The Death Ray: The History and Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Nikola Tesla’s Futuristic Weapon

Nikola Tesla was one of history’s greatest scientists, and though he is best known for his pioneering work with electricity, the fact that he is mostly remembered solely for that actually does a disservice to his legacy. Born a Serb in the Austrian Empire, Tesla came to the United States and worked in a laboratory for none other than the Wizard of Menlo Park, Thomas Edison.

Having established AC as an electrical supply system, Tesla became a global celebrity, and his devices and inventions fascinated people. Tesla tinkered with everything from X-rays to wireless communications and even attempted a primitive form of the radio. While Tesla was not able to successfully execute the devices and concepts he foresaw, his forward thinking in fields like wireless communication certainly proved prescient, and his futuristic devices and his later reputation for eccentricity helped create the “mad scientist” image that still remains a pop culture fixture. Tesla seemed to have come to grips with this aspect of his legacy late in life, noting, “The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up.'

During World War I, in December 1915, Tesla gave an interview to The New York Times in which he claimed he was working on something entirely new, a weapon that would use electrical power to instantly destroy a distant target. He explained that this weapon was “so far developed that great destructive effects can be produced at any point on the globe, determined beforehand and with great accuracy.” Tesla called this new weapon the “Teleforce,” and he would continue working on this project for the rest of his life, but he consistently refused to give details of its operation. Many people believed it was impractical, but with Tesla, it was never possible to be entirely certain.