12:43,076 Murphy: These documents prove that Tesla was working on the death ray. 270 00:12:43,077 --> 00:12:44,455 Narrator: An historian... 271 00:12:44,456 --> 00:12:46,421 Prince: Tesla was actually the most important inventor 272 00:12:46,422 --> 00:12:50,317 in the modern world, but society has basically forgotten him. 273 00:12:50,318 --> 00:12:51,559 Narrator: And an engineer... 274 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:53,283 Koscho: There's a reason nobody's done this before. 275 00:12:53,284 --> 00:12:54,628 It's dangerous. 276 00:12:54,629 --> 00:12:56,076 It's ridiculous. 277 00:12:56,077 --> 00:12:58,110 I'm not sure it's gonna work. 278 00:12:58,111 --> 00:13:00,248 Narrator: Are joining forces to look into one of the biggest 279 00:13:00,249 --> 00:13:02,869 potential cover-ups of the 20th century. 280 00:13:02,870 --> 00:13:04,835 Prince: There are mysteries about Tesla 281 00:13:04,836 --> 00:13:07,317 we're still uncovering, even to this day. 282 00:13:07,318 --> 00:13:13,352 ♪♪ 283 00:13:13,353 --> 00:13:15,766 Consumers are really getting exciting about 284 00:13:15,767 --> 00:13:18,662 unmanned aircraft, drones, because it's now accessible. 285 00:13:18,663 --> 00:13:22,007 It used to be exclusively a tool that the military used, 286 00:13:22,008 --> 00:13:23,697 but now it's in your backyard. 287 00:13:23,698 --> 00:13:25,386 It's on the shelves of the store. 288 00:13:25,387 --> 00:13:28,248 It brings a new way of looking at your world. 289 00:13:28,249 --> 00:13:30,766 Narrator: Textron systems is one of the top innovators 290 00:13:30,767 --> 00:13:33,179 in developing unmanned vehicles in military 291 00:13:33,180 --> 00:13:35,076 and commercial operations. 292 00:13:35,077 --> 00:13:36,490 Baity: Launch preflight is complete. 293 00:13:36,491 --> 00:13:39,145 It may look like a toy, but it certainly isn't. 294 00:13:39,146 --> 00:13:42,248 ♪♪ 295 00:13:42,249 --> 00:13:44,386 Our unmanned aircrafts are being used 296 00:13:44,387 --> 00:13:47,662 for applications like wildfire suppression, areas of conflict. 297 00:13:47,663 --> 00:13:49,973 We've flown to the eye of a hurricane, 298 00:13:49,974 --> 00:13:52,283 places that you can't fly safely. 299 00:13:52,284 --> 00:13:54,386 At any given time, one of them is in the air 300 00:13:54,387 --> 00:13:57,317 somewhere in the world, essentially an eye in the sky. 301 00:13:57,318 --> 00:13:58,938 You know what you're walking into, 302 00:13:58,939 --> 00:14:02,869 and ultimately, it saves lives. 303 00:14:02,870 --> 00:14:05,386 Baby is in the net. Good catch. 304 00:14:05,387 --> 00:14:08,524 Narrator: All drones rely on a familiar core technology... 305 00:14:08,525 --> 00:14:10,179 Radio waves. 306 00:14:10,180 --> 00:14:14,248 Radio waves are pulses of energy that can travel long distances. 307 00:14:14,249 --> 00:14:17,110 They can be used for sending a variety of information, 308 00:14:17,111 --> 00:14:20,800 including voice, data, and remote-control commands. 309 00:14:20,801 --> 00:14:24,317 For years, Nikola Tesla had been interested in using radio waves 310 00:14:24,318 --> 00:14:26,214 for his inventions. 311 00:14:26,215 --> 00:14:30,283 Tesla was in a race to try to do wireless telegraph. 312 00:14:30,284 --> 00:14:32,593 People were very interested in sending information 313 00:14:32,594 --> 00:14:34,007 over long distances. 314 00:14:34,008 --> 00:14:36,283 Narrator: The telegraph had been around for decades, 315 00:14:36,284 --> 00:14:39,559 but it relied on an outdated network of thousands of miles 316 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,110 of interconnected wires. 317 00:14:41,111 --> 00:14:43,697 Scientists at the time had been experimenting 318 00:14:43,698 --> 00:14:45,766 with using radio waves to send information, 319 00:14:45,767 --> 00:14:48,628 but couldn't control the signal that they broadcast. 320 00:14:48,629 --> 00:14:51,248 Tesla came up with an ingenious system 321 00:14:51,249 --> 00:14:53,697 that used components called spark gaps 322 00:14:53,698 --> 00:14:55,938 to control and focus the signals sent 323 00:14:55,939 --> 00:14:57,835 from the transmitter to a receiver. 324 00:14:57,836 --> 00:14:59,973 Once you get the idea of wirelessly 325 00:14:59,974 --> 00:15:02,421 making something happen at a distance, 326 00:15:02,422 --> 00:15:05,800 there's an unending number of ways it can be applied. 327 00:15:05,801 --> 00:15:08,766 One of them is what we now call remote control. 328 00:15:08,767 --> 00:15:11,766 He gave his famous demonstration at Madison square garden. 329 00:15:11,767 --> 00:15:13,145 Big tank of water. 330 00:15:13,146 --> 00:15:15,042 He had a boat around this big, 331 00:15:15,043 --> 00:15:17,248 which he had powered by remote control. 332 00:15:17,249 --> 00:15:18,524 And he stood there with his control 333 00:15:18,525 --> 00:15:19,628 and drove it around the water. 334 00:15:19,629 --> 00:15:21,524 Narrator: Using his spark gap system, 335 00:15:21,525 --> 00:15:23,938 Tesla controlled the boat with a transmitter 336 00:15:23,939 --> 00:15:26,904 that could send radio signals carrying different commands. 337 00:15:26,905 --> 00:15:29,800 He could run the motor, and then he could also flash a light, 338 00:15:29,801 --> 00:15:31,973 and people could ask him questions, 339 00:15:31,974 --> 00:15:33,869 and he would flash the light. 340 00:15:33,870 --> 00:15:36,973 Flacco: Which immediately caused people to denounce him as a charlatan, 341 00:15:36,974 --> 00:15:39,076 because they were convinced that he had a very small person 342 00:15:39,077 --> 00:15:40,835 inside there, driving it around. 343 00:15:40,836 --> 00:15:44,869 The idea of remote control wasn't in our minds yet. 344 00:15:44,870 --> 00:15:47,490 Narrator: The concept of using radio waves to control vehicles 345 00:15:47,491 --> 00:15:49,352 was decades ahead of its time, 346 00:15:49,353 --> 00:15:53,731 and it foreshadowed a future of near limitless possibility. 347 00:15:53,732 --> 00:15:55,490 Once you have remote control, 348 00:15:55,491 --> 00:15:58,938 you have remote-control drones, you have remote-control cars. 349 00:15:58,939 --> 00:16:00,524 There's no end to the applications. 350 00:16:00,525 --> 00:16:03,076 Nikola Tesla thought in broad terms 351 00:16:03,077 --> 00:16:04,904 of what an unmanned system could be. 352 00:16:04,905 --> 00:16:08,076 What's really cool about it is that since then, 353 00:16:08,077 --> 00:16:11,835 you can see the progression of technology. 354 00:16:11,836 --> 00:16:15,145 Our unmanned boat is called the common unmanned surface vehicle. 355 00:16:15,146 --> 00:16:17,559 Fundamentally, our boat is the same thing as Tesla's boat, 356 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,145 just at a larger scale. 357 00:16:19,146 --> 00:16:22,145 It is designed for counter-mine defense... 358 00:16:22,146 --> 00:16:23,938 Basically clear the way. 359 00:16:23,939 --> 00:16:26,938 I would think that if Tesla came and saw what we're doing today, 360 00:16:26,939 --> 00:16:29,076 how we're innovating, he would look at it and say, 361 00:16:29,077 --> 00:16:30,524 "you solved some pretty cool problems, 362 00:16:30,525 --> 00:16:32,938 but there's so much more you could do." 363 00:16:32,939 --> 00:16:34,904 Narrator: And back in the late 1800s, 364 00:16:34,905 --> 00:16:37,662 Tesla's pioneering ideas would lay the groundwork 365 00:16:37,663 --> 00:16:40,386 for today's modern radio systems. 366 00:16:40,387 --> 00:16:44,317 He filed a patent for his concept in 1897. 367 00:16:44,318 --> 00:16:46,490 Flacco: At the time that Tesla came out with 368 00:16:46,491 --> 00:16:49,559 what we now know today as radio, this was being examined 369 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,697 by a number of scientists all around the world. 370 00:16:51,698 --> 00:16:54,076 He wasn't the only one working on the problem. 371 00:16:54,077 --> 00:16:56,455 Narrator: Across the Atlantic, guglielmo marconi, 372 00:16:56,456 --> 00:16:57,973 an Italian living in england, 373 00:16:57,974 --> 00:17:02,352 was also looking for a way to use radio waves to communicate. 374 00:17:02,353 --> 00:17:05,869 He was the son of an Italian noble, 375 00:17:05,870 --> 00:17:10,628 and his mother was heiress to the Jameson scotch fortune. 376 00:17:10,629 --> 00:17:13,386 He was connected with the people who had money. 377 00:17:13,387 --> 00:17:15,800 Narrator: Like most other inventors of his time, 378 00:17:15,801 --> 00:17:18,145 marconi was having trouble sending information 379 00:17:18,146 --> 00:17:19,593 with radio waves, 380 00:17:19,594 --> 00:17:22,800 so he began using Tesla's idea in his own work. 381 00:17:22,801 --> 00:17:24,662 Prince: One of Tesla's downfalls 382 00:17:24,663 --> 00:17:27,007 is he published all of his work for the radio. 383 00:17:27,008 --> 00:17:29,317 He considered them good for mankind. 384 00:17:29,318 --> 00:17:30,869 Marconi, on the other hand... 385 00:17:30,870 --> 00:17:33,214 He was looking at this as a business. 386 00:17:33,215 --> 00:17:36,490 Narrator: So when marconi managed to send the first transatlantic signal 387 00:17:36,491 --> 00:17:40,283 in 1901 using a variation of Tesla's technology, 388 00:17:40,284 --> 00:17:43,800 the world's praise went to the Italian engineer. 389 00:17:43,801 --> 00:17:47,076 Here was somebody basically capitalizing on a patent 390 00:17:47,077 --> 00:17:48,973 Tesla had already done years before. 391 00:17:48,974 --> 00:17:53,076 A lot of people credit marconi with inventing the radio. 392 00:17:53,077 --> 00:17:56,076 Because of that, marconi was awarded the patent. 393 00:17:56,077 --> 00:17:58,628 Narrator: Marconi's influence and popularity 394 00:17:58,629 --> 00:18:01,455 led to a surprising move by the U.S. patent office. 395 00:18:01,456 --> 00:18:05,973 In 1904, they took the patent for radio away from Tesla 396 00:18:05,974 --> 00:18:07,938 and awarded it to marconi. 397 00:18:07,939 --> 00:18:11,007 I don't think Tesla himself understood the magnitude 398 00:18:11,008 --> 00:18:12,455 of what was happening around him, 399 00:18:12,456 --> 00:18:13,973 and he suffered because of it. 400 00:18:13,974 --> 00:18:16,835 Marconi... His business became rca. 401 00:18:16,836 --> 00:18:20,042 That's a huge business, even to this day. 402 00:18:20,043 --> 00:18:23,042 Narrator: The loss of the patent would be one of the greatest injustices 403 00:18:23,043 --> 00:18:25,904 ever suffered by the brilliant inventor. 404 00:18:25,905 --> 00:18:29,938 It wasn't until six months after Tesla's death in 1943 405 00:18:29,939 --> 00:18:33,593 that the supreme court reversed the patent decision. 406 00:18:33,594 --> 00:18:37,938 By then, it would be too late for the rebel inventor's legacy. 407 00:18:37,939 --> 00:18:39,145 When I was in school, 408 00:18:39,146 --> 00:18:41,524 I was taught that marconi invented radio. 409 00:18:41,525 --> 00:18:43,145 I don't know why. 410 00:18:43,146 --> 00:18:45,800 So much of what we do goes back to Tesla, 411 00:18:45,801 --> 00:18:49,628 and so much of it is blurred by the claims of other people. 412 00:18:49,629 --> 00:18:52,455 Tesla's invention of the radio gave us television. 413 00:18:52,456 --> 00:18:54,076 It gave us cellphones. 414 00:18:54,077 --> 00:18:56,524 It gave us communication with spacecraft, 415 00:18:56,525 --> 00:18:59,593 including the voyager, which is out of the solar system. 416 00:18:59,594 --> 00:19:02,317 Tesla did it all. 417 00:19:02,318 --> 00:19:04,835 Despite not getting the acclaim he was due, 418 00:19:04,836 --> 00:19:07,490 the setback wouldn't stop the ingenious mind 419 00:19:07,491 --> 00:19:09,697 of the rebel inventor. 420 00:19:09,698 --> 00:19:12,317 He had another idea for a potentially world-changing 421 00:19:12,318 --> 00:19:15,283 superweapon that was so big, so brilliant 422 00:19:15,284 --> 00:19:18,836 that it seems futuristic, even today. 423 00:19:20,249 --> 00:19:23,904 And now another exclusive look at the new investigative series 424 00:19:23,905 --> 00:19:27,697 "Tesla's death ray: A murder declassified." 425 00:19:27,698 --> 00:19:30,145 Koscho: Eventually, we're gonna build Tesla's death ray. 426 00:19:30,146 --> 00:19:33,076 It's a big device that stores a ton of energy 427 00:19:33,077 --> 00:19:36,179 and shoots it in a beam out toward a target 428 00:19:36,180 --> 00:19:37,490 and destroys the target. 429 00:19:37,491 --> 00:19:39,352 Thing is, this is dangerous. 430 00:19:39,353 --> 00:19:40,731 - Ready? - Ready. 431 00:19:40,732 --> 00:19:42,352 Okay. 432 00:19:42,353 --> 00:19:43,559 3... 433 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:44,662 2... 434 00:19:44,663 --> 00:19:46,800 1. 435 00:19:46,801 --> 00:19:48,110 [ Explosion ] 436 00:19:48,111 --> 00:19:49,490 - Ooh. - Oh, wow. 437 00:19:49,491 --> 00:19:50,939 What the [bleep] was that? 438 00:19:56,698 --> 00:19:57,904 Narrator: In 1943, 439 00:19:57,905 --> 00:20:00,455 famed inventor Nikola Tesla was found dead 440 00:20:00,456 --> 00:20:01,835 in his hotel room. 441 00:20:01,836 --> 00:20:04,800 According to recently declassified FBI files, 442 00:20:04,801 --> 00:20:08,455 his safe was cracked open, his documents stolen. 443 00:20:08,456 --> 00:20:12,214 The question is, why was the FBI even interested in Tesla? 444 00:20:12,215 --> 00:20:15,731 He wasn't a bank robber. He wasn't a spy. 445 00:20:15,732 --> 00:20:17,386 So why did the FBI have hundreds 446 00:20:17,387 --> 00:20:19,387 and hundreds of documents on an inventor? 447 00:20:20,905 --> 00:20:24,800 Narrator: What did Nikola Tesla know, and was he killed for it? 448 00:20:24,801 --> 00:20:31,283 ♪♪ 449 00:20:31,284 --> 00:20:33,490 There's a top-secret government-research facility 450 00:20:33,491 --> 00:20:34,938 in the hills of Tennessee 451 00:20:34,939 --> 00:20:38,042 where the world's first atomic bomb was built. 452 00:20:38,043 --> 00:20:41,077 [ Explosion ] 453 00:20:42,732 --> 00:20:44,455 Today, they're engineering some of the most 454 00:20:44,456 --> 00:20:47,352 state-of-the-art electric motors in the world. 455 00:20:47,353 --> 00:20:49,938 This is the oak Ridge national laboratory. 456 00:20:49,939 --> 00:20:54,800 ♪♪ 457 00:20:54,801 --> 00:20:56,386 This is oak Ridge's power electronics 458 00:20:56,387 --> 00:20:58,353 and electric machinery laboratory. 459 00:20:59,732 --> 00:21:02,456 This is where we work on electric vehicles. 460 00:21:04,284 --> 00:21:06,352 Narrator: This futuristic electronic technology 461 00:21:06,353 --> 00:21:07,835 has roots in breakthroughs 462 00:21:07,836 --> 00:21:11,283 made by Nikola Tesla over 100 years ago, 463 00:21:11,284 --> 00:21:12,973 and it all started with a dream. 464 00:21:12,974 --> 00:21:16,938 ♪♪ 465 00:21:16,939 --> 00:21:18,938 He's thinking about electricity. 466 00:21:18,939 --> 00:21:20,524 He's using his imagination. 467 00:21:20,525 --> 00:21:22,973 And suddenly, he hallucinates, 468 00:21:22,974 --> 00:21:24,869 and he sees a giant magnetic field 469 00:21:24,870 --> 00:21:26,317 twirling up above his head. 470 00:21:26,318 --> 00:21:29,835 And he notices that if it stops, it stops instantly, 471 00:21:29,836 --> 00:21:31,455 and if it spins the other direction, 472 00:21:31,456 --> 00:21:33,697 it starts up again instantly. 473 00:21:33,698 --> 00:21:36,662 And that's when it occurred to him this magnetic field 474 00:21:36,663 --> 00:21:40,145 can reach into our physical world and touch it. 475 00:21:40,146 --> 00:21:42,179 Narrator: This vision would serve as the inspiration 476 00:21:42,180 --> 00:21:45,076 for one of Tesla's most widely used inventions, 477 00:21:45,077 --> 00:21:47,248 the a.C. Induction motor. 478 00:21:47,249 --> 00:21:49,869 Flacco: The electric motors that we use today 479 00:21:49,870 --> 00:21:51,662 are working on the same principles 480 00:21:51,663 --> 00:21:54,386 that he invented over a century ago. 481 00:21:54,387 --> 00:21:55,662 Narrator: Tesla took one look 482 00:21:55,663 --> 00:21:57,766 at the direct-current motors of the time, 483 00:21:57,767 --> 00:22:00,662 with their metal-on-metal brushes and flying sparks, 484 00:22:00,663 --> 00:22:03,731 and knew he could do better. 485 00:22:03,732 --> 00:22:05,904 Unlike the D.C. motors of his day, 486 00:22:05,905 --> 00:22:09,869 Tesla's used a.C. Power to generate electromagnetic fields, 487 00:22:09,870 --> 00:22:13,317 and he used those fields to drive the motor. 488 00:22:13,318 --> 00:22:16,490 No more moving metal parts grinding together. 489 00:22:16,491 --> 00:22:19,007 This efficient and longer-lasting solution 490 00:22:19,008 --> 00:22:21,352 is considered one of the most successful inventions 491 00:22:21,353 --> 00:22:22,835 in history. 492 00:22:22,836 --> 00:22:25,214 We don't think much about electric motors, 493 00:22:25,215 --> 00:22:27,145 but they are everywhere in our lives... 494 00:22:27,146 --> 00:22:30,490 In your refrigerator, your food blender, computers, 495 00:22:30,491 --> 00:22:35,042 in factories, machine tools, elevators, subways. 496 00:22:35,043 --> 00:22:37,559 Narrator: And Tesla's electric motor has led to a revolution 497 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,110 in the auto industry, 498 00:22:39,111 --> 00:22:41,766 inspiring one of the most cutting-edge car companies, 499 00:22:41,767 --> 00:22:43,283 that also bears his name. 500 00:22:43,284 --> 00:22:45,559 We think it actually is gonna make a difference to the world 501 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,869 if we transition to sustainable transport 502 00:22:47,870 --> 00:22:50,352 sooner rather than later. 503 00:22:50,353 --> 00:22:53,835 Tesla's induction-motor design was so groundbreaking 504 00:22:53,836 --> 00:22:56,214 that longtime backer George westinghouse 505 00:22:56,215 --> 00:22:59,904 was inspired to risk a fortune on its development. 506 00:22:59,905 --> 00:23:01,731 He planned to make it the gold standard 507 00:23:01,732 --> 00:23:03,939 in industry and commerce across america. 508 00:23:05,836 --> 00:23:07,524 Adjusted for today's dollars, 509 00:23:07,525 --> 00:23:10,248 the scale of the deal was colossal... 510 00:23:10,249 --> 00:23:14,731 $1.5 million in cash, $50,000 a month, 511 00:23:14,732 --> 00:23:18,766 and $65 per horsepower per motor. 512 00:23:18,767 --> 00:23:20,904 It was an agreement destined to make Tesla 513 00:23:20,905 --> 00:23:24,076 one of the richest inventors in history. 514 00:23:24,077 --> 00:23:27,628 Flacco: The royalties would have funded all of Tesla's work 515 00:23:27,629 --> 00:23:29,248 his whole life. 516 00:23:29,249 --> 00:23:31,628 This began his period of tremendous 517 00:23:31,629 --> 00:23:33,559 social and financial success. 518 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:35,455 He was on top of the world. 519 00:23:35,456 --> 00:23:37,490 Narrator: Westinghouse's gamble paid off, 520 00:23:37,491 --> 00:23:38,766 and the electric motor 521 00:23:38,767 --> 00:23:42,421 quickly became widely used in homes and industry. 522 00:23:42,422 --> 00:23:45,869 But auto manufacturers were not early adopters. 523 00:23:45,870 --> 00:23:47,869 That's because for the last century, 524 00:23:47,870 --> 00:23:50,766 gas-powered vehicles have offered longer ranges 525 00:23:50,767 --> 00:23:52,525 and much shorter refill times. 526 00:23:53,939 --> 00:23:57,283 But now that's changing, and engineers at oak Ridge 527 00:23:57,284 --> 00:23:59,731 are building upon Tesla's original work 528 00:23:59,732 --> 00:24:01,145 with new technology 529 00:24:01,146 --> 00:24:04,042 designed to make electric cars the standard. 530 00:24:04,043 --> 00:24:08,179 One major area of focus... Wireless charging. 531 00:24:08,180 --> 00:24:10,973 Ozpineci: You just pull in your car right on the coil in your garage, 532 00:24:10,974 --> 00:24:13,386 and it gets charged easily. 533 00:24:13,387 --> 00:24:16,110 We started working on wireless charging to find a way 534 00:24:16,111 --> 00:24:17,835 to electrify the roads. 535 00:24:17,836 --> 00:24:20,662 If we have electrified roadways with wireless charging, 536 00:24:20,663 --> 00:24:23,455 you're basically charging as you're driving. 537 00:24:23,456 --> 00:24:26,662 Because of Nikola Tesla, we can innovate the future. 538 00:24:26,663 --> 00:24:28,110 Narrator: Not long after Nikola Tesla 539 00:24:28,111 --> 00:24:30,766 signed his lucrative contract with westinghouse, 540 00:24:30,767 --> 00:24:32,697 his good fortune took another turn. 541 00:24:32,698 --> 00:24:34,938 Economic recession was having an impact 542 00:24:34,939 --> 00:24:37,559 on westinghouse's ability to do business. 543 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,145 In desperation, he revisited his deal with Tesla. 544 00:24:41,146 --> 00:24:42,904 Flacco: Westinghouse comes to him and says, 545 00:24:42,905 --> 00:24:44,524 "I can't pay your royalties. 546 00:24:44,525 --> 00:24:47,421 I'm asking you not to make me go bankrupt." 547 00:24:47,422 --> 00:24:51,731 And Tesla says, "we are men gifted with the future." 548 00:24:51,732 --> 00:24:55,214 He pulls out the contract and tears it up at the table, 549 00:24:55,215 --> 00:24:56,490 essentially tearing up what today 550 00:24:56,491 --> 00:25:00,007 would be trillions of dollars in royalties. 551 00:25:00,008 --> 00:25:02,352 Narrator: Tesla's selfless action may have saved 552 00:25:02,353 --> 00:25:04,317 the westinghouse corporation, 553 00:25:04,318 --> 00:25:06,145 but it marked the beginning of the end 554 00:25:06,146 --> 00:25:08,904 for Tesla's good fortunes. 555 00:25:08,905 --> 00:25:12,076 Flacco: Westinghouse never paid him another cent in royalties. 556 00:25:12,077 --> 00:25:16,352 As a result, he could no longer fund Tesla's ideas. 557 00:25:16,353 --> 00:25:18,559 Clark: He was not a shrewd businessman, 558 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,938 and he got taken advantage of because of that. 559 00:25:21,939 --> 00:25:24,283 Narrator: With a single impulsive move, 560 00:25:24,284 --> 00:25:28,731 Nikola Tesla blew his chance at untold riches. 561 00:25:28,732 --> 00:25:31,869 But this threat to his survival would not Mark the end 562 00:25:31,870 --> 00:25:35,524 of his amazing streak of brilliance. 563 00:25:35,525 --> 00:25:37,524 Tesla would be back in form, 564 00:25:37,525 --> 00:25:39,317 envisioning radical new inventions 565 00:25:39,318 --> 00:25:43,145 that would cover smartphones, wireless power, 566 00:25:43,146 --> 00:25:45,766 and even doomsday weapons. 567 00:25:45,767 --> 00:25:48,593 The man who invented the 20th century 568 00:25:48,594 --> 00:25:51,179 was just getting started. 569 00:25:51,180 --> 00:25:55,352 And now another exclusive look at the new investigative series 570 00:25:55,353 --> 00:25:59,042 "Tesla's death ray: A murder declassified." 571 00:25:59,043 --> 00:26:01,524 Murphy: Tesla moved from lab to lab. 572 00:26:01,525 --> 00:26:03,593 He left a paper trail all over the world... 573 00:26:03,594 --> 00:26:04,766 Prince: How can we get in there? 574 00:26:04,767 --> 00:26:06,421 Trunks of information. 575 00:26:06,422 --> 00:26:07,766 This is a big deal. 576 00:26:07,767 --> 00:26:09,800 We have to find these things. 577 00:26:09,801 --> 00:26:11,835 We're walking on holy ground. 578 00:26:11,836 --> 00:26:15,110 Wardenclyffe... this is Tesla's last remaining laboratory 579 00:26:15,111 --> 00:26:16,904 that's still standing. 580 00:26:16,905 --> 00:26:19,973 If Tesla used tunnels to hide information about his work, 581 00:26:19,974 --> 00:26:21,697 then we could have buried documents 582 00:26:21,698 --> 00:26:23,800 right beneath our feet. 583 00:26:23,801 --> 00:26:25,076 Wait, wait, wait, wait. 584 00:26:25,077 --> 00:26:26,077 What do you got? 585 00:26:26,078 --> 00:26:27,490 What is that? 586 00:26:27,491 --> 00:26:29,386 There's something hard. 587 00:26:29,387 --> 00:26:31,698 Dude, we got something. 588 00:26:39,629 --> 00:26:41,179 Narrator: Nikola Tesla was one of the most 589 00:26:41,180 --> 00:26:43,386 important inventors in history. 590 00:26:43,387 --> 00:26:46,524 But near the end of his life, he became increasingly paranoid 591 00:26:46,525 --> 00:26:49,145 and secretive, leading many to believe 592 00:26:49,146 --> 00:26:52,904 that he buried his most important research. 593 00:26:52,905 --> 00:26:54,766 Koscho: Cameron and I were able to triangulate 594 00:26:54,767 --> 00:26:56,973 the exact location of Tesla's lab. 595 00:26:56,974 --> 00:26:59,042 Shane, what's that? That's a well. 596 00:26:59,043 --> 00:27:01,800 We got to get down there, Jack. 597 00:27:01,801 --> 00:27:03,283 Holy [bleep] 598 00:27:03,284 --> 00:27:07,559 ♪♪ 599 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:09,317 Man: Okay. Everybody in? 600 00:27:09,318 --> 00:27:11,697 10 seconds. 601 00:27:11,698 --> 00:27:12,905 Warning horn. 602 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,145 All right, let's do it. 603 00:27:17,146 --> 00:27:19,179 [ Buzzer blares ] 604 00:27:19,180 --> 00:27:22,524 [ Electricity snaps ] 605 00:27:22,525 --> 00:27:24,800 Mckennon: Here at lightning technologies, we test all sorts of things... 606 00:27:24,801 --> 00:27:26,283 Aircraft parts, wind turbines... 607 00:27:26,284 --> 00:27:28,593 Really anything that's susceptible to lightning. 608 00:27:28,594 --> 00:27:30,386 Narrator: Nts lightning technologies, 609 00:27:30,387 --> 00:27:32,248 based in pittsfield, Massachusetts, 610 00:27:32,249 --> 00:27:35,766 conducts experiments to help protect commercial aircraft 611 00:27:35,767 --> 00:27:37,421 from the dangers of lightning. 612 00:27:37,422 --> 00:27:39,697 Mckennon: About once a year, every aircraft gets struck. 613 00:27:39,698 --> 00:27:41,559 We were really the first guys to get involved 614 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,042 in doing lightning protection and testing and research. 615 00:27:44,043 --> 00:27:47,455 Narrator: Nts uses scale models to determine the areas 616 00:27:47,456 --> 00:27:49,455 on a plane most likely to be struck. 617 00:27:49,456 --> 00:27:51,283 Aircraft manufacturers are interested 618 00:27:51,284 --> 00:27:53,524 in determining how much protection they need. 619 00:27:53,525 --> 00:27:54,973 Lightning is a very real phenomenon. 620 00:27:54,974 --> 00:27:57,455 You can't afford to have your aircraft blow up. 621 00:27:57,456 --> 00:28:00,421 Narrator: And this critical safety system would not exist 622 00:28:00,422 --> 00:28:03,524 without the brilliance of Nikola Tesla. 623 00:28:03,525 --> 00:28:06,214 Mckennon: This big tower here, this is where all the magic happens. 624 00:28:06,215 --> 00:28:08,007 And our circuitry here is very similar 625 00:28:08,008 --> 00:28:10,973 to how Tesla constructed his initial coils. 626 00:28:10,974 --> 00:28:13,628 It fires from the bottom, going all the way to the top, 627 00:28:13,629 --> 00:28:16,145 connects to the wire that comes down to the test starter. 628 00:28:16,146 --> 00:28:18,835 In this case, that's our test aircraft hanging here. 629 00:28:18,836 --> 00:28:20,007 Output of the generator 630 00:28:20,008 --> 00:28:22,007 fires at about 2.4 million volts. 631 00:28:22,008 --> 00:28:23,869 The danger is very, very real. 632 00:28:23,870 --> 00:28:27,800 Narrator: Just like the experts at nts lightning technologies, 633 00:28:27,801 --> 00:28:30,283 Nikola Tesla was also interested in mastering 634 00:28:30,284 --> 00:28:32,007 the immense power of lightning. 635 00:28:32,008 --> 00:28:33,628 To do this, he created 636 00:28:33,629 --> 00:28:35,731 one of the most remarkable inventions... 637 00:28:35,732 --> 00:28:38,869 The Tesla coil. 638 00:28:38,870 --> 00:28:42,593 A Tesla coil is a device containing two metal coils. 639 00:28:42,594 --> 00:28:46,835 The coils work together to build up colossal amounts of voltage. 640 00:28:46,836 --> 00:28:49,628 What's unique about a Tesla coil is that every time 641 00:28:49,629 --> 00:28:52,386 electricity switches direction in the primary coil, 642 00:28:52,387 --> 00:28:55,352 it pushes a little extra energy into the secondary one, 643 00:28:55,353 --> 00:28:57,662 so the voltage continues to climb 644 00:28:57,663 --> 00:29:01,938 until it gets high enough that it has to discharge. 645 00:29:01,939 --> 00:29:05,386 Narrator: Tesla invented the coil at his lab in Colorado Springs 646 00:29:05,387 --> 00:29:07,628 while looking for ways to prove that electricity 647 00:29:07,629 --> 00:29:10,973 could be transmitted through the air without wires. 648 00:29:10,974 --> 00:29:13,455 His dream was to create a global system 649 00:29:13,456 --> 00:29:17,110 that would provide power wirelessly to consumers. 650 00:29:17,111 --> 00:29:19,317 Tesla knew that this method would be cheaper 651 00:29:19,318 --> 00:29:22,179 and more efficient than a network of Poles and wires... 652 00:29:22,180 --> 00:29:25,145 So cheap that there would be little or no cost 653 00:29:25,146 --> 00:29:26,628 for electricity. 654 00:29:26,629 --> 00:29:27,973 In order to accomplish this, 655 00:29:27,974 --> 00:29:31,076 Tesla needed dozens of tower-sized Tesla coils 656 00:29:31,077 --> 00:29:32,973 spread out across the globe. 657 00:29:32,974 --> 00:29:36,042 The towers would create enormous electromagnetic fields 658 00:29:36,043 --> 00:29:37,214 that are interconnected 659 00:29:37,215 --> 00:29:40,593 to deliver wireless electricity worldwide. 660 00:29:40,594 --> 00:29:43,110 Prince: Tesla theorized a couple of different ways 661 00:29:43,111 --> 00:29:44,869 to transmit that power, 662 00:29:44,870 --> 00:29:48,283 one of which was to energize the stratosphere. 663 00:29:48,284 --> 00:29:50,973 And then we could use a beam of sorts 664 00:29:50,974 --> 00:29:53,973 to kind of intercept that and receive it. 665 00:29:53,974 --> 00:29:57,593 Tesla had a very humanitarian spirit. 666 00:29:57,594 --> 00:29:59,869 He wanted to make people's lives easier, 667 00:29:59,870 --> 00:30:03,214 to provide power to people 668 00:30:03,215 --> 00:30:04,835 for the sake of providing it to them, 669 00:30:04,836 --> 00:30:07,835 not for the sake of making money from it. 670 00:30:07,836 --> 00:30:10,524 Narrator: But first, Tesla needed to get the world 671 00:30:10,525 --> 00:30:12,973 interested in his new technology. 672 00:30:12,974 --> 00:30:15,386 He began conducting public demonstrations, 673 00:30:15,387 --> 00:30:17,800 showing off the dazzling power of his coil. 674 00:30:17,801 --> 00:30:20,490 Flacco: And there's a famous photograph of him holding a light bulb 675 00:30:20,491 --> 00:30:22,904 with no wires in his hand, and it's glowing. 676 00:30:22,905 --> 00:30:27,490 It just lit up on its own, and that just amazed people. 677 00:30:27,491 --> 00:30:29,800 Narrator: Tesla knew his revolutionary idea 678 00:30:29,801 --> 00:30:31,662 of delivering free global energy 679 00:30:31,663 --> 00:30:34,628 would be extremely expensive to develop, 680 00:30:34,629 --> 00:30:37,145 so he went to the man with the deepest pockets... 681 00:30:37,146 --> 00:30:39,421 J.p. Morgan. 682 00:30:39,422 --> 00:30:44,076 J.p. Morgan was the leading financial power of his day. 683 00:30:44,077 --> 00:30:45,559 The government turned to Morgan 684 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,110 for funding when it was in trouble. 685 00:30:47,111 --> 00:30:48,973 That's how powerful this guy was. 686 00:30:48,974 --> 00:30:50,973 Narrator: The race to replace the telegraph 687 00:30:50,974 --> 00:30:53,628 with radio communication was still raging on. 688 00:30:53,629 --> 00:30:56,214 Tesla knew that Morgan was a robber baron, 689 00:30:56,215 --> 00:30:58,800 eager to cash in on this new technology, 690 00:30:58,801 --> 00:31:02,490 so he explained to j.P. Morgan how his Tesla towers 691 00:31:02,491 --> 00:31:06,110 would create a new high-voltage wireless telegraph system. 692 00:31:06,111 --> 00:31:10,145 He told Morgan this is going to be a radio-broadcasting system 693 00:31:10,146 --> 00:31:12,352 and never said anything to him about it 694 00:31:12,353 --> 00:31:14,904 being part of his world-power idea. 695 00:31:14,905 --> 00:31:16,317 Narrator: In march of 1901, 696 00:31:16,318 --> 00:31:21,076 Morgan gave Tesla $150,000 to get started, 697 00:31:21,077 --> 00:31:24,145 and Tesla got to work by buying 200 acres of land 698 00:31:24,146 --> 00:31:27,007 on an estate in long island called wardenclyffe. 699 00:31:27,008 --> 00:31:29,283 This is where he built the prototype 700 00:31:29,284 --> 00:31:32,179 for the first of his towers that would span the globe. 701 00:31:32,180 --> 00:31:34,869 The 187-foot tower would be topped 702 00:31:34,870 --> 00:31:37,490 by a 68-foot-diameter metal dome... 703 00:31:37,491 --> 00:31:40,800 The electrode that would send the power on its way, 704 00:31:40,801 --> 00:31:43,559 essentially an enormous Tesla coil. 705 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:47,179 12'x12' pit that went 120 feet down. 706 00:31:47,180 --> 00:31:50,317 Narrator: Wardenclyffe would be his ultimate invention, 707 00:31:50,318 --> 00:31:52,904 electrifying the earth with wireless power 708 00:31:52,905 --> 00:31:56,697 by simulating the immense energy of lightning. 709 00:31:56,698 --> 00:31:58,835 And the massive Tesla coil at the heart 710 00:31:58,836 --> 00:32:02,283 of the wardenclyffe tower remains hard at work today, 711 00:32:02,284 --> 00:32:05,145 helping to advance other new technologies. 712 00:32:05,146 --> 00:32:06,524 Is everybody in? 713 00:32:06,525 --> 00:32:09,593 Ready on. Operate on. Horn. 714 00:32:09,594 --> 00:32:10,662 [ Buzzer sounds ] 715 00:32:10,663 --> 00:32:13,110 [ Electricity snaps ] 716 00:32:13,111 --> 00:32:15,214 Generator grounded. It's safe. 717 00:32:15,215 --> 00:32:17,731 Looks like one of them went off the wing tip here. 718 00:32:17,732 --> 00:32:20,076 Mckennon: This is some of the coolest and most fancy physics 719 00:32:20,077 --> 00:32:21,490 you can really get into in the world. 720 00:32:21,491 --> 00:32:23,524 It's lightning. It's powerful. It's scary. 721 00:32:23,525 --> 00:32:26,179 And we're able to simulate that pretty well in this lab here. 722 00:32:26,180 --> 00:32:27,973 And you also have two that came off the nose here. 723 00:32:27,974 --> 00:32:29,110 Yeah, that's pretty dark. 724 00:32:29,111 --> 00:32:30,455 And those would be the areas where you need 725 00:32:30,456 --> 00:32:32,007 the most protection. 726 00:32:32,008 --> 00:32:34,317 Narrator: When Tesla broke ground for wardenclyffe tower 727 00:32:34,318 --> 00:32:36,973 in 1901, excitement started to build 728 00:32:36,974 --> 00:32:38,939 about what the technology would bring. 729 00:32:40,629 --> 00:32:43,835 As construction continued, rumors of the tower's immense 730 00:32:43,836 --> 00:32:45,835 capabilities began to spread. 731 00:32:45,836 --> 00:32:49,145 The story was that one night, Tesla goes out to the tower, 732 00:32:49,146 --> 00:32:53,317 fires it up, throws lightning all over the countryside, 733 00:32:53,318 --> 00:32:54,973 horrified the locals. 734 00:32:54,974 --> 00:32:56,421 No one knew what was going on. 735 00:32:56,422 --> 00:32:59,352 Of course nobody had ever seen anything like this before. 736 00:32:59,353 --> 00:33:01,904 Narrator: Eager to expand his wireless-power prototype 737 00:33:01,905 --> 00:33:03,248 into a working model, 738 00:33:03,249 --> 00:33:06,869 Tesla approached j.P. Morgan for additional funds. 739 00:33:06,870 --> 00:33:09,317 But when Italian engineer guglielmo marconi 740 00:33:09,318 --> 00:33:12,179 managed to send the world's first transatlantic signal, 741 00:33:12,180 --> 00:33:14,042 it spelled doom for the inventor's 742 00:33:14,043 --> 00:33:16,524 most audacious project. 743 00:33:16,525 --> 00:33:21,766 When marconi actually sent the first transatlantic signal 744 00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:23,559 before wardenclyffe was done, 745 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,766 j.p. Morgan said, "eh, the game's up. It's done. 746 00:33:25,767 --> 00:33:27,490 Someone else has done it." 747 00:33:27,491 --> 00:33:31,421 So when j.P. Morgan found out, he pulled the plug on Tesla. 748 00:33:31,422 --> 00:33:34,662 Narrator: All work officially stopped on wardenclyffe tower. 749 00:33:34,663 --> 00:33:37,731 Tesla was devastated when he lost his funding. 750 00:33:37,732 --> 00:33:40,697 Some accounts indicate that he had a nervous breakdown. 751 00:33:40,698 --> 00:33:43,352 Narrator: And the structure began to fall apart, 752 00:33:43,353 --> 00:33:46,421 the decaying symbol of a dream denied. 753 00:33:46,422 --> 00:33:50,766 Nikola Tesla's life is a story of incredible genius 754 00:33:50,767 --> 00:33:53,352 hamstrung by eccentricity. 755 00:33:53,353 --> 00:33:55,904 He just couldn't get it through his head 756 00:33:55,905 --> 00:33:59,386 that the rest of the world didn't share his inspiration 757 00:33:59,387 --> 00:34:02,145 and wasn't going to go through his level of sacrifice 758 00:34:02,146 --> 00:34:04,214 to see his visions realized. 759 00:34:04,215 --> 00:34:07,559 Narrator: Wardenclyffe tower was finally torn down in 1917 760 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,490 and sold for scrap metal, 761 00:34:09,491 --> 00:34:12,110 Tesla's plan to bring free wireless power 762 00:34:12,111 --> 00:34:15,490 to the world ultimately lost with it. 763 00:34:15,491 --> 00:34:18,973 Prince: If Tesla had gotten the funding he needed to finish this, 764 00:34:18,974 --> 00:34:21,836 where would we be today? 765 00:34:24,698 --> 00:34:27,662 Narrator: And now a sneak peek at the international investigation 766 00:34:27,663 --> 00:34:31,110 that uncovers new facts and rewrites history, 767 00:34:31,111 --> 00:34:34,421 "Tesla's death ray: A murder declassified." 768 00:34:34,422 --> 00:34:37,145 Murphy: We didn't come all the way to Serbia just to spin our wheels. 769 00:34:37,146 --> 00:34:41,938 There are around 38,000 scientific documents. 770 00:34:41,939 --> 00:34:43,662 Have these documents ever been published? 771 00:34:43,663 --> 00:34:44,697 No. 772 00:34:44,698 --> 00:34:45,731 Is that the death ray? 773 00:34:45,732 --> 00:34:48,386 That's definitely the death ray. 774 00:34:48,387 --> 00:34:51,043 That makes the death ray real. 775 00:34:56,732 --> 00:34:59,731 Nikola Tesla was a visionary. 776 00:34:59,732 --> 00:35:02,938 Tesla more or less came up with the technology 777 00:35:02,939 --> 00:35:04,766 we call a smartphone. 778 00:35:04,767 --> 00:35:06,731 In an interview for Collier's magazine, 779 00:35:06,732 --> 00:35:08,697 Tesla said people will be able to carry 780 00:35:08,698 --> 00:35:10,697 a little device in their pocket 781 00:35:10,698 --> 00:35:14,766 which will wirelessly give them information. 782 00:35:14,767 --> 00:35:16,904 They will send voice. They'll send music. 783 00:35:16,905 --> 00:35:19,284 They'll send photographs. They'll send film. 784 00:35:21,043 --> 00:35:25,179 And of course he was dismissed as being crazy. 785 00:35:25,180 --> 00:35:28,697 And yet it is the precursor of the device 786 00:35:28,698 --> 00:35:30,939 everybody's got in their pocket right now. 787 00:35:36,663 --> 00:35:40,524 Narrator: Did Nikola Tesla, the man who invented the 20th century, 788 00:35:40,525 --> 00:35:45,007 also invent the world's first weapon of mass destruction, 789 00:35:45,008 --> 00:35:47,628 and was he killed for it? 790 00:35:47,629 --> 00:35:49,145 5... 791 00:35:49,146 --> 00:35:50,904 4... 792 00:35:50,905 --> 00:35:52,317 3... 793 00:35:52,318 --> 00:35:54,455 2... 794 00:35:54,456 --> 00:35:55,456 1. 795 00:35:55,457 --> 00:36:03,457 ♪♪ 796 00:36:04,525 --> 00:36:08,559 The idea of sending a beam of pure energy 797 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:11,731 through the atmosphere to a target, and defeat it 798 00:36:11,732 --> 00:36:14,283 has always been a great fascination. 799 00:36:14,284 --> 00:36:17,317 Narrator: Lockheed Martin is an American defense contractor 800 00:36:17,318 --> 00:36:20,352 developing some of the most cutting-edge military hardware, 801 00:36:20,353 --> 00:36:24,145 including aircraft, ships, and weapons. 802 00:36:24,146 --> 00:36:26,007 Afzal: Lockheed Martin has a long history 803 00:36:26,008 --> 00:36:30,317 of developing laser-weapon systems for defensive purposes. 804 00:36:30,318 --> 00:36:32,904 The modern technology is enabling us 805 00:36:32,905 --> 00:36:35,662 to build a high-powered beam 806 00:36:35,663 --> 00:36:38,593 in a compact size for the battlefield. 807 00:36:38,594 --> 00:36:41,593 Narrator: The need for cutting-edge military technology 808 00:36:41,594 --> 00:36:44,317 is always at the forefront of innovation. 809 00:36:44,318 --> 00:36:47,904 And decades earlier, when the world was on the edge of war, 810 00:36:47,905 --> 00:36:50,559 Nikola Tesla was envisioning what some would say 811 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,042 was a precursor to the modern laser. 812 00:36:53,043 --> 00:36:55,835 So, here we are after world war I. 813 00:36:55,836 --> 00:36:59,352 Change is going on at a rapid rate all over the planet. 814 00:36:59,353 --> 00:37:01,628 This is also being reflected in our governments, 815 00:37:01,629 --> 00:37:05,145 which are consolidating power now. 816 00:37:05,146 --> 00:37:07,352 Narrator: And as conflicts around the world escalated 817 00:37:07,353 --> 00:37:09,559 and stability deteriorated, 818 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:13,490 Tesla, then in his 70s, was facing hard times. 819 00:37:13,491 --> 00:37:15,973 At this point, Tesla's career was going down the tank. 820 00:37:15,974 --> 00:37:19,214 Narrator: Setbacks like wardenclyffe and losing his radio patent 821 00:37:19,215 --> 00:37:22,214 to marconi demoralized Tesla. In addition... 822 00:37:22,215 --> 00:37:24,214 He's having trouble getting funding 823 00:37:24,215 --> 00:37:28,869 from any of the usual sources... The billionaire investors. 824 00:37:28,870 --> 00:37:32,352 Narrator: Tesla, having been strongly antiwar his entire life, 825 00:37:32,353 --> 00:37:34,904 begins to see an opportunity for his technology 826 00:37:34,905 --> 00:37:38,317 to fend off an inevitable global conflict. 827 00:37:38,318 --> 00:37:43,214 In 1934, airplanes are getting bigger and more powerful 828 00:37:43,215 --> 00:37:46,766 and can fly across the ocean and can bomb cities. 829 00:37:46,767 --> 00:37:49,317 Everybody's worried about Hitler's plans 830 00:37:49,318 --> 00:37:52,559 to basically take over Europe. 831 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:56,076 Using all of the technology they developed over the years, 832 00:37:56,077 --> 00:37:58,697 Tesla proposes that we can actually shoot down 833 00:37:58,698 --> 00:38:03,455 those bombers by creating a weapon. 834 00:38:03,456 --> 00:38:08,283 Narrator: Tesla's new invention was quickly dubbed the death ray. 835 00:38:08,284 --> 00:38:12,076 The core idea of this concept was to build massive towers 836 00:38:12,077 --> 00:38:15,283 similar to the one at his wardenclyffe project 837 00:38:15,284 --> 00:38:17,731 to create immense energy buildups, 838 00:38:17,732 --> 00:38:19,904 which he could then concentrate and discharge 839 00:38:19,905 --> 00:38:22,869 at specific targets. 840 00:38:22,870 --> 00:38:26,524 Flacco: Tesla said, "I'm developing a weapon that will bring down 841 00:38:26,525 --> 00:38:29,973 an entire fleet of airplanes at a distance. 842 00:38:29,974 --> 00:38:33,076 It can make war unwinnable." 843 00:38:33,077 --> 00:38:36,869 Narrator: Tesla's idea was revolutionary and way ahead of its time. 844 00:38:36,870 --> 00:38:39,559 Generations later, experts are still exploring 845 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:43,766 how beams of directed energy can take down aircraft. 846 00:38:43,767 --> 00:38:47,214 At lockheed Martin, this technology is now a reality. 847 00:38:47,215 --> 00:38:49,766 We've developed a prototype laser-weapon system 848 00:38:49,767 --> 00:38:52,283 which we call Athena. 849 00:38:52,284 --> 00:38:54,386 And although you can't see the actual beam itself, 850 00:38:54,387 --> 00:38:58,800 because its infrared, you can see the effect of the beam. 851 00:38:58,801 --> 00:39:02,628 In this case, we defeated a truck from over a mile away. 852 00:39:02,629 --> 00:39:05,973 And the tests that we run are showing its utility 853 00:39:05,974 --> 00:39:10,352 against trucks, rockets, and unmanned aerial vehicles. 854 00:39:10,353 --> 00:39:14,662 Nikola Tesla envisioned the use of electromagnetic energy 855 00:39:14,663 --> 00:39:17,042 for defensive applications. 856 00:39:17,043 --> 00:39:19,042 And although it's not exactly the same 857 00:39:19,043 --> 00:39:21,042 as he originally envisioned, 858 00:39:21,043 --> 00:39:24,869 that's essentially what we're doing today with a laser. 859 00:39:24,870 --> 00:39:27,007 Narrator: On December 7, 1941, 860 00:39:27,008 --> 00:39:29,662 the United States was attacked at Pearl harbor, 861 00:39:29,663 --> 00:39:31,386 drawing it into a war that was already 862 00:39:31,387 --> 00:39:33,421 raging around much of the planet. 863 00:39:33,422 --> 00:39:36,214 ♪♪ 864 00:39:36,215 --> 00:39:39,835 For america, world war ii had begun. 865 00:39:39,836 --> 00:39:42,559 By then, Nikola Tesla had largely disappeared 866 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:43,938 from public life. 867 00:39:43,939 --> 00:39:47,386 After decades of disappointment, having his ideas stolen, 868 00:39:47,387 --> 00:39:50,007 and being abandoned by his financial backers, 869 00:39:50,008 --> 00:39:52,662 Tesla was now penniless and desperate 870 00:39:52,663 --> 00:39:56,007 and living the life of a recluse. 871 00:39:56,008 --> 00:39:58,179 Even for him, he became very isolated. 872 00:39:58,180 --> 00:40:01,455 He stopped almost all his social contacts. 873 00:40:01,456 --> 00:40:03,043 He became much more secretive. 874 00:40:05,318 --> 00:40:07,835 Narrator: On January 7, 1943, 875 00:40:07,836 --> 00:40:12,421 Nikola Tesla died alone in the new yorker hotel. 876 00:40:12,422 --> 00:40:14,904 Almost immediately after his body was found, 877 00:40:14,905 --> 00:40:17,490 the FBI arrived at his room 878 00:40:17,491 --> 00:40:20,662 and discovered thousands of pages of Tesla's work, 879 00:40:20,663 --> 00:40:22,731 along with an empty safe. 880 00:40:22,732 --> 00:40:26,628 The federal agents confiscated Tesla's remaining property. 881 00:40:26,629 --> 00:40:29,628 But the contents of the safe and the circumstances 882 00:40:29,629 --> 00:40:32,904 surrounding it remain a mystery even today. 883 00:40:32,905 --> 00:40:36,007 There was a lot of concern about Tesla's weapon, 884 00:40:36,008 --> 00:40:37,559 like, "wait a minute. 885 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:39,559 This guy has been working on a death ray. 886 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:41,662 What if the Germans get this?" 887 00:40:41,663 --> 00:40:43,938 Carlson: The fact that the government was worried 888 00:40:43,939 --> 00:40:46,559 that these papers were gonna fall into enemy hands 889 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:49,490 has prompted years of speculation 890 00:40:49,491 --> 00:40:52,731 that the FBI was spearheading a conspiracy 891 00:40:52,732 --> 00:40:55,904 to conceal Tesla's weapon. 892 00:40:55,905 --> 00:40:58,593 Narrator: Some people even believe that Tesla was murdered 893 00:40:58,594 --> 00:41:00,731 for his death-ray technology. 894 00:41:00,732 --> 00:41:04,662 Prince: Maybe he was killed to keep the weapon from being published. 895 00:41:04,663 --> 00:41:06,869 He had those papers in that safe, 896 00:41:06,870 --> 00:41:09,628 and everybody wanted those. 897 00:41:09,629 --> 00:41:13,076 Narrator: Did Tesla invent the world's first superweapon, 898 00:41:13,077 --> 00:41:14,869 and was he murdered for it? 899 00:41:14,870 --> 00:41:17,179 Did Tesla finish the death ray? 900 00:41:17,180 --> 00:41:20,317 Did it get into the wrong hands? 901 00:41:20,318 --> 00:41:22,353 Those are all the things we're asking. 902 00:41:24,077 --> 00:41:25,559 Koscho: We're gonna build Tesla's death ray. 903 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:27,317 There's a reason nobody's done this before. 904 00:41:27,318 --> 00:41:28,731 It's dangerous. 905 00:41:28,732 --> 00:41:30,455 We're taking a bolt of lightning, 906 00:41:30,456 --> 00:41:32,938 pointing it at something, and blowing it up. 907 00:41:32,939 --> 00:41:35,766 That scares the [bleep] out of me. 908 00:41:35,767 --> 00:41:40,110 It wasn't called a death ray for no reason. 909 00:41:40,111 --> 00:41:41,939 Murphy: 3, 2, 1.