1 00:00:01,353 --> 00:00:09,353 ♪♪ 2 00:00:18,077 --> 00:00:19,524 Murphy: Nikola Tesla was... 3 00:00:19,525 --> 00:00:21,421 The greatest inventor in American history. 4 00:00:21,422 --> 00:00:22,697 [ Electricity crackles ] 5 00:00:22,698 --> 00:00:25,800 A.c. Power, electric motors, fluorescent lights, 6 00:00:25,801 --> 00:00:28,076 x-rays, wireless energy... 7 00:00:28,077 --> 00:00:31,869 Tesla paved the way for all of these technologies. 8 00:00:31,870 --> 00:00:34,835 Prince: Tesla was taking several of his inventions 9 00:00:34,836 --> 00:00:38,731 and putting them together to become this superweapon. 10 00:00:38,732 --> 00:00:40,731 He called it the death ray. 11 00:00:40,732 --> 00:00:42,628 Murphy: Did Tesla invent the world's first weapon 12 00:00:42,629 --> 00:00:43,904 of mass destruction 13 00:00:43,905 --> 00:00:46,490 and was he murdered for it? 14 00:00:46,491 --> 00:00:49,904 Narrator: Now a military investigator, a historian, 15 00:00:49,905 --> 00:00:52,904 and an engineer unlock the mysteries behind 16 00:00:52,905 --> 00:00:56,628 what could be the greatest cover-up of the 20th century. 17 00:00:56,629 --> 00:00:59,490 When Tesla died, his nephew sava kosanovic 18 00:00:59,491 --> 00:01:00,904 broke in to the safe. 19 00:01:00,905 --> 00:01:04,490 Those documents that were stolen may be about the death ray. 20 00:01:04,491 --> 00:01:07,766 The FBI and an alien property custodian swoops in, 21 00:01:07,767 --> 00:01:10,179 confiscates 80 trunks of documents. 22 00:01:10,180 --> 00:01:13,007 We need to track down where these documents went. 23 00:01:13,008 --> 00:01:15,524 If that leads to Serbia, then that's where we need to go. 24 00:01:15,525 --> 00:01:17,490 Have these documents ever been published? 25 00:01:17,491 --> 00:01:18,628 Woman: No. 26 00:01:18,629 --> 00:01:22,214 Man: 3, 2, 1... 27 00:01:22,215 --> 00:01:23,662 Prince: Holy [bleep] 28 00:01:23,663 --> 00:01:24,697 We've been working on this thing 29 00:01:24,698 --> 00:01:26,179 pretty much blind up till this point, 30 00:01:26,180 --> 00:01:28,628 and now we have Tesla's handwritten notes 31 00:01:28,629 --> 00:01:31,938 filling in some gaps that we weren't sure we had right. 32 00:01:31,939 --> 00:01:34,697 Is there a next page? 33 00:01:34,698 --> 00:01:36,179 Something's missing. 34 00:01:36,180 --> 00:01:38,559 This could change who we potentially look 35 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:40,076 at as a suspect. 36 00:01:40,077 --> 00:01:42,524 Prince: Do you think it's possible that the FBI took 37 00:01:42,525 --> 00:01:43,766 some of Tesla's papers 38 00:01:43,767 --> 00:01:45,111 before you received them? 39 00:01:46,111 --> 00:01:49,490 Murphy: It seems highly probably that the United States government 40 00:01:49,491 --> 00:01:51,593 went in and removed documents. 41 00:01:51,594 --> 00:01:55,352 They definitely had the means and the opportunity to do so. 42 00:01:55,353 --> 00:01:58,559 The question is... why was the FBI even interested in Tesla? 43 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,628 Captions by vitac... www.Vitac.Com 44 00:02:01,629 --> 00:02:04,663 captions paid for by discovery communications 45 00:02:05,111 --> 00:02:08,007 narrator: According to their own recently declassified files, 46 00:02:08,008 --> 00:02:10,559 on the night of Nikola Tesla's death, 47 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,076 the FBI allows 80 additional trunks of Tesla's research 48 00:02:14,077 --> 00:02:17,145 to be confiscated by a mysterious agency 49 00:02:17,146 --> 00:02:21,214 known as the office of alien property custodian. 50 00:02:21,215 --> 00:02:23,697 The agency's authority extends only to immigrants 51 00:02:23,698 --> 00:02:26,697 without legal status. 52 00:02:26,698 --> 00:02:30,214 But Tesla is a naturalized American citizen. 53 00:02:30,215 --> 00:02:33,938 In spite of the status, they confiscate 80 trunks of research 54 00:02:33,939 --> 00:02:37,766 with more than 130,000 pages of notes. 55 00:02:37,767 --> 00:02:40,938 After just three days, the government claims Tesla's work 56 00:02:40,939 --> 00:02:45,042 contains nothing of national security value. 57 00:02:45,043 --> 00:02:47,421 But they refuse to release the trunks to his nephew, 58 00:02:47,422 --> 00:02:49,490 sava kosanovic. 59 00:02:49,491 --> 00:02:52,593 Almost nine years later, the documents are finally released 60 00:02:52,594 --> 00:02:54,766 to the inventor's home country 61 00:02:54,767 --> 00:02:59,455 and are now stored in the Tesla national archives in Serbia. 62 00:02:59,456 --> 00:03:03,663 But rumors persist that key pages remain with the FBI. 63 00:03:08,525 --> 00:03:13,283 ♪♪ 64 00:03:13,284 --> 00:03:16,179 So, Jack and I met with this guy named sava sremac, 65 00:03:16,180 --> 00:03:20,628 and he was the guy put in charge of handling Tesla's material 66 00:03:20,629 --> 00:03:24,076 when it came over to Serbia to be set up in a museum. 67 00:03:24,077 --> 00:03:27,214 This guy is dead sure that there are missing parts 68 00:03:27,215 --> 00:03:29,697 to those documents related to the death ray. 69 00:03:29,698 --> 00:03:30,973 Murphy: That's the question. 70 00:03:30,974 --> 00:03:34,042 Back in 1943, the FBI could take certain actions 71 00:03:34,043 --> 00:03:35,455 that they can't take today, 72 00:03:35,456 --> 00:03:38,076 and america was on a war footing at that time. 73 00:03:38,077 --> 00:03:40,628 Tesla considered himself an American citizen, 74 00:03:40,629 --> 00:03:42,731 and he was legally an American citizen. 75 00:03:42,732 --> 00:03:44,593 At the very least, at that time, 76 00:03:44,594 --> 00:03:46,835 someone of a foreign nationality sticks out, 77 00:03:46,836 --> 00:03:48,421 especially when they come up with ideas 78 00:03:48,422 --> 00:03:51,421 that could change the course of history. 79 00:03:51,422 --> 00:03:54,628 They could've seen him as a potential traitor. 80 00:03:54,629 --> 00:03:56,110 I mean, people were worried, 81 00:03:56,111 --> 00:03:57,731 and Tesla was doing a lot of talk 82 00:03:57,732 --> 00:04:00,800 about building superweapons. 83 00:04:00,801 --> 00:04:04,145 Narrator: 1934... Tesla begins leaking information 84 00:04:04,146 --> 00:04:06,490 about his death ray plans to journalists. 85 00:04:06,491 --> 00:04:09,800 News reports share details about Tesla's superweapon, 86 00:04:09,801 --> 00:04:11,524 capable of shooting down warplanes 87 00:04:11,525 --> 00:04:14,869 from 250 miles away in publications 88 00:04:14,870 --> 00:04:18,386 where even enemies of the U.S. can read them. 89 00:04:18,387 --> 00:04:21,904 Some scoff and claim Tesla has gone mad, 90 00:04:21,905 --> 00:04:25,800 but internally, the U.S. government takes notice. 91 00:04:25,801 --> 00:04:27,835 I mean, considering how powerful the weapons 92 00:04:27,836 --> 00:04:29,731 that Tesla was working on are 93 00:04:29,732 --> 00:04:32,145 and what some of the things in the documents say, 94 00:04:32,146 --> 00:04:35,007 we have to consider the United States government. 95 00:04:35,008 --> 00:04:37,248 What I want to do is go and meet 96 00:04:37,249 --> 00:04:40,317 with a former CIA case officer that I know 97 00:04:40,318 --> 00:04:41,766 and see what he makes of it. 98 00:04:41,767 --> 00:04:43,559 Prince: It would be great to be able to find out 99 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,490 what the FBI's standard operating procedure is 100 00:04:46,491 --> 00:04:50,179 when handling something like this. 101 00:04:50,180 --> 00:04:52,110 What's the latest with the death ray? 102 00:04:52,111 --> 00:04:54,214 Koscho: It's gonna be extremely close to Tesla's device. 103 00:04:54,215 --> 00:04:56,283 After those documents y'all brought back from Serbia, 104 00:04:56,284 --> 00:04:58,283 we did choose this design to come as close 105 00:04:58,284 --> 00:04:59,904 to what he did as possible. 106 00:04:59,905 --> 00:05:00,973 Nice. 107 00:05:00,974 --> 00:05:02,559 And if this thing actually fires, 108 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,110 it means that there very well 109 00:05:04,111 --> 00:05:07,869 may have been a motive to murder Tesla. 110 00:05:07,870 --> 00:05:10,455 There's no guarantees this fires when we turn it on. 111 00:05:10,456 --> 00:05:13,731 But if it does, we're probably going to try and knock some 112 00:05:13,732 --> 00:05:15,386 [bleep] Out of the sky with it, 113 00:05:15,387 --> 00:05:18,179 and I think that's really gonna drive that point home. 114 00:05:18,180 --> 00:05:20,491 I mean, this could be a real weapon. 115 00:05:24,008 --> 00:05:28,214 [ Electricity crackles ] 116 00:05:28,215 --> 00:05:36,215 ♪♪ 117 00:05:38,215 --> 00:05:40,248 So, y'all, we're standing on the slab 118 00:05:40,249 --> 00:05:42,835 that is ultimately going to hold what could very well 119 00:05:42,836 --> 00:05:44,317 be the world's first iteration 120 00:05:44,318 --> 00:05:45,731 of Tesla's death ray. 121 00:05:45,732 --> 00:05:48,179 So, at this point, we have built all of the individual parts 122 00:05:48,180 --> 00:05:49,904 we're going to need for this death ray. 123 00:05:49,905 --> 00:05:51,283 We've got our sphere taken care of... 124 00:05:51,284 --> 00:05:52,284 Man: Perfect. 125 00:05:52,285 --> 00:05:54,214 We've got our slab in place, 126 00:05:54,215 --> 00:05:56,179 and we have our capacitor bank taken care of. 127 00:05:56,180 --> 00:05:58,317 [ Laughter ] 128 00:05:58,318 --> 00:06:00,524 A lot of work has gone into getting to this point, 129 00:06:00,525 --> 00:06:03,042 and a lot of that as been helped by those documents 130 00:06:03,043 --> 00:06:05,352 Jack and Cameron brought back from Serbia. 131 00:06:05,353 --> 00:06:07,283 Now we have to get it all set up, 132 00:06:07,284 --> 00:06:09,559 and we've got to make sure that we do this right, 133 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,248 because if we don't get this right right now, 134 00:06:11,249 --> 00:06:15,007 we may never really know if this was going to be a real device. 135 00:06:15,008 --> 00:06:16,800 This is some pretty crazy [bleep]. 136 00:06:16,801 --> 00:06:18,662 You know, it's an unreal project 137 00:06:18,663 --> 00:06:21,662 that was invented by an unreal man. 138 00:06:21,663 --> 00:06:23,524 I've had a tremendous amount of respect for Tesla 139 00:06:23,525 --> 00:06:25,042 ever since I was a kid. 140 00:06:25,043 --> 00:06:26,662 If this works, I think it's going to be a fitting tribute 141 00:06:26,663 --> 00:06:28,214 to the man's genius. 142 00:06:28,215 --> 00:06:30,283 So, we've got a lot of materials to get in here. 143 00:06:30,284 --> 00:06:32,455 The secondary's not gonna be an easy thing to unload. 144 00:06:32,456 --> 00:06:33,662 No. 145 00:06:33,663 --> 00:06:35,904 The secondary is the tall, vertical column 146 00:06:35,905 --> 00:06:37,904 that carries the energy from the bottom 147 00:06:37,905 --> 00:06:40,386 all the way to the top where the beam ultimately is fired from. 148 00:06:40,387 --> 00:06:44,110 In our prototype, our secondary was only about 5 feet tall. 149 00:06:44,111 --> 00:06:46,214 But we're talking about a ton more energy this time. 150 00:06:46,215 --> 00:06:48,524 So the thing's gonna weigh over 1,000 pounds. 151 00:06:48,525 --> 00:06:51,076 You know, on top of that, it's 20 feet tall. 152 00:06:51,077 --> 00:06:53,007 We have to move that thing into place. 153 00:06:53,008 --> 00:06:55,524 I mean, this is gonna be a hell of a process. 154 00:06:55,525 --> 00:06:56,731 We'll stand it up with the forklift. 155 00:06:56,732 --> 00:06:57,835 Okay. 156 00:06:57,836 --> 00:06:59,110 That's the sketchy part right there. 157 00:06:59,111 --> 00:07:00,145 Yeah. 158 00:07:00,146 --> 00:07:01,248 Once we've got the thing stood up here, 159 00:07:01,249 --> 00:07:02,800 I mean, that weighs 1,000 pounds 160 00:07:02,801 --> 00:07:04,938 and it's not attached to anything. 161 00:07:04,939 --> 00:07:07,800 It's gonna have to be dead still for this to go well. 162 00:07:07,801 --> 00:07:10,800 So, once we get this bolted down, then it's safe. 163 00:07:10,801 --> 00:07:13,421 So that's obviously going to go dead not-center. 164 00:07:13,422 --> 00:07:14,422 Right. 165 00:07:14,423 --> 00:07:15,869 All the cabling, everything, 166 00:07:15,870 --> 00:07:20,248 is going to come in along this axis here. 167 00:07:20,249 --> 00:07:21,800 So, Kevin, that's you're gonna get on. 168 00:07:21,801 --> 00:07:23,455 Pritchard: Okay. 169 00:07:23,456 --> 00:07:24,628 Koscho: When we start moving some of the big components out, 170 00:07:24,629 --> 00:07:26,076 the high-voltage stuff, 171 00:07:26,077 --> 00:07:27,524 you know, let's give it the respect that it's earned. 172 00:07:27,525 --> 00:07:29,145 There's nothing safe about this thing, 173 00:07:29,146 --> 00:07:30,248 even when it's working right. 174 00:07:30,249 --> 00:07:31,973 A matter of fact, if this works right, 175 00:07:31,974 --> 00:07:34,524 it's going to be very not safe. 176 00:07:34,525 --> 00:07:37,317 We're finally ready to attain that ultimate goal. 177 00:07:37,318 --> 00:07:39,283 It's time to build a death ray. 178 00:07:39,284 --> 00:07:41,904 Tesla, he had a hell of a vision for this. 179 00:07:41,905 --> 00:07:43,800 If we don't blow some [bleep] out of the sky with this, 180 00:07:43,801 --> 00:07:46,317 I'm gonna be disappointed. 181 00:07:46,318 --> 00:07:51,697 ♪♪ 182 00:07:51,698 --> 00:07:54,731 Narrator: After learning that key pages from Tesla's death ray plans 183 00:07:54,732 --> 00:07:57,524 were never delivered to the archives in Serbia... 184 00:07:57,525 --> 00:07:59,731 So you're saying that pages were physically torn 185 00:07:59,732 --> 00:08:02,318 out of the notebook. 186 00:08:05,111 --> 00:08:07,386 Jack and Cameron travel to D.C. 187 00:08:07,387 --> 00:08:11,076 To track them down. 188 00:08:11,077 --> 00:08:14,697 Now, the investigation turns to a new potential suspect... 189 00:08:14,698 --> 00:08:19,076 The U.S. government. 190 00:08:19,077 --> 00:08:21,731 Through his military network, Jack secures a meeting 191 00:08:21,732 --> 00:08:23,421 with a contact who understands 192 00:08:23,422 --> 00:08:27,042 how United States spy agencies operate. 193 00:08:27,043 --> 00:08:29,455 Glenn carle is a former CIA officer 194 00:08:29,456 --> 00:08:32,559 who I've asked to review these declassified FBI files 195 00:08:32,560 --> 00:08:33,869 on Nikola Tesla. 196 00:08:33,870 --> 00:08:35,766 I think we can rely on his expertise 197 00:08:35,767 --> 00:08:37,042 in telling us what the FBI 198 00:08:37,043 --> 00:08:41,904 really thought about Tesla in 1943. 199 00:08:41,905 --> 00:08:43,766 What do you think the FBI's interest 200 00:08:43,767 --> 00:08:46,076 was in Tesla at that time? 201 00:08:46,077 --> 00:08:47,248 Pretty strong. 202 00:08:47,249 --> 00:08:49,835 He was one of, arguably, the leading scientist 203 00:08:49,836 --> 00:08:51,835 in the first half of the 20th century. 204 00:08:51,836 --> 00:08:54,076 And then there were the reports for a decade, 205 00:08:54,077 --> 00:08:56,076 anyway, he could develop this death ray 206 00:08:56,077 --> 00:09:00,076 that would change the course of the war, of history. 207 00:09:00,077 --> 00:09:02,214 And the FBI took that seriously? 208 00:09:02,215 --> 00:09:06,421 At a time when there are 16 million Americans in uniform 209 00:09:06,422 --> 00:09:08,042 and the world is blowing up, 210 00:09:08,043 --> 00:09:10,559 you better take something like that seriously. 211 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:12,283 If the bureau found 212 00:09:12,284 --> 00:09:14,490 that there were national security implications, 213 00:09:14,491 --> 00:09:18,800 you will be inclined to stop the person who you suspect 214 00:09:18,801 --> 00:09:20,938 might be doing something harmful 215 00:09:20,939 --> 00:09:24,731 before he or she can act. 216 00:09:24,732 --> 00:09:28,973 Even if there's a 1% possibility of a report 217 00:09:28,974 --> 00:09:31,662 about hostile activity or hostile individuals, 218 00:09:31,663 --> 00:09:34,490 then you will act as though it were certain, 219 00:09:34,491 --> 00:09:38,007 because the consequences are that people will die. 220 00:09:38,008 --> 00:09:40,007 You can't take the risk. 221 00:09:40,008 --> 00:09:41,317 I mean, Tesla was going around... 222 00:09:41,318 --> 00:09:43,455 He was in time magazine, he was in newspapers... 223 00:09:43,456 --> 00:09:45,179 Saying he could build a literal death 224 00:09:45,180 --> 00:09:47,179 ray that had a range of hundreds of miles. 225 00:09:47,180 --> 00:09:49,283 Do you think it was dangerous for Tesla 226 00:09:49,284 --> 00:09:50,973 to be doing all of this press, 227 00:09:50,974 --> 00:09:53,766 talking about superweapons and death rays at that time? 228 00:09:53,767 --> 00:09:56,352 I do, and I think that's an important point. 229 00:09:56,353 --> 00:09:59,283 I know if I had been a bureau officer sitting in Manhattan 230 00:09:59,284 --> 00:10:01,731 or wherever it is and you go, "what the hell? 231 00:10:01,732 --> 00:10:04,248 I mean, what is this guy doing here? 232 00:10:04,249 --> 00:10:07,076 He's offering to peddle a death ray? 233 00:10:07,077 --> 00:10:11,317 Sorry, no." 234 00:10:11,318 --> 00:10:12,559 That's really confusing to me, 235 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:15,248 because Tesla talked about how big a patriot he was 236 00:10:15,249 --> 00:10:18,904 and that he valued his citizenship more than anything. 237 00:10:18,905 --> 00:10:21,904 Prince: I'm not surprised that the FBI would have considered 238 00:10:21,905 --> 00:10:24,490 Tesla's actions as something that would be dangerous 239 00:10:24,491 --> 00:10:25,938 to the United States. 240 00:10:25,939 --> 00:10:27,731 But what I've always found strange 241 00:10:27,732 --> 00:10:30,248 is that Tesla would do something that could be damaging 242 00:10:30,249 --> 00:10:32,904 to the U.S., which he loved so much. 243 00:10:32,905 --> 00:10:33,973 It doesn't add up. 244 00:10:33,974 --> 00:10:35,904 Well, except that intelligence work 245 00:10:35,905 --> 00:10:38,283 is fundamentally being a psychologist. 246 00:10:38,284 --> 00:10:40,731 Actually, in reading the file, I became a little alarmed 247 00:10:40,732 --> 00:10:42,697 that the guy was sort of a loose Cannon. 248 00:10:42,698 --> 00:10:45,525 He wanted to peddle his brilliance and breakthrough. 249 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:49,317 Narrator: In the early days of his career, 250 00:10:49,318 --> 00:10:53,766 Tesla is the golden child of modern engineering. 251 00:10:53,767 --> 00:10:57,766 But by the 1930s, his reclusive and bizarre behavior... 252 00:10:57,767 --> 00:11:00,352 Like eating dinner at precisely 8:10, 253 00:11:00,353 --> 00:11:01,938 avoiding human contact, 254 00:11:01,939 --> 00:11:04,386 and squishing his toes 100 times each night 255 00:11:04,387 --> 00:11:06,973 before bed to stimulate brain activity... 256 00:11:06,974 --> 00:11:09,835 Makes Tesla an outcast. 257 00:11:09,836 --> 00:11:13,490 Ultimately, Tesla is ignored by the scientific community 258 00:11:13,491 --> 00:11:15,214 and spends his declining years 259 00:11:15,215 --> 00:11:18,731 trying to regain the attention of financial backers 260 00:11:18,732 --> 00:11:21,593 at any cost. 261 00:11:21,594 --> 00:11:24,559 Carle: At a time when there's combat and people 262 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:28,731 dying everywhere in the world, you can't peddle technology... 263 00:11:28,732 --> 00:11:30,179 A weapon of mass destruction. 264 00:11:30,180 --> 00:11:32,697 Or information that can lead to an advantage 265 00:11:32,698 --> 00:11:35,455 for a foreign power on your own. 266 00:11:35,456 --> 00:11:38,973 And america's future is in jeopardy, 267 00:11:38,974 --> 00:11:42,007 you can't afford to not act. 268 00:11:42,008 --> 00:11:45,110 So the FBI had to take it seriously just because, I mean, 269 00:11:45,111 --> 00:11:46,490 if there's that 1% chance 270 00:11:46,491 --> 00:11:49,800 that it could be developed into a real weapon, then... 271 00:11:49,801 --> 00:11:52,007 Oh, you have to. Absolutely, you have to. 272 00:11:52,008 --> 00:11:55,076 And if you don't, something like 9/11 happens. 273 00:11:55,077 --> 00:11:58,421 Glenn carle gave us some fresh insight on the FBI's interest 274 00:11:58,422 --> 00:12:00,938 in Nikola Tesla and his death ray designs, 275 00:12:00,939 --> 00:12:02,559 and it means that we have to pursue 276 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:07,076 this U.S. government thing all the way. 277 00:12:07,077 --> 00:12:08,110 Holmes: Just take it straight up. 278 00:12:08,111 --> 00:12:09,731 Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! 279 00:12:09,732 --> 00:12:12,179 Murphy: What we really need is historical context. 280 00:12:12,180 --> 00:12:13,766 I have a military contact. 281 00:12:13,767 --> 00:12:15,317 When Tesla was all over the media 282 00:12:15,318 --> 00:12:18,214 talking about this death ray and all the capabilities it had, 283 00:12:18,215 --> 00:12:20,731 I have to believe that somebody, somewhere took it seriously. 284 00:12:20,732 --> 00:12:26,076 The only country that bought his plans were the Russians. 285 00:12:26,077 --> 00:12:30,662 - Ready? - All right, coming up. 286 00:12:30,663 --> 00:12:31,732 [ Boom! ]Whoa! 287 00:12:37,249 --> 00:12:39,835 Murphy: Former CIA officer Glenn carle tells us 288 00:12:39,836 --> 00:12:41,904 that the FBI might've been concerned 289 00:12:41,905 --> 00:12:43,559 about someone like Tesla. 290 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:46,490 I know if I had been a bureau officer sitting in Manhattan 291 00:12:46,491 --> 00:12:48,973 or wherever it is, and you go, "what the hell? 292 00:12:48,974 --> 00:12:51,490 I mean, what is this guy doing here? 293 00:12:51,491 --> 00:12:54,248 He's offering to peddle a death ray?" 294 00:12:54,249 --> 00:12:57,766 Murphy: But the FBI had Tesla's research for nine years. 295 00:12:57,767 --> 00:13:01,973 But what does mean for us trying to uncover new information 296 00:13:01,974 --> 00:13:03,214 about the death ray? 297 00:13:03,215 --> 00:13:05,973 What we really need now is historical context... 298 00:13:05,974 --> 00:13:07,559 Finding out if the U.S. government 299 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,248 was working on Tesla's death ray 300 00:13:09,249 --> 00:13:10,731 in the early '40s 301 00:13:10,732 --> 00:13:13,904 and if any of those innovations have shown up in modern warfare. 302 00:13:13,905 --> 00:13:15,835 That should give us an idea of whether or not 303 00:13:15,836 --> 00:13:17,214 they were taking it seriously 304 00:13:17,215 --> 00:13:20,283 and even if they would've killed for his invention. 305 00:13:20,284 --> 00:13:23,973 Narrator: To help answer these questions, Jack meets with Adam DeMarco, 306 00:13:23,974 --> 00:13:25,904 a former member of the U.S. army 307 00:13:25,905 --> 00:13:29,800 with an extensive background in weapons research. 308 00:13:29,801 --> 00:13:31,800 So, I wanted to talk about 309 00:13:31,801 --> 00:13:33,662 basically high technology and weaponry. 310 00:13:33,663 --> 00:13:36,421 I know with the work you do, you might be able to help me out, 311 00:13:36,422 --> 00:13:38,042 because I'm trying to figure out 312 00:13:38,043 --> 00:13:40,076 if Tesla's research influenced 313 00:13:40,077 --> 00:13:42,283 today's military weaponry. 314 00:13:42,284 --> 00:13:46,283 There's kind of three areas that Tesla really had a big impact 315 00:13:46,284 --> 00:13:49,766 in terms of modern military weaponry and warfare. 316 00:13:49,767 --> 00:13:51,938 The first, just handheld radio waves. 317 00:13:51,939 --> 00:13:54,042 The second is the remote controls. 318 00:13:54,043 --> 00:13:56,283 And then really the most interesting thing 319 00:13:56,284 --> 00:13:58,179 is modern laser technology. 320 00:13:58,180 --> 00:14:02,352 His concept of the death ray, that's kind of really 321 00:14:02,353 --> 00:14:06,386 the Genesis of the modern-day laser. 322 00:14:06,387 --> 00:14:09,593 His concept was basically charging particles, 323 00:14:09,594 --> 00:14:11,973 put some energy behind it, and shoot it out of a vacuum. 324 00:14:11,974 --> 00:14:13,455 I mean, that's essentially what a laser is. 325 00:14:13,456 --> 00:14:15,662 And I can tell you that what we're seeing now 326 00:14:15,663 --> 00:14:19,593 in the evolution of modern military warfare and weaponry, 327 00:14:19,594 --> 00:14:21,145 there's definitely a correlation. 328 00:14:21,146 --> 00:14:22,421 Amazing. 329 00:14:22,422 --> 00:14:23,628 'Cause it used to be, when we were in Iraq, 330 00:14:23,629 --> 00:14:24,938 if, you know, a vehicle was approaching you 331 00:14:24,939 --> 00:14:26,662 at a high rate of speed, you just light 'em up with a 332 00:14:26,663 --> 00:14:29,869 .50-Cal, but now, it's looking at can we disarm 'em 333 00:14:29,870 --> 00:14:32,386 without expending 1,000 rounds? 334 00:14:32,387 --> 00:14:34,731 Narrator: Laser weaponry provides modern militaries 335 00:14:34,732 --> 00:14:36,352 with numerous advantages, 336 00:14:36,353 --> 00:14:38,317 including limitless ammunition, 337 00:14:38,318 --> 00:14:40,628 inexpensive electrical power sources, 338 00:14:40,629 --> 00:14:43,283 and advanced targeting and firing systems, 339 00:14:43,284 --> 00:14:45,455 reducing civilian casualties. 340 00:14:45,456 --> 00:14:48,593 The earliest versions of laser-weapon technology 341 00:14:48,594 --> 00:14:50,662 traced back to Tesla and his death ray. 342 00:14:50,663 --> 00:14:52,697 I mean, if you're using directed energy, 343 00:14:52,698 --> 00:14:54,283 isn't it also gonna take away some of the 344 00:14:54,284 --> 00:14:56,731 ballistic calculations that we normally have to make? 345 00:14:56,732 --> 00:14:57,800 Oh, absolutely. 346 00:14:57,801 --> 00:14:58,767 And it fires in a straight line... 347 00:14:58,768 --> 00:14:59,835 Absolutely. 348 00:14:59,836 --> 00:15:00,973 Yeah, because you're not dealing with 349 00:15:00,974 --> 00:15:02,628 any of the environmental issues. 350 00:15:02,629 --> 00:15:04,110 So, yeah, it saves a lot of money 351 00:15:04,111 --> 00:15:05,662 and it saves a lot of lives, too, 352 00:15:05,663 --> 00:15:07,352 because now you don't have to worry about, 353 00:15:07,353 --> 00:15:09,386 you know, that collateral damage. 354 00:15:09,387 --> 00:15:11,490 So, I mean, Tesla technology 355 00:15:11,491 --> 00:15:14,214 is sort of the weaponry of the future. 356 00:15:14,215 --> 00:15:17,179 He's kind of an unsung hero of modern military warfare. 357 00:15:17,180 --> 00:15:18,559 Murphy: This means that the U.S. government 358 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,524 was using information contained in the 80 trunks 359 00:15:21,525 --> 00:15:23,283 that were seized for almost a decade 360 00:15:23,284 --> 00:15:25,524 to develop powerful weapons. 361 00:15:25,525 --> 00:15:26,938 It looks like the U.S. government 362 00:15:26,939 --> 00:15:28,938 was secretly paying very close attention 363 00:15:28,939 --> 00:15:30,766 to Tesla's work. 364 00:15:30,767 --> 00:15:33,179 I have to believe that somebody, somewhere took it seriously 365 00:15:33,180 --> 00:15:34,973 when Tesla was all over the media 366 00:15:34,974 --> 00:15:38,455 talking about this death ray and all the capabilities it had. 367 00:15:38,456 --> 00:15:40,490 This is where it gets really interesting is, 368 00:15:40,491 --> 00:15:43,386 Tesla in 1937 is shopping around this idea 369 00:15:43,387 --> 00:15:45,352 for this new energy source, 370 00:15:45,353 --> 00:15:51,800 and the only country that bought his plans were the Russians. 371 00:15:51,801 --> 00:15:54,766 Narrator: In the 1930s, rumors begin to swirl 372 00:15:54,767 --> 00:15:56,973 that Tesla plans to sell his death ray designs 373 00:15:56,974 --> 00:15:59,317 to a company called amtorg, 374 00:15:59,318 --> 00:16:02,386 widely considered a front for the Russian government. 375 00:16:02,387 --> 00:16:05,732 Cameron and Jack hear the same rumors on their trip to Serbia. 376 00:16:15,008 --> 00:16:17,835 The Russians bought part of his plans for his, 377 00:16:17,836 --> 00:16:21,317 you know, phase 1 plans of this death ray, 378 00:16:21,318 --> 00:16:23,386 and they were able to implement it and test it. 379 00:16:23,387 --> 00:16:25,593 So, what, the Russians actually developed 380 00:16:25,594 --> 00:16:27,455 the early death ray plans? 381 00:16:27,456 --> 00:16:29,938 The initial phases, yes. 382 00:16:29,939 --> 00:16:33,869 And why they stopped there, no one knows. 383 00:16:33,870 --> 00:16:36,559 Holy [bleep] all right, thank you, Adam. 384 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:37,662 Yeah, absolutely. 385 00:16:37,663 --> 00:16:39,076 You've given me a lot to think about. 386 00:16:39,077 --> 00:16:41,076 Murphy: If the Russians realized that the death ray plans 387 00:16:41,077 --> 00:16:43,421 that Tesla sold them in the '30s were incomplete, 388 00:16:43,422 --> 00:16:45,007 then I can't even imagine what they would do 389 00:16:45,008 --> 00:16:46,110 to get the rest of them. 390 00:16:46,111 --> 00:16:47,248 But at the same time, 391 00:16:47,249 --> 00:16:49,283 if the United States government realized 392 00:16:49,284 --> 00:16:51,628 that Tesla sold the plans for components 393 00:16:51,629 --> 00:16:53,076 of the death ray to the Russians, 394 00:16:53,077 --> 00:16:56,628 they would have been quite alarmed by that. 395 00:16:56,629 --> 00:16:59,938 This is finally confirming some pieces of information for us 396 00:16:59,939 --> 00:17:01,593 about what we've long suspected... 397 00:17:01,594 --> 00:17:03,697 That there were numerous different countries 398 00:17:03,698 --> 00:17:06,524 who were interested in plans to the death ray. 399 00:17:06,525 --> 00:17:09,731 The only question is, was one of them willing to kill for it? 400 00:17:09,732 --> 00:17:17,248 ♪♪ 401 00:17:17,249 --> 00:17:20,283 Narrator: Aron and his team are done fabricating the individual parts 402 00:17:20,284 --> 00:17:22,214 of their large-scale death ray 403 00:17:22,215 --> 00:17:25,904 and are finally assembling the 25-foot superweapon. 404 00:17:25,905 --> 00:17:28,317 The next step is to place the secondary... 405 00:17:28,318 --> 00:17:31,490 The tube that allows energy to build up from the power source 406 00:17:31,491 --> 00:17:36,283 and fire out of the weaponized portion on top. 407 00:17:36,284 --> 00:17:37,766 Koscho: We've manufactured this secondary 408 00:17:37,767 --> 00:17:39,835 to specification off-site. 409 00:17:39,836 --> 00:17:41,490 Now we've got to stand this thing upright, 410 00:17:41,491 --> 00:17:43,593 get it wired, get it connected, get it bolted down, 411 00:17:43,594 --> 00:17:45,766 and make sure that everything goes safely. 412 00:17:45,767 --> 00:17:47,662 Holmes: Right there. Come on in. 413 00:17:47,663 --> 00:17:50,628 So, the idea is we're gonna drill the holes in the end... 414 00:17:50,629 --> 00:17:52,042 Yeah. 415 00:17:52,043 --> 00:17:53,008 We're gonna feed the chains through the center... 416 00:17:53,009 --> 00:17:54,214 Yeah. 417 00:17:54,215 --> 00:17:55,248 We're gonna hook 'em on to it 418 00:17:55,249 --> 00:17:56,352 and then pick this whole thing up 419 00:17:56,353 --> 00:17:57,766 and then pull it off and set her down. 420 00:17:57,767 --> 00:18:00,076 Okay, sounds good. 421 00:18:00,077 --> 00:18:01,766 Koscho: See, now, out in the middle of the field, 422 00:18:01,767 --> 00:18:03,386 it's not exactly a controlled environment. 423 00:18:03,387 --> 00:18:04,697 There's a lot more that could wrong here. 424 00:18:04,698 --> 00:18:05,904 We have to deal with weather. 425 00:18:05,905 --> 00:18:08,490 We've got all the heavy machinery moving around. 426 00:18:08,491 --> 00:18:10,628 It's all dangerous. 427 00:18:10,629 --> 00:18:12,317 All we're gonna do is we're just gonna pick it up 428 00:18:12,318 --> 00:18:13,800 a little bit to get the weight off of this. 429 00:18:13,801 --> 00:18:17,352 We just don't want it to slide at all. 430 00:18:17,353 --> 00:18:18,904 Yeah... whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! 431 00:18:18,905 --> 00:18:20,386 Something's wrong. - Yeah, I see it. 432 00:18:20,387 --> 00:18:21,524 I'm just trying to get the... 433 00:18:21,525 --> 00:18:23,421 Get the eye hooks out from the middle. 434 00:18:23,422 --> 00:18:24,628 It's catching on the edge. 435 00:18:24,629 --> 00:18:26,593 Pull on the chain. 436 00:18:26,594 --> 00:18:30,455 This secondary has to be maintained in perfect condition 437 00:18:30,456 --> 00:18:32,317 or we're going to have a failed test. 438 00:18:32,318 --> 00:18:34,835 Narrator: With the amount of energy running through the death ray, 439 00:18:34,836 --> 00:18:36,731 any dent or divot in the system 440 00:18:36,732 --> 00:18:39,559 could cause the power to leap out at the damaged point, 441 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:41,800 resulting in a dangerous misfire. 442 00:18:41,801 --> 00:18:43,524 If there's any damage on this thing at all, 443 00:18:43,525 --> 00:18:45,869 we're screwed when it comes time to fire it. 444 00:18:45,870 --> 00:18:47,835 Just... Here. 445 00:18:47,836 --> 00:18:49,179 N-No, come back in. 446 00:18:49,180 --> 00:18:50,352 I'm putting a safety on this. 447 00:18:50,353 --> 00:18:51,559 Hays: All right. 448 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:53,283 This is already [bleep] set up for failure. 449 00:18:53,284 --> 00:18:55,662 So, all we're gonna do, we're gonna stand it up vertical. 450 00:18:55,663 --> 00:18:57,524 After you're done and stood up, we're just gonna back up 451 00:18:57,525 --> 00:18:59,042 and set her down on there. 452 00:18:59,043 --> 00:19:02,042 I think the risk here is when we're starting a near vertical. 453 00:19:02,043 --> 00:19:04,110 Seems to me that if it's not perfectly vertical, 454 00:19:04,111 --> 00:19:07,145 the bottom end's sliding around on the trailer. 455 00:19:07,146 --> 00:19:08,248 Yes. 456 00:19:08,249 --> 00:19:10,076 Remember, just get the chain vertical. 457 00:19:10,077 --> 00:19:12,766 I'm trying to... 458 00:19:12,767 --> 00:19:15,352 Oh [bleep] all right, coming out. 459 00:19:15,353 --> 00:19:17,835 I'm gonna keep pulling on it from here. 460 00:19:17,836 --> 00:19:21,146 - Yeah. - There he goes. 461 00:19:24,284 --> 00:19:25,490 Keep coming up. 462 00:19:25,491 --> 00:19:27,697 Now, if this falls, don't let it swing. 463 00:19:27,698 --> 00:19:30,869 - Yeah. - Just pick it straight up. 464 00:19:30,870 --> 00:19:37,386 ♪♪ 465 00:19:37,387 --> 00:19:38,559 Okay, set her down. 466 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,455 Coming down. 467 00:19:40,456 --> 00:19:43,973 Whoa. The whole thing's about to fall. 468 00:19:43,974 --> 00:19:45,814 Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! 469 00:19:46,629 --> 00:19:48,628 You got that wire prepped? 470 00:19:48,629 --> 00:19:49,766 Yep. 471 00:19:49,767 --> 00:19:51,524 High voltage is really unpredictable. 472 00:19:51,525 --> 00:19:54,869 Crazy [bleep] starts to happen if something goes wrong. 473 00:19:54,870 --> 00:19:57,352 All right, they're charged. 474 00:19:57,353 --> 00:19:59,455 We've got a drone, and we're gonna see 475 00:19:59,456 --> 00:20:01,179 if we can knock this out of the sky. 476 00:20:01,180 --> 00:20:03,663 I mean, that's what Tesla always wanted. 477 00:20:11,698 --> 00:20:13,593 Narrator: In Texas, Aron and his team 478 00:20:13,594 --> 00:20:18,731 continue final assembly of their large-scale death ray prototype. 479 00:20:18,732 --> 00:20:20,352 This step is critical. 480 00:20:20,353 --> 00:20:23,283 They must get the superweapon's 20-foot tall secondary 481 00:20:23,284 --> 00:20:24,731 in place safely... 482 00:20:24,732 --> 00:20:25,938 Holmes: Okay, set her down. 483 00:20:25,939 --> 00:20:28,973 Hays: Coming down... And without any damage. 484 00:20:28,974 --> 00:20:30,455 With the amount of energy traveling 485 00:20:30,456 --> 00:20:31,731 through this secondary, 486 00:20:31,732 --> 00:20:34,421 any damage here could be devastating to the outcome. 487 00:20:34,422 --> 00:20:36,904 You know, I trust my guys completely, but nonetheless, 488 00:20:36,905 --> 00:20:39,386 we're dangling out secondary above our slab here, you know? 489 00:20:39,387 --> 00:20:41,524 [Bleep] Happens, and if [bleep] happens now, 490 00:20:41,525 --> 00:20:43,353 we lose our chance to build a death ray. 491 00:20:45,801 --> 00:20:48,869 Whoa. 492 00:20:48,870 --> 00:20:50,248 Is that stable? 493 00:20:50,249 --> 00:20:52,869 It's standing by itself right now. 494 00:20:52,870 --> 00:20:56,628 Well, that felt like 17 hours.[ Laughter ] 495 00:20:56,629 --> 00:20:58,731 Koscho: Go ahead and get this thing bolted down. 496 00:20:58,732 --> 00:21:00,732 - And get to it. - All right, man. 497 00:21:03,491 --> 00:21:05,904 Narrator: Back in D.C., Jack and Cameron discover 498 00:21:05,905 --> 00:21:08,145 that the U.S. wasn't the only country 499 00:21:08,146 --> 00:21:10,490 working on Tesla's death ray. 500 00:21:10,491 --> 00:21:13,869 In 1937, the Russians bought part of his plans, 501 00:21:13,870 --> 00:21:15,904 and they were able to implement it and test it. 502 00:21:15,905 --> 00:21:19,455 So, wait, the Russians actually developed early death ray plans? 503 00:21:19,456 --> 00:21:21,110 The initial phases, yes. 504 00:21:21,111 --> 00:21:24,248 And why they stopped there, no one knows. 505 00:21:24,249 --> 00:21:27,076 So, the Russians had the incomplete death ray plans. 506 00:21:27,077 --> 00:21:28,869 At first, they probably didn't even understand 507 00:21:28,870 --> 00:21:30,352 what Tesla sold them. 508 00:21:30,353 --> 00:21:33,283 I can imagine if Tesla sold them something that was incomplete, 509 00:21:33,284 --> 00:21:34,904 they weren't very happy about it. 510 00:21:34,905 --> 00:21:37,490 So they would've probably went to just about any means 511 00:21:37,491 --> 00:21:38,800 to have gotten the rest of it. 512 00:21:38,801 --> 00:21:41,110 So that they could build the functional weapon. 513 00:21:41,111 --> 00:21:43,490 So, who could have done this? 514 00:21:43,491 --> 00:21:45,697 They couldn't have gotten it from the FBI. 515 00:21:45,698 --> 00:21:47,524 They didn't have them in Serbia yet. 516 00:21:47,525 --> 00:21:52,248 So the only person that was... Could've done it is sava. 517 00:21:52,249 --> 00:21:55,145 Narrator: If the Soviets did have a hand in Tesla's death, 518 00:21:55,146 --> 00:21:58,179 sava kosanovic is a potential connection. 519 00:21:58,180 --> 00:22:00,593 Tesla's nephew and a rumored communist, 520 00:22:00,594 --> 00:22:03,248 sava is the first person in Tesla's hotel room 521 00:22:03,249 --> 00:22:04,766 the night of his death. 522 00:22:04,767 --> 00:22:07,593 He breaks into Tesla's safe and removes documents 523 00:22:07,594 --> 00:22:10,076 that have never been accounted for. 524 00:22:10,077 --> 00:22:13,076 But was he working for the Russian government at the time? 525 00:22:13,077 --> 00:22:16,766 Sava's very suspicious behavior around the time of Tesla's death 526 00:22:16,767 --> 00:22:19,386 makes sava kosanovic worth investigating. 527 00:22:19,387 --> 00:22:23,076 He had first-hand knowledge of the hotel rooms, 528 00:22:23,077 --> 00:22:25,835 they knew who he was, they let him right in the door... 529 00:22:25,836 --> 00:22:26,904 Right. 530 00:22:26,905 --> 00:22:28,076 And he actually had the foresight 531 00:22:28,077 --> 00:22:29,697 to bring somebody in to crack the safe. 532 00:22:29,698 --> 00:22:31,214 He didn't do that himself. 533 00:22:31,215 --> 00:22:33,110 I want to talk to somebody who knew sava 534 00:22:33,111 --> 00:22:34,835 when he was still alive. 535 00:22:34,836 --> 00:22:36,524 I want to find someone who can tell us 536 00:22:36,525 --> 00:22:40,697 exactly how devoted sava was to the communists. 537 00:22:40,698 --> 00:22:44,110 That will tell me if sava was so devoted to the Soviets 538 00:22:44,111 --> 00:22:45,904 that he would've murdered his own uncle 539 00:22:45,905 --> 00:22:48,283 and stolen the death ray designs for them. 540 00:22:48,284 --> 00:22:50,835 Well, there's one person that's alive that knows him. 541 00:22:50,836 --> 00:22:53,559 That's William terbo that we've already spoken with. 542 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,973 ♪♪ 543 00:22:57,974 --> 00:23:01,042 Narrator: For perspective on sava's relationship with the Russians 544 00:23:01,043 --> 00:23:03,593 and with Nikola Tesla, Jack and Cameron 545 00:23:03,594 --> 00:23:05,283 visit William terbo, 546 00:23:05,284 --> 00:23:09,042 Tesla's grandnephew and sava's second cousin. 547 00:23:09,043 --> 00:23:11,283 Murphy: Terbo can give us some family insight 548 00:23:11,284 --> 00:23:13,869 into what sava kosanovic was thinking, 549 00:23:13,870 --> 00:23:16,662 what his motivations were, his ideology, 550 00:23:16,663 --> 00:23:19,731 all these things that are otherwise lost to time. 551 00:23:19,732 --> 00:23:26,938 ♪♪ 552 00:23:26,939 --> 00:23:28,938 Prince: Do you recall meeting sava? 553 00:23:28,939 --> 00:23:30,421 Terbo: Oh, I met him, yeah. 554 00:23:30,422 --> 00:23:33,007 He was a member of our family. 555 00:23:33,008 --> 00:23:36,042 He was not a technical person. 556 00:23:36,043 --> 00:23:39,110 He was a political person. 557 00:23:39,111 --> 00:23:42,214 He had been associated with the communist government 558 00:23:42,215 --> 00:23:45,455 of yugoslavia and the Soviets. 559 00:23:45,456 --> 00:23:47,662 I understood what his background was, 560 00:23:47,663 --> 00:23:50,869 and he was useful... Very useful... to them. 561 00:23:50,870 --> 00:23:55,179 One of the lines in the FBI files that, you know, 562 00:23:55,180 --> 00:23:56,800 stood out to us 563 00:23:56,801 --> 00:24:00,352 was the FBI considered sava an enemy. 564 00:24:00,353 --> 00:24:01,628 They use that word. 565 00:24:01,629 --> 00:24:03,007 Oh, yes, he was. 566 00:24:03,008 --> 00:24:06,559 It's in that document there where the FBI thinks 567 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,042 or believes that sava might turn over 568 00:24:09,043 --> 00:24:10,697 some of Tesla's information 569 00:24:10,698 --> 00:24:12,835 to quote-unquote "the enemy." 570 00:24:12,836 --> 00:24:14,731 Reasonable... Reasonable conclusion. 571 00:24:14,732 --> 00:24:16,869 A very reasonable conclusion. 572 00:24:16,870 --> 00:24:21,455 The Soviets were promoting a change 573 00:24:21,456 --> 00:24:25,421 in the political structure of Europe. 574 00:24:25,422 --> 00:24:28,386 Sava kosanovic switched sides, 575 00:24:28,387 --> 00:24:34,007 and he became more than just tolerant of communists. 576 00:24:34,008 --> 00:24:37,421 Murphy: So, Nikola Tesla's nephew says that it's possible 577 00:24:37,422 --> 00:24:40,283 that communist Russia was using sava kosanovic 578 00:24:40,284 --> 00:24:43,214 to try to acquire Tesla's death ray plans. 579 00:24:43,215 --> 00:24:45,628 I can't say for sure that sava did this, 580 00:24:45,629 --> 00:24:48,628 but absolutely had the motive, the means, 581 00:24:48,629 --> 00:24:52,455 and plenty of opportunity to pull this off. 582 00:24:52,456 --> 00:24:57,283 Was Tesla in any way sympathetic to communism? 583 00:24:57,284 --> 00:24:58,938 Not at all, not at all. 584 00:24:58,939 --> 00:25:00,904 Tesla thought of his American citizenship 585 00:25:00,905 --> 00:25:04,248 as one of the most important documents that he had. 586 00:25:04,249 --> 00:25:06,628 Tesla claimed that his American citizenship 587 00:25:06,629 --> 00:25:09,662 was more valuable to him than any of his inventions. 588 00:25:09,663 --> 00:25:12,766 He was clearly a patriot for the United States, 589 00:25:12,767 --> 00:25:15,490 so if Tesla sold incomplete plans 590 00:25:15,491 --> 00:25:17,835 to the Russians in the 1930s, 591 00:25:17,836 --> 00:25:20,800 it could've been because he just hadn't finished the design yet, 592 00:25:20,801 --> 00:25:24,559 or maybe Tesla was reluctant to give away all his secrets 593 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,767 to a foreign world power, but we may never know. 594 00:25:31,422 --> 00:25:33,179 Narrator: In Texas, Aron and his team 595 00:25:33,180 --> 00:25:36,421 successfully secure their 1,000-pound secondary 596 00:25:36,422 --> 00:25:37,835 and can move on to the next stage 597 00:25:37,836 --> 00:25:39,973 of the final death ray assembly... 598 00:25:39,974 --> 00:25:41,179 Lifting the sphere, 599 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:43,248 the weaponized portion of the death ray, 600 00:25:43,249 --> 00:25:44,731 20 feet into the air 601 00:25:44,732 --> 00:25:47,179 and attaching it to the top of the weapon. 602 00:25:47,180 --> 00:25:49,835 Man: Looking good. 603 00:25:49,836 --> 00:25:52,835 All right. 604 00:25:52,836 --> 00:25:54,421 Koscho: The attachment of the sphere is critical. 605 00:25:54,422 --> 00:25:56,214 It's really designed to sit directly 606 00:25:56,215 --> 00:25:57,490 on top of the secondary, 607 00:25:57,491 --> 00:25:58,869 and then we'll bolt it in place, 608 00:25:58,870 --> 00:26:00,283 make sure that everything is secure enough 609 00:26:00,284 --> 00:26:02,869 and stable enough to fire the death ray safely. 610 00:26:02,870 --> 00:26:06,076 Holmes: Go up. 611 00:26:06,077 --> 00:26:07,800 Hays: How am I looking, guys? 612 00:26:07,801 --> 00:26:09,938 You need to come forward a little bit. 613 00:26:09,939 --> 00:26:13,628 - Roger that. - Right there. 614 00:26:13,629 --> 00:26:16,731 Justin, stop and bring the boom in. 615 00:26:16,732 --> 00:26:18,938 - Bringing it in. - Whoa. 616 00:26:18,939 --> 00:26:20,421 That's about perfect, Justin. 617 00:26:20,422 --> 00:26:22,283 Perfect. All right, now come on out. 618 00:26:22,284 --> 00:26:24,801 Coming out. 619 00:26:27,698 --> 00:26:30,283 Look at that. 620 00:26:30,284 --> 00:26:32,973 Koscho: Now that our sphere's ready to go, we can focus on the power. 621 00:26:32,974 --> 00:26:35,662 Narrator: In electrifying the system, Aron and his team 622 00:26:35,663 --> 00:26:37,697 will run wiring from the primary 623 00:26:37,698 --> 00:26:40,007 up through the secondary to the muzzle, 624 00:26:40,008 --> 00:26:43,490 the weaponized portion of the sphere. 625 00:26:43,491 --> 00:26:45,904 Koscho: When we see this beam exit the muzzle, 626 00:26:45,905 --> 00:26:48,766 it's going to look like almost a lightning bolt. 627 00:26:48,767 --> 00:26:50,628 It's going to look like raw electricity 628 00:26:50,629 --> 00:26:52,110 flowing through the air. 629 00:26:52,111 --> 00:26:53,731 It's gonna reach out, it's gonna grab that target. 630 00:26:53,732 --> 00:26:57,352 The moment it does, it's gonna destroy it. 631 00:26:57,353 --> 00:26:59,352 We have almost everything ready at this point. 632 00:26:59,353 --> 00:27:06,593 ♪♪ 633 00:27:06,594 --> 00:27:09,214 Narrator: The final step of the investigation is to see 634 00:27:09,215 --> 00:27:11,662 if Tesla created the world's first weapon 635 00:27:11,663 --> 00:27:14,869 of mass destruction. 636 00:27:14,870 --> 00:27:17,352 Murphy: We started this whole investigation to prove 637 00:27:17,353 --> 00:27:19,766 whether or not there could be a motive for murder, 638 00:27:19,767 --> 00:27:21,559 and do you think we've accomplished that? 639 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,421 I don't see how we can go much further to prove it. 640 00:27:24,422 --> 00:27:27,835 Based on what Adam was telling me about laser technology 641 00:27:27,836 --> 00:27:29,593 and how Tesla kind of developed 642 00:27:29,594 --> 00:27:32,110 the very early stages of it, it makes sense 643 00:27:32,111 --> 00:27:34,076 that the U.S. government would be very interested 644 00:27:34,077 --> 00:27:35,145 in those types of plans, 645 00:27:35,146 --> 00:27:36,352 but it doesn't make any sense 646 00:27:36,353 --> 00:27:38,214 that they would've killed somebody for it. 647 00:27:38,215 --> 00:27:40,490 Yeah, I'm not buying that either. 648 00:27:40,491 --> 00:27:43,662 You know, if anyone had a motive, 649 00:27:43,663 --> 00:27:45,973 to me, it was the Russians. 650 00:27:45,974 --> 00:27:48,559 We know that Tesla had dealings with them, 651 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,179 but he didn't provide them with much. 652 00:27:51,180 --> 00:27:52,628 Murphy: We've done a lot of research, 653 00:27:52,629 --> 00:27:55,352 but sava acting at the behest of the Soviet union 654 00:27:55,353 --> 00:27:57,662 stands alone as our biggest suspect, 655 00:27:57,663 --> 00:27:59,421 but we night never know what really happened 656 00:27:59,422 --> 00:28:00,835 the day Tesla died. 657 00:28:00,836 --> 00:28:04,110 Hopefully, we've supply Aron with the missing pieces 658 00:28:04,111 --> 00:28:06,042 he needs to pull this off. 659 00:28:06,043 --> 00:28:07,731 But I hope that this does some justice 660 00:28:07,732 --> 00:28:11,524 for Tesla and illuminates some of the factors around his death. 661 00:28:11,525 --> 00:28:15,731 I mean, we went to every major Tesla landmark in the world. 662 00:28:15,732 --> 00:28:18,524 We did every bit of technology testing 663 00:28:18,525 --> 00:28:21,697 about these properties that we possibly could. 664 00:28:21,698 --> 00:28:24,628 I mean, we found never-before-seen drawings 665 00:28:24,629 --> 00:28:27,800 of the death ray with formulas and schematics. 666 00:28:27,801 --> 00:28:29,352 The ball's in his court at this point. 667 00:28:29,353 --> 00:28:30,869 And he's the man to do it. 668 00:28:30,870 --> 00:28:34,593 Yeah. 669 00:28:34,594 --> 00:28:36,421 Whoa, what's that there? 670 00:28:36,422 --> 00:28:38,076 Whoa, that's it, man. 671 00:28:38,077 --> 00:28:40,007 Check it out. They got it lit up. 672 00:28:40,008 --> 00:28:42,559 Holy [bleep] it's big, man. 673 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,043 Murphy: [Bleep] Damn. 674 00:28:47,353 --> 00:28:48,869 Murphy: Is it ready to fly? 675 00:28:48,870 --> 00:28:50,593 Koscho: About to be. 676 00:28:50,594 --> 00:28:52,973 Everything we've done has led up to this moment. 677 00:28:52,974 --> 00:28:56,560 Will it work? - I don't know. 678 00:29:02,629 --> 00:29:05,697 Narrator: After months of investigation, the team is ready 679 00:29:05,698 --> 00:29:08,042 to test their large-scale death ray. 680 00:29:08,043 --> 00:29:09,110 Whoa, what's that there? 681 00:29:09,111 --> 00:29:10,766 Whoa, that's it, man. 682 00:29:10,767 --> 00:29:12,766 Check it out. They got it lit up. 683 00:29:12,767 --> 00:29:14,145 Holy [bleep] 684 00:29:14,146 --> 00:29:17,145 If the superweapon fires, it proves the death ray 685 00:29:17,146 --> 00:29:20,421 was not just a Tesla theory, but a real weapon. 686 00:29:20,422 --> 00:29:22,352 Success also proves the inventor 687 00:29:22,353 --> 00:29:25,697 was in possession of designs worth killing for. 688 00:29:25,698 --> 00:29:26,904 It's big, man. 689 00:29:26,905 --> 00:29:28,767 [Bleep] Damn. 690 00:29:32,215 --> 00:29:34,179 Let's go check it out, man. 691 00:29:34,180 --> 00:29:36,628 It's huge. 692 00:29:36,629 --> 00:29:42,490 ♪♪ 693 00:29:42,491 --> 00:29:44,835 - Aron. - Hello, you guys. 694 00:29:44,836 --> 00:29:46,662 How's it going? - Been hard at work, yeah? 695 00:29:46,663 --> 00:29:48,248 Yeah. 696 00:29:48,249 --> 00:29:49,283 - What's up? - What's up? 697 00:29:49,284 --> 00:29:50,766 - How you doing? - Great to see you. 698 00:29:50,767 --> 00:29:52,317 How's it going? 699 00:29:52,318 --> 00:29:54,386 All these months of hard work, they build towards this moment. 700 00:29:54,387 --> 00:29:56,386 I really hope this works. 701 00:29:56,387 --> 00:29:57,938 Murphy: When this investigation started, 702 00:29:57,939 --> 00:29:59,697 we weren't even totally sure what we were after. 703 00:29:59,698 --> 00:30:01,904 We weren't sure if that right there was possible, 704 00:30:01,905 --> 00:30:03,145 and here it is. 705 00:30:03,146 --> 00:30:05,179 I mean, it's starting to become real. 706 00:30:05,180 --> 00:30:06,697 Koscho: You know, honestly, we're fortunate 707 00:30:06,698 --> 00:30:09,007 to have been able to get this together the way we did. 708 00:30:09,008 --> 00:30:10,593 I mean, it's almost like we've brought 709 00:30:10,594 --> 00:30:12,110 wardenclyffe back to life. 710 00:30:12,111 --> 00:30:15,076 I mean, it has that kind of look to it. 711 00:30:15,077 --> 00:30:17,248 I mean, this is impressive. 712 00:30:17,249 --> 00:30:18,455 Prince: Now, what about the wind? 713 00:30:18,456 --> 00:30:21,214 How did you accommodate for wind in this design? 714 00:30:21,215 --> 00:30:23,800 Koscho: We've had to accommodate loading of the structure 715 00:30:23,801 --> 00:30:25,697 to make sure that this could stand vertically 716 00:30:25,698 --> 00:30:27,455 even if we did get winds out here. 717 00:30:27,456 --> 00:30:29,559 We've had to accommodate what the sphere would experience 718 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:31,007 and what the tube would experience, 719 00:30:31,008 --> 00:30:33,421 what that whole secondary, primary structure, all of that. 720 00:30:33,422 --> 00:30:35,559 It's anchoring, all of that is accounted for. 721 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,386 So this is exactly what Tesla was talking about 722 00:30:38,387 --> 00:30:40,248 in the documents that we found in Serbia. 723 00:30:40,249 --> 00:30:41,800 Koscho: Right? It even looks the same. 724 00:30:41,801 --> 00:30:43,593 Yeah, that makes sense. 725 00:30:43,594 --> 00:30:46,352 Murphy: Aron, do you realize that if this thing fires tonight, 726 00:30:46,353 --> 00:30:50,007 it means that we finally have a motive in Tesla's murder? 727 00:30:50,008 --> 00:30:51,524 You know, that's a real possibility. 728 00:30:51,525 --> 00:30:53,524 It would mean this thing was real from the get-go 729 00:30:53,525 --> 00:30:57,869 and those plans were highly sought after for a reason. 730 00:30:57,870 --> 00:31:00,214 If this death ray test actually works, 731 00:31:00,215 --> 00:31:04,179 what it demonstrates is that Tesla's research 732 00:31:04,180 --> 00:31:06,766 and all those years he spent talking about the death ray 733 00:31:06,767 --> 00:31:08,352 were not flights of fantasy. 734 00:31:08,353 --> 00:31:10,214 It was something that was very real 735 00:31:10,215 --> 00:31:13,042 that he could have sold or developed 736 00:31:13,043 --> 00:31:17,283 for various governments around the world. 737 00:31:17,284 --> 00:31:19,938 So, what kind of power are we talking about here? 738 00:31:19,939 --> 00:31:22,662 Koscho: We're putting through this massive, massive energy pulse. 739 00:31:22,663 --> 00:31:24,179 It's over 100 megawatts. 740 00:31:24,180 --> 00:31:26,766 That's enough energy to power 10,000 homes. 741 00:31:26,767 --> 00:31:29,317 So it is a truly remarkable amount of energy 742 00:31:29,318 --> 00:31:32,628 is going to be contained in the beam from this death ray. 743 00:31:32,629 --> 00:31:35,317 So, what are we expecting to see here? 744 00:31:35,318 --> 00:31:36,490 Well, when we turn this on, 745 00:31:36,491 --> 00:31:37,869 we're gonna start seeing a beam 746 00:31:37,870 --> 00:31:40,421 that reaches out from here a good distance, 747 00:31:40,422 --> 00:31:44,283 and then, if all goes well, that beam will connect to our target. 748 00:31:44,284 --> 00:31:46,317 Narrator: When activated, the death ray beam 749 00:31:46,318 --> 00:31:48,628 will take the path of least resistance, 750 00:31:48,629 --> 00:31:51,317 jumping to the nearest target in its range 751 00:31:51,318 --> 00:31:52,766 the same way a bolt of lightning 752 00:31:52,767 --> 00:31:55,421 strikes the highest point in a field. 753 00:31:55,422 --> 00:31:58,145 So you don't want to be standing next to it when... 754 00:31:58,146 --> 00:31:59,593 Oh, no, no. 755 00:31:59,594 --> 00:32:02,766 You know, this is incredibly dangerous when it's armed. 756 00:32:02,767 --> 00:32:04,593 Just being on the ground is dangerous. 757 00:32:04,594 --> 00:32:07,248 Yes, just being in the area is dangerous. 758 00:32:07,249 --> 00:32:09,697 So, like, no [bleep], how dangerous is this thing? 759 00:32:09,698 --> 00:32:11,490 If you were there, it would kill you 760 00:32:11,491 --> 00:32:13,628 and in spectacular fashion, too. 761 00:32:13,629 --> 00:32:15,593 When it fires, it has the ability 762 00:32:15,594 --> 00:32:17,490 to damage damn near anything 763 00:32:17,491 --> 00:32:20,490 and certainly kill a person or any living thing. 764 00:32:20,491 --> 00:32:23,352 Certainly an abundance of caution is required 765 00:32:23,353 --> 00:32:25,593 when we're pushing that "go" button. 766 00:32:25,594 --> 00:32:27,559 So we've all got to keep our distance. 767 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:29,800 Everybody pay attention to me when I'm running this thing, 768 00:32:29,801 --> 00:32:31,559 and if I say it's safe, then it's safe. 769 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:33,662 If I don't, then stay the hell away 770 00:32:33,663 --> 00:32:34,938 and wait for me to tell you it's safe. 771 00:32:34,939 --> 00:32:37,076 This thing will absolutely kill you. 772 00:32:37,077 --> 00:32:39,938 There's no if, buts, mights, or maybes about it. 773 00:32:39,939 --> 00:32:43,317 If you get underneath this and it arcs to you, you will die. 774 00:32:43,318 --> 00:32:44,800 I can't wait to see it fire. 775 00:32:44,801 --> 00:32:46,386 Me, too. Is it gonna fire? 776 00:32:46,387 --> 00:32:47,835 That's the question. 777 00:32:47,836 --> 00:32:49,869 You never know until you push the button. 778 00:32:49,870 --> 00:32:52,214 No doubt at this point, pressure's on. 779 00:32:52,215 --> 00:32:54,007 Are we about ready to fire it up? 780 00:32:54,008 --> 00:32:55,214 Yeah, we're about ready. 781 00:32:55,215 --> 00:32:56,731 We're just doing the final connections now. 782 00:32:56,732 --> 00:32:58,524 We've got the capacitors getting ready to come in, actually. 783 00:32:58,525 --> 00:33:00,007 You just rolled up on us wiring up 784 00:33:00,008 --> 00:33:01,835 the high-voltage power supply. 785 00:33:01,836 --> 00:33:04,731 Narrator: Aron's team moves their capacitor bank into place. 786 00:33:04,732 --> 00:33:07,697 The eight large-scale capacitors have been connected 787 00:33:07,698 --> 00:33:10,042 to become a single power supply. 788 00:33:10,043 --> 00:33:12,524 If the experiment works as planned, 789 00:33:12,525 --> 00:33:14,662 power will surge from the capacitors 790 00:33:14,663 --> 00:33:16,352 into the primary circuit, 791 00:33:16,353 --> 00:33:18,973 race through the secondary into the sphere, 792 00:33:18,974 --> 00:33:21,386 and fire through the muzzle. 793 00:33:21,387 --> 00:33:23,283 Koscho: The reality is, we built the enclosure large enough 794 00:33:23,284 --> 00:33:25,731 to handle not just the primary circuit 795 00:33:25,732 --> 00:33:28,352 but also this energy-storage circuit. 796 00:33:28,353 --> 00:33:29,662 That's good. 797 00:33:29,663 --> 00:33:31,283 Narrator: Not only will this mimic Tesla's designs 798 00:33:31,284 --> 00:33:33,628 by adding insulation to the base of the system, 799 00:33:33,629 --> 00:33:35,869 but it will also serve the added purpose 800 00:33:35,870 --> 00:33:38,179 of keeping everyone on site safe 801 00:33:38,180 --> 00:33:40,697 if the capacitors overload. 802 00:33:40,698 --> 00:33:42,938 High voltage is really unpredictable. 803 00:33:42,939 --> 00:33:45,697 Crazy [bleep] starts to happen if something goes wrong. 804 00:33:45,698 --> 00:33:47,076 That looks good. 805 00:33:47,077 --> 00:33:48,352 Probably. 806 00:33:48,353 --> 00:33:50,214 So the walls of the primary enclosure 807 00:33:50,215 --> 00:33:52,007 protect the death ray from itself so to speak, 808 00:33:52,008 --> 00:33:54,663 but they also protect us from what's going on inside there. 809 00:33:57,353 --> 00:33:58,904 You got that wire prepped? 810 00:33:58,905 --> 00:33:59,905 Yep. 811 00:33:59,906 --> 00:34:01,317 I need your soldering iron. 812 00:34:01,318 --> 00:34:03,076 Yeah, it got it right here. 813 00:34:03,077 --> 00:34:05,939 We're gonna charge these capacitors and see what happens. 814 00:34:08,905 --> 00:34:10,938 This is the moment of truth. 815 00:34:10,939 --> 00:34:13,317 Let's see if we can blow some [bleep] up with this. 816 00:34:13,318 --> 00:34:14,628 What do you guys want? 817 00:34:14,629 --> 00:34:21,110 Well, we've got a drone, and we're gonna see 818 00:34:21,111 --> 00:34:22,835 if we can knock this out of the sky. 819 00:34:22,836 --> 00:34:24,352 I mean, that's what Tesla always wanted, right? 820 00:34:24,353 --> 00:34:25,421 Right. 821 00:34:25,422 --> 00:34:26,422 Soon as that drone comes in range, 822 00:34:26,423 --> 00:34:27,662 I'm gonna hit the "fire" button, 823 00:34:27,663 --> 00:34:29,973 and hopefully we see an arc start to creep 824 00:34:29,974 --> 00:34:33,145 out the end of that muzzle, make contact with that drone, 825 00:34:33,146 --> 00:34:34,593 and then an enormous amount of energy 826 00:34:34,594 --> 00:34:36,628 should be released to the drone, 827 00:34:36,629 --> 00:34:38,283 blowing the drone up. 828 00:34:38,284 --> 00:34:39,731 Prince: All right. 829 00:34:39,732 --> 00:34:41,214 You know, what Tesla had envisioned was maybe 830 00:34:41,215 --> 00:34:43,042 a b-29 flying by. 831 00:34:43,043 --> 00:34:44,593 Maybe it's got a nuke in it. 832 00:34:44,594 --> 00:34:46,145 It's headed for New York city or something 833 00:34:46,146 --> 00:34:48,283 and somebody hits the "go" button 834 00:34:48,284 --> 00:34:51,179 and blows that thing out of the sky. 835 00:34:51,180 --> 00:34:52,800 Murphy: This is the moment that we've been building 836 00:34:52,801 --> 00:34:54,145 up to for months now. 837 00:34:54,146 --> 00:34:56,697 If this actually fires and shoots the drone down, 838 00:34:56,698 --> 00:34:59,145 it proves the concept of the death ray. 839 00:34:59,146 --> 00:35:01,352 Yeah, Tesla might've been on to something with this, 840 00:35:01,353 --> 00:35:03,110 and I think we're about to prove it. 841 00:35:03,111 --> 00:35:04,662 Charging. 842 00:35:04,663 --> 00:35:06,800 All right, they're charged. 843 00:35:06,801 --> 00:35:08,731 Arm the coil. Okay, there it is. 844 00:35:08,732 --> 00:35:10,905 All right. Glasses, everybody. 845 00:35:12,629 --> 00:35:14,524 Go, Justin. 846 00:35:14,525 --> 00:35:16,248 3... 847 00:35:16,249 --> 00:35:18,042 2... 848 00:35:18,043 --> 00:35:20,042 1... 849 00:35:20,043 --> 00:35:21,203 [ Electricity crackles ]Whoa. 850 00:35:26,111 --> 00:35:30,179 Narrator: Tesla envisions the death ray as a weapon to end all wars, 851 00:35:30,180 --> 00:35:31,662 shooting enemy airplanes 852 00:35:31,663 --> 00:35:35,145 carrying nuclear weapons out of the sky. 853 00:35:35,146 --> 00:35:38,973 Aron's test using a drone simulates such an event 854 00:35:38,974 --> 00:35:41,800 but also brings Tesla's death ray innovations 855 00:35:41,801 --> 00:35:44,904 into the modern day. 856 00:35:44,905 --> 00:35:47,179 Unmanned aircraft are now at the forefront 857 00:35:47,180 --> 00:35:49,110 of 21st century warfare, 858 00:35:49,111 --> 00:35:52,559 serving a range of purposes from high-altitude surveillance 859 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,043 to targeted bombings. 860 00:35:57,180 --> 00:35:58,628 Drones would not be possible 861 00:35:58,629 --> 00:36:00,904 without another of Tesla's inventions... 862 00:36:00,905 --> 00:36:04,352 Remote control technology. 863 00:36:04,353 --> 00:36:06,766 Tesla unveiled the first remote control 864 00:36:06,767 --> 00:36:10,180 more than 100 years ago in 1898. 865 00:36:12,767 --> 00:36:15,352 With both the death ray and remote control, 866 00:36:15,353 --> 00:36:17,386 Tesla was far ahead of his time, 867 00:36:17,387 --> 00:36:20,559 and now his genius is both more valuable 868 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:22,318 and more dangerous than ever. 869 00:36:31,387 --> 00:36:35,007 Koscho: I'm going to charge these capacitors and see what happens. 870 00:36:35,008 --> 00:36:38,869 Narrator: The entire team is together in Texas for their final test... 871 00:36:38,870 --> 00:36:40,490 All right, they're charged. 872 00:36:40,491 --> 00:36:42,697 Narrator: Hoping the death ray will fire and release 873 00:36:42,698 --> 00:36:45,766 100 megawatts of power into their target 874 00:36:45,767 --> 00:36:49,904 all in only one-thousandth of a second. 875 00:36:49,905 --> 00:36:52,248 Koscho: Let's see if we can blow some [bleep] up with this. 876 00:36:52,249 --> 00:36:54,283 We've got a drone. 877 00:36:54,284 --> 00:36:55,869 We're gonna see if we can knock this out of the sky. 878 00:36:55,870 --> 00:36:57,559 You know, what Tesla had envisioned 879 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:00,179 was maybe a b-29 flying by. 880 00:37:00,180 --> 00:37:01,800 Maybe it's got a nuke in it. 881 00:37:01,801 --> 00:37:03,352 It's headed for New York City or something 882 00:37:03,353 --> 00:37:05,455 and somebody hits the "go" button 883 00:37:05,456 --> 00:37:07,386 and blows that thing out of the sky. 884 00:37:07,387 --> 00:37:08,628 Prince: So, what's the flight path? 885 00:37:08,629 --> 00:37:09,697 How are you going? 886 00:37:09,698 --> 00:37:11,662 We're gonna try and fly this thing 887 00:37:11,663 --> 00:37:14,352 right across where our muzzle is. 888 00:37:14,353 --> 00:37:16,179 So right at the end of the point, 889 00:37:16,180 --> 00:37:19,352 we're gonna fly and hope that it finds the target. 890 00:37:19,353 --> 00:37:22,731 - Let's hit the button. - All right. 891 00:37:22,732 --> 00:37:30,732 ♪♪ 892 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:34,076 Is it ready to fly? 893 00:37:34,077 --> 00:37:35,593 Pritchard: About to be. 894 00:37:35,594 --> 00:37:36,835 Kevin, you set? 895 00:37:36,836 --> 00:37:38,490 Kevin: Yeah, I'm good. 896 00:37:38,491 --> 00:37:41,007 All right. 897 00:37:41,008 --> 00:37:47,800 ♪♪ 898 00:37:47,801 --> 00:37:48,801 All right. 899 00:37:48,802 --> 00:37:50,455 Glasses, everybody. 900 00:37:50,456 --> 00:37:54,214 Mm-hmm. 901 00:37:54,215 --> 00:37:57,766 Arm the coil. 902 00:37:57,767 --> 00:38:01,317 All right, Kevin. Ready? - All right. I'm coming up. 903 00:38:01,318 --> 00:38:09,318 ♪♪ 904 00:38:11,318 --> 00:38:13,524 Murphy: Oh, boy. 905 00:38:13,525 --> 00:38:17,076 Koscho: 5... 906 00:38:17,077 --> 00:38:18,559 Murphy: If this death ray will fire, 907 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:23,662 it will validate that there was a motive to have Tesla murdered. 908 00:38:23,663 --> 00:38:25,524 Koscho: 4... 909 00:38:25,525 --> 00:38:29,007 After studying Tesla and all of his works for most of my life, 910 00:38:29,008 --> 00:38:31,490 it's a pretty surreal moment to see this thing here, 911 00:38:31,491 --> 00:38:33,593 ready to fire. 912 00:38:33,594 --> 00:38:37,042 I'm devoted to Tesla because I feel that he changed the world 913 00:38:37,043 --> 00:38:40,007 and he didn't get the credit he deserves for it. 914 00:38:40,008 --> 00:38:41,421 Koscho: 3... 915 00:38:41,422 --> 00:38:43,042 Prince: If this death ray fires, 916 00:38:43,043 --> 00:38:45,421 it finally proves what he was dreaming 917 00:38:45,422 --> 00:38:47,490 wasn't just science fiction. 918 00:38:47,491 --> 00:38:51,076 That he was really doing something to protect the world 919 00:38:51,077 --> 00:38:53,973 and his favorite place... The United States. 920 00:38:53,974 --> 00:38:55,076 Koscho: 2... 921 00:38:55,077 --> 00:38:59,007 ♪♪ 922 00:38:59,008 --> 00:39:00,559 1... 923 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:06,042 ♪♪ 924 00:39:06,043 --> 00:39:07,455 [ Electricity crackles ] 925 00:39:07,456 --> 00:39:08,766 Whoa. 926 00:39:08,767 --> 00:39:12,007 [Laughter][Bleep] god... 927 00:39:12,008 --> 00:39:15,593 - [Bleep] - Holy [bleep], it worked! 928 00:39:15,594 --> 00:39:17,800 That was [bleep] awesome. 929 00:39:17,801 --> 00:39:25,801 ♪♪ 930 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:28,766 Yeah! 931 00:39:28,767 --> 00:39:30,076 Prince: I think you have a death ray, my man. 932 00:39:30,077 --> 00:39:32,179 Oh, that was wonderful. 933 00:39:32,180 --> 00:39:33,938 It wasn't messing around. 934 00:39:33,939 --> 00:39:35,145 Murphy: No. 935 00:39:35,146 --> 00:39:36,455 All right, everyone stay clear. 936 00:39:36,456 --> 00:39:37,456 I'm gonna go make sure the capacitors didn't... 937 00:39:37,457 --> 00:39:41,179 Ooh [bleep] that was loud. 938 00:39:41,180 --> 00:39:42,904 What are you thinking, Jack? Is the death ray real? 939 00:39:42,905 --> 00:39:45,145 Yeah, it worked. It didn't even hesitate. 940 00:39:45,146 --> 00:39:49,317 It just went straight to the target and blew it up. 941 00:39:49,318 --> 00:39:50,421 I'm impressed, man. 942 00:39:50,422 --> 00:39:51,869 - Thank you. - Good job. 943 00:39:51,870 --> 00:39:53,076 Let's take a look at that drone. 944 00:39:53,077 --> 00:39:56,248 Yeah. 945 00:39:56,249 --> 00:39:58,179 - Is there anything? - There it is! 946 00:39:58,180 --> 00:39:59,283 Well, here's the battery. 947 00:39:59,284 --> 00:40:02,248 Ooh [bleep] yep, there's part of it. 948 00:40:02,249 --> 00:40:03,766 Kevin, what do you... 949 00:40:03,767 --> 00:40:07,835 I don't think I'm gonna be able to fly this anymore. 950 00:40:07,836 --> 00:40:11,007 - Holy... - Hey, did you keep the receipt? 951 00:40:11,008 --> 00:40:13,869 It's a success. 952 00:40:13,870 --> 00:40:15,179 Prince: Wow. 953 00:40:15,180 --> 00:40:18,283 So, I mean, this really is a viable weapon now. 954 00:40:18,284 --> 00:40:21,628 I think this heap of drone parts really drives 955 00:40:21,629 --> 00:40:22,869 that point home, doesn't it? 956 00:40:22,870 --> 00:40:24,352 - Yeah. - I mean, if we can blow this up, 957 00:40:24,353 --> 00:40:26,076 there are many other things we could blow up. 958 00:40:26,077 --> 00:40:29,766 So, let's do it again. 959 00:40:29,767 --> 00:40:31,662 - All right, good. - All right. 960 00:40:31,663 --> 00:40:33,490 You know, it's one thing to do this once. 961 00:40:33,491 --> 00:40:35,283 Maybe we got lucky, right? 962 00:40:35,284 --> 00:40:37,179 But can we do this twice? 963 00:40:37,180 --> 00:40:38,455 - All right. - Come on, Kevin. 964 00:40:38,456 --> 00:40:39,938 Pritchard: Coming up. 965 00:40:39,939 --> 00:40:45,455 ♪♪ 966 00:40:45,456 --> 00:40:46,869 - We lost it. - No, we didn't. 967 00:40:46,870 --> 00:40:49,145 We got it, we got it. 968 00:40:49,146 --> 00:40:51,007 Yes. 969 00:40:51,008 --> 00:40:52,214 3... 970 00:40:52,215 --> 00:40:53,386 2... 971 00:40:53,387 --> 00:40:54,938 1... 972 00:40:54,939 --> 00:40:56,800 [ Electricity crackles ] 973 00:40:56,801 --> 00:40:58,800 Yeah! [ Laughter ] 974 00:40:58,801 --> 00:41:01,110 [ Whooping ] 975 00:41:01,111 --> 00:41:03,283 Hays: Holy [bleep] you hear that? 976 00:41:03,284 --> 00:41:04,766 Man: Wow. 977 00:41:04,767 --> 00:41:06,386 Ksocho: Oh, that's never gonna get old. 978 00:41:06,387 --> 00:41:08,076 That is so impressive. 979 00:41:08,077 --> 00:41:10,007 Congratulations, Aron. 980 00:41:10,008 --> 00:41:12,145 Jack and I brought this from Serbia for you. 981 00:41:12,146 --> 00:41:13,146 Oh, that's awesome. 982 00:41:13,147 --> 00:41:14,766 Thanks, guys. 983 00:41:14,767 --> 00:41:17,283 Every since I was a kid working on Tesla's projects, 984 00:41:17,284 --> 00:41:19,386 I've always hoped to be able to realize 985 00:41:19,387 --> 00:41:21,179 some of these crazier ideas. 986 00:41:21,180 --> 00:41:23,076 I was able to take something that a lot of people 987 00:41:23,077 --> 00:41:24,248 thought was science fiction 988 00:41:24,249 --> 00:41:26,869 and turn it into science fact, and that? 989 00:41:26,870 --> 00:41:28,628 That's cool. 990 00:41:28,629 --> 00:41:31,283 Murphy: Seeing the death ray fire was the culmination of all our work. 991 00:41:31,284 --> 00:41:33,731 It showed us that the death ray was real. 992 00:41:33,732 --> 00:41:36,524 It wasn't just some sort of fantasy. 993 00:41:36,525 --> 00:41:37,939 - To Tesla. - To Tesla.