Tesla's Death Ray: A Murder Declassified (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - A Dangerous Mind - full transcript
Nikola Tesla was the greatest
inventor in American history.
A/c power, electric motors,
fluorescent lights, x-rays.
Wireless energy.
Tesla paved the way for
all of these technologies.
Tesla was taking
several of his inventions
and putting them together
to become this super weapon.
He called it a "death ray."
Did Tesla invent the
world's first weapon
of mass destruction?
And was he murdered for it?
Now, a
military investigator,
a historian, and an engineer
unlock the mysteries
behind what could be
the greatest cover-up
of the 20th century.
We're gonna
build Tesla's death ray.
It's dangerous.
- Ready?
- We're ready.
Two, one.
Aw, what the
Recently, I've been going
over newly declassified FBI documents
that could re-write
American history.
This says, when Tesla died,
that his safe was forced open.
Could any of the documents
that were stolen from the safe
be related to the death ray?
If Tesla's weapon was
real, then we could have
a possible motive to
assassinate Nikola Tesla.
You really have to
go to wardenclyffe.
What's there for us to look at?
What is under the
ground might be of interest.
There are rumors
of tunnels at wardenclyffe.
The site
of Tesla's old lab.
We have to find
out what's buried there.
- Yo, we hit something.
- What is that?
- Oh, wow.
- Dude, we got something.
watch your back.
Jack and
Cameron are investigating
the most infamous
laboratory of the 20th century...
Wardenclyffe.
Nikola Tesla built this
lab as part of a plan
to wirelessly transmit
energy around the globe.
But many believe
he used it to work on
some of his most
dangerous inventions.
For decades, rumors persist
that the complex is riddled
with a network of tunnels.
Extensive testing may
have just proven this true.
Tesla was
famously secretive.
He was known to write
some notes in code.
He kept some
information locked away.
So, it stands to reason
that, whatever is buried
beneath wardenclyffe
could contain information
about the designs
of Tesla's death ray,
or even the circumstances
around his mysterious death.
Hey, what's that?
There's something
hard there, man.
- Yeah.
- Sure isn't a brick.
It's a rock.
Ah, a big rock.
Well, we need to go deeper.
Yeah, we're gonna
have to go deeper.
Maybe another five, six feet.
Digging
to these depths,
especially in the Sandy
earth beneath wardenclyffe,
requires shoring... large,
metal boxes that keep the walls
from caving in and
crushing any workers inside.
Tesla was a
very deliberate man.
Everything he did,
he did it for a reason.
So, the fact that the
tunnels are buried so deep
must mean something.
We have to keep digging
to find out what that is.
The ground-penetrating
radar shows anomalies
starting at 6 feet.
A couple more scoops, and
then, we're going down there.
15 feet deep.
That's it, guys.
That's as much
as we can get out.
Do some digging
down there by hand,
but that's about it
with the machine.
We've gotten so
deep that the excavator bucket
can't reach any deeper.
So, now, Cameron and I have
to go in there and dig by hand.
You're at your
maximum depth,
and anything after this
is just way too dangerous.
Go down a little bit, and then,
I think that's where
we're gonna have to call it.
Get in there.
I know it's down there, man.
I know it is.
- You're a true believer, cam.
We need to dig
as much as we can.
You know, I thought
this was gonna be easier,
but nothing about
Tesla surprises me.
The lengths he would go to
protect his work are astounding.
Hey, can I get a
light over here?
Yeah.
- Yeah, shine them down.
It's caving in faster
than I can dig.
Yeah.
- Hey.
- You got something?
I got something.
What the is that?
Do you think that's
the roof of a tunnel?
I sure hope it is.
Oh, it's red.
I hope it's a brick.
What's that?
Another big rock.
Biggest one we found.
Was not a brick.
Son of a bitch.
Hey, sal, how far are we down?
You guys are about
19 feet below grades
with the bottom of your shovels.
Dude, we can't
hardly do.
This stuff's falling
in as fast as we dig it.
Can we reposition the
ladder so we can get out?
Yep.
While the
ground-penetrating radar
points to tunnels in this spot,
the equipment and
permits for this dig
prevent the team
from going any deeper.
Sal, there's got to be
something we can do here.
I feel like we're so close to
what we need to find down there.
Well, right now,
the machine's at maximum depth.
We can't dig any lower
than we are right now,
because then, it could
cause the boxes to shift.
It's too dangerous to go any
further than you are right now.
Jack and Cameron travel back
to Texas to regroup with Aron,
who's been attempting
to build Tesla's death ray.
They hoped the
wardenclyffe tunnels
might hold the key to
the weapon's design.
We weren't
able to dig deep enough
to access the tunnels
at wardenclyffe,
but we know they're there.
When you take that fact,
coupled with the blueprints
and from talking
to the local people,
it shows us that this lab
was far more complex
than we had
previously understood.
Maybe the design and the
layout of Tesla's labs provide clues
as to how his
death ray functioned.
So, we need to take a look
at some of the other sites
where Tesla was developing the
wireless transmission of energy.
Wireless energy... Tesla's
concept of sending power
through the air for free...
Would eliminate the
need for power lines
and change the world.
A multi-billion-dollar idea,
this concept
remains the holy grail
for the tech industry today.
We have to go somewhere
else if we're gonna find anything
that can help Aron
build the death ray.
We really could
use some more data,
because it's not an
easy thing to do this.
And I'm not entirely sure we're
going to be successful with this
if we don't get something to
point us in the right direction.
If we go and
start looking elsewhere,
and broaden our
horizons a little bit,
there's this other
FBI document here
that talks about some successful
experiments at pikes peak.
That's Colorado Springs.
Tesla went there in 1899 and
built an experimental station
where he did some of his most
impressive and successful tests.
So, wait, before he
was at wardenclyffe,
he was in Colorado Springs?
Yep.
In 1899, hoping to
pursue his work on the death ray
and the transmission
of wireless energy,
Tesla leaves the east coast
and relocates to Colorado Springs.
He is drawn to this area
by the offer of free electricity
from the local utility company,
and by the frequency
of lightning storms
in the region...
A phenomenon he hopes
to study and recreate.
This article talks about
when Tesla was there
in Colorado Springs,
and the interesting
point is this headline.
"Wizard of electricity had
instruments which could kill."
Kill 30,000 people?
In an instant.
What does that sound like, Jack?
It sounds like a death ray.
Exactly.
So, this proves that, people
that were observing this,
they were comparing what
Tesla was doing to a weapon.
He was energizing
the whole earth.
You could reach
out to a water faucet
and a spark would
jump your finger.
It's crazy.
So, it sounds like
Tesla was developing
the same source of
technology at wardenclyffe
that he was developing
at Colorado Springs.
They were both created for
wireless power transmission.
So, there could possibly be
something in Colorado Springs
that could help Aron with
his build of the death ray.
Yeah. You know,
anything you can find
is really gonna help
me, at this point.
You know, documents,
drawings or, you know, even data
about what's under that ground,
you know, what
that area looks like.
Maybe why Tesla
chose the designs he did.
This might be the next
trail that we have to follow.
Yeah. The problem is, we've
got to find where the lab was.
Really?
When Tesla left there,
he ran up some debts,
and eventually, the
lab was foreclosed on,
and it was sold and dismantled.
Just like wardenclyffe.
So, at that point, a
neighborhood was built.
There was really nothing left
there that belonged to Tesla.
Yeah. You know, it
really is a real loss.
I guess, at the time,
people didn't realize
the significance of the
research he did there.
No. Not at all.
The lab is somewhere
in Colorado Springs.
We've got to go there,
get boots on the ground,
actually walk the terrain,
and figure out the
exact location of the lab.
Tesla never documented
tunnels at Colorado Springs,
but that doesn't mean
he didn't dig there.
I think we need to see
what's underground.
Yeah. That's critical right now.
That ground is really important.
I mean, we can take a look and
maybe it'll give you some idea
of how his lab was constructed
and how his
experiments were run.
Sounds great to me.
Yeah. Let's go to
Colorado Springs.
So, you think he
conceived of the death ray
here in Colorado Springs?
- Yes.
- And what do we have here?
Oh, Jack, look at that.
Holy
Colorado Springs,
the home of Tesla's
lost experimental lab.
Locating this lab
might mean finding
some of Tesla's
missing research,
which could confirm the
existence of the death ray
and provide a
motive for his murder.
When Tesla was
here, some people looked at him
like a star, a genius.
Some people thought
he was a wizard.
Some people were scared of him.
There were reports of people
walking around downtown,
watching horses walk by,
and sparks were flying from
the ground of the horseshoes.
Because Tesla was
forcing so much electricity
into the ground, he burned
out the town's generator,
made a total
blackout of the city.
I have the receipt that
shows where Tesla paid
to have this
alternator repaired.
Tesla's time in Colorado
Springs is shrouded in mystery.
Eyewitnesses report bolts of
lightning around 130 feet long
shooting from the
tower at his lab,
and thunder cracks are heard
for miles in every direction.
While here, Tesla receives
unexplained signals in his lab.
He is convinced the
messages originated on Mars.
Locals wonder whether Tesla is
a genius trying to power the world,
or a mad man hell-bent
on destroying it.
I'm dying to know
if this death ray is real or not.
There are bits and pieces,
but there never seems to be
enough to complete
the whole puzzle.
That's downtown, of course,
but more importantly
is the white dome.
That's memorial park. So,
Tesla's lab is somewhere...
- In that area.
- Closer to that area
than it is downtown.
Okay. Where do we even
begin to look right now?
There's a guy, John mcginnis,
he's a Tesla historian here.
And if anybody knows about
Tesla in Colorado Springs,
it's this guy.
All right, yeah.
I can start there.
I'm gonna go to the library.
Maybe a reporter
documented the location.
We're gonna find this lab.
All right, y'all.
Let's get it over to the table,
see what's going
on with this thing.
All right.
Back in Texas, Aron and
his team are building a smaller version
of Tesla's death ray.
If the weapon works,
there could've been a motive
to murder Nikola Tesla.
You want to bring
that forklift in here?
But their early attempts
are unsuccessful.
-Three, two, one.
- Oh, wow.
- What the was that?
We had too much
voltage too fast.
Now, the
team has to determine
why the power is
overwhelming the prototype.
- Oh, man.
- Smell good in there?
It's... It smelled charred.
Any engineer will tell
you, when an experiment fails,
it's an opportunity
to learn why.
- Oh, wow.
- How would that even happen?
Oh, we blew this the up.
I think everybody's tripped a
breaker in a house at some point.
You're in the
bathroom, you know,
you've got a heater
plugged in because it's cold.
You've got the hair dryer
plugged in over here, you know.
And then, the kid goes
and turns on the microwave,
and all the lights go out.
That's exactly what
happened here.
We pushed it, we pushed it,
we pushed it, everything was fine.
Then, we pushed a little bit
too far, and blew everything up.
If this happened with
the full-sized death ray,
it would blow
the whole coil off.
There wouldn't be anything left.
It would all be charcoal.
- Yep.
- Yep.
As opposed to little
areas of charcoal.
Well, I mean, this is
why we test it, right?
Had we been testing this at
even twice the amount of energy
we had, we would've
lost everything here.
Yeah. It would've
been a total rebuild.
Well, no wonder, you know,
we're having issues
and stuff like this.
It's never been done before.
Every time we run into
a roadblock like this,
it makes you wonder
if there's something
out there you're missing.
You know, Tesla,
he was brilliant,
but he was a strange man.
There could be a lot
more documentation.
There could be a lot more
out there we just didn't find.
You know, it looks
like we're gonna have to
make something for this.
For now, I think we
build an insulator,
we put it on top of this,
and then we test it again
and see what we get out of it.
Okay, so, we're gonna
put a big piece of plastic
in between this to
keep it separated?
- Yep. That's the idea.
- So, just a big insulator. - Yeah.
Tesla didn't specify
an insulator there,
but Tesla didn't specify a
lot of things in the design.
So, you know, trial and error.
Yeah.
I've been studying
Tesla since I was 11 years old.
If there's anything
written about him...
Whether it's in a book
or on the Internet...
I probably already
know about it.
But the vault
here in the library
at Colorado Springs
contains documents
and maps and articles
from newspapers
when Tesla was here.
That's probably
gonna have information
that has never been seen before.
If there are secrets
left to uncover
about Tesla's lab
in Colorado Springs,
this is the place to start.
When you work
a cold-case investigation,
you have to follow
up on every lead,
and this is especially
true in this mystery,
which is 100 years old.
Jack is meeting
with John mcginnis,
a local Tesla expert
who knows every detail
about the elusive inventor's
time in Colorado Springs.
I'm here in Colorado
because we had heard
that Tesla had a lab here.
He did, and as a matter of
fact, most of his early giant works
were done here in
Colorado Springs.
When he constructed
his lab here,
he did his first work
with the wireless
transmission of electricity.
And I know you've seen
that picture, I believe,
of Tesla sitting amongst
these lightning discharges.
- Yep.
- That was inside his laboratory,
so his laboratory
was pretty spacious.
But were any of
these experiments
related to the death ray?
Is that really a thing?
Yes, it is.
You would need enormous
amounts of power.
The laboratory provided that.
With the Tesla coils inside,
the amounts of voltage
go into the millions,
and this is what you need if
you're gonna do something.
So, you think he
conceived of the death ray
here in Colorado Springs?
Yes.
If what John
is telling us is true,
it's even more important now
that we find the location
of the Colorado Springs lab.
We might find clues
there that unlock
the mystery of the death ray.
This picture here
depicts his laboratory.
And what's important
here, for determining
the location of the
lab is in the photo.
You can see the
printers retirement home.
- Printers retirement home?
- Yeah.
That huge mansion right there?
- Right.
- Yeah.
Is the printers
home still there?
The union printers
home is still there.
Oh, wow. So, that's a
hard reference point.
Yeah. And from that, if
you do a little mathematics,
you can come pretty
close to identifying
where the lab may be.
It's the only clue we
have to determine
exactly where
the laboratory sat.
Wow.
If you find it, let me know.
Because, in my opinion,
the death ray was
a causative factor
in his demise.
I knew that foul
play was a possibility
because I read it in
the FBI documents.
But no one's ever
actually told me this before.
There was motivation that
wanted him out of the picture.
He had the death ray,
and I'm sure there's something
there that should be uncovered.
At this point, we don't
have enough information
to follow up on whether
or not Tesla was murdered.
But the information we
have about his lab is real,
and it's something we
can follow up on right now.
What's up, cam?
- Hey, Jack.
What you got?
I talked to Mr. Mcginnis.
He had some very
interesting things to say
about Tesla and the lab
here in Colorado Springs.
He laid a couple pictures on me.
I think this one is the
most interesting, though.
This shows the lab in 1899.
The building, of course, was
taken down after Tesla left,
so the lab is no
longer in existence.
However, this picture shows,
in the background, right here,
that is the union printers home.
That building is still
standing to this day.
This is the best
photographic evidence
that I know of that
kind of gives us an idea
of where the lab actually was.
- Yep.
I got some really good articles.
This article here says,
"highest point of the
land in that vicinity
and is on a direct line
east from pikes peak."
So, the articles, you know,
they're gonna get us close.
If you combine that
with this photograph,
we should be able to
figure out where the lab was.
Jack and Cameron
are in Colorado Springs
searching for the location
of Tesla's lost laboratory.
It was somewhere here that
Tesla started work on his designs
for wireless energy
transmission,
which could have
formed the backbone
for his death-ray plans.
Yeah. And you know,
that totally matches our photo.
The building hasn't
changed in what...
It's exactly the same.
You know, 100 years.
So, uh, let's find
Tesla's lab, man.
I'm gonna rely on
you for this stuff.
As a former
member of U.S. special forces,
this is one of those
unique moments
that I live for, where I
can offer some perspective
that others just don't have.
I've tracked targets
all over the world.
So, using skills
like map resections
and land navigation is
just second nature to me.
All right, we're
located right here.
Well, there's the
northwest corner
of the building right there.
Yep. Look at that.
That's what you're
seeing in the photograph.
We know that we have to
head in a Northwestern direction,
so it takes us somewhere
right along here.
Here is the 99th parallel
coming off pikes peak.
So, that matches our article.
So, the next question is,
where do these two lines
intersect with one another?
Well, let me give
you another clue here.
In this other article I found,
apparently, this is from a
police chief or something,
and he's saying Tesla
had enclosed a tower
at the end of a barn
or building north
of pikes peak Avenue and
east of hancock Avenue,
at the highest point.
So we have a series
of different data points
that are taking us
to the same location.
So "x" marks the spot.
That's it.
All right, so let's
walk that line,
look for the highest
point, and, you know,
that has to be
the exact location
of Tesla's lab.
It's definitely
in the ball park.
Pikes peak and union boulevard.
All right, so we
need to go that way.
We need to go
through this building.
Yeah, well, these
are city blocks now,
so we're gonna have to go
around some of these obstacles.
In 1899,
the infrastructure
here was very limited.
Back then, there
were a few streets
and a rudimentary water system
that was connecting a few
of the buildings around here,
but that's about it.
As this neighborhood went up,
the location of the
lab was lost to history.
Well, well, well. What
do we have here?
Oh, Jack, look at that.
You know, we got
a high spot there,
and you got pikes peak here.
I mean, this is it. We
got a pretty good match.
I think at this point,
if we want to pin down
the exact location
of where the lab is,
we should call in some
experts who can come out here
and do a better job than I can
do with a map and a compass.
Aron's team
designs an insulator
for the death ray prototype,
to protect against
another explosion.
Oh, we blew this the up.
The insulator will fit between
the base of the Tesla
coil and the secondary...
The tube that makes sure
the 20,000 volts
traveling through the system
moves successfully from the base
to the weaponized
portion of the coil.
In the previous attempt,
the energy escaped
through this joint,
causing the explosion.
We've got a couple
notches in here.
So, instead of the power
going straight across the surface,
it's gonna have to go
down, over, up, over,
down, over, up, over.
If this works for our prototype,
then we should be
able to scale it up
and use it on the
final death ray.
The energy
in this insulator...
It's like a runner
running along a track.
It's very easy for a runner
to run along a straight track.
They'll get from point "a"
to point "b" no problem,
but you put a bunch
of hurdles in there,
we turn it into an
obstacle course,
then the runner might not
make it to the other end.
If we design this
insulator the right way,
the energy will never be able
to find a path to the other side,
because there's too
many obstacles in the way.
All right, guys,
this looks good.
Let's get the secondary in here.
If this does work,
we've definitely got
the ground work
for something big.
We might be able
to scale this up,
all the way up to the
sizes Tesla talked about.
- Hey, I'm Cameron.
- Tyler. Nice to meet you.
- And I'm Jack.
- Hey, Jack.
- How's it going?
- Good, man.
My skill set got us this far,
but we're gonna have to bring in
somebody who has
the skills and the tools
that Cameron and I don't have
in order to pinpoint the
exact location of the lab.
We think Tesla's lab is
somewhere in that vicinity,
but we need to
find the high ground.
Sure thing.
We can launch my drone,
take some still images,
get a topographical
map out of it.
We'll be able to
find the high points
that you're looking for,
and you can pinpoint
your elevated point.
- Awesome.
- All right, man.
This drone is equipped
with some very sophisticated
and precise mapping technology.
Once the drone scans the area,
it'll identify the highest
point of elevation
down a tenth of an inch.
According to one of the articles
that Cameron
found in the library,
this is exactly where we're
supposed to find the lab.
It's gonna make a right around
here and come back that way.
We got 70 images so far.
Should end up
with about 590 or so
when it's done. Nice.
You know, it's ironic... We're
using Tesla's technology.
I mean, this would
not be possible
without what he gave
mankind... Remote control.
New York City, 1898...
Tesla stuns crowds in
Madison square garden
by presenting the first
remote-controlled boat.
The innovation is
so ahead of its time,
many perceive it as magic.
Tesla predicts this technology
will soon be used to
create guided weapons,
like torpedos.
What he does not predict
is the extent to which
the new remote
control technology
will drive human exploration,
from rovers on Mars
to the voyagerprobe far
beyond our solar system.
He was thinking
about it a long time ago.
Yep, and we're using his
technology to find his lab.
All right, so what
are we looking at?
This is a 3D
model of the area.
So, this is showing
terrain elevations.
Correct. We got pike
peaks ave. Up over here.
Okay.
North foote right there.
Right. That's kiowa.
Got it. If we pan
down a little bit,
you see you definitely
got a high spot over here,
across north foote and
east kiowa right there.
Yeah, it matches all the
other information we got.
I mean, I think this is it, man.
We got it.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Let's go check it out.
I hope
we're gonna be able
to search every
inch of this property.
This could be the key to many
of the answers that we need.
Tesla always
had this determination.
And we're the same way.
I want to wring every
bit of information
we possibly can
out of this property.
If he dropped a
nickel, I want to find it.
You guys can come
back this way, if you want.
Thank you so
much for letting us do this.
So, tell us a little
bit about the history.
How long have you had the house?
I purchased the house
in September, 2013.
Okay, so...
Did you know that Tesla
had a laboratory
on your property?
When I purchased it,
they had mentioned that
there might be
some Tesla history.
Have you heard
any stories about,
like, anything underground
in this neighborhood?
Not to my knowledge, no.
What's that?
That's a well.
When I bought the property,
they told me it didn't work,
and I just was so worried
that my son would
fall down in there
that I covered it
up with the rocks.
I don't know, maybe we can
find something down there.
Who knows?
Could we look down there?
Sure.
I'm interested to see, too.
There we go.
Got it?
Holy
Jack and
Cameron pinpoint the location
of Tesla's lost lab
in Colorado Springs.
Although the lab is long gone,
an old well on the property
could hold clues to what
exactly Tesla was doing here.
There we go.
Holy.
We got to get down there, Jack.
What do we got there?
It's like there's a subfloor.
It's very interesting that
it's right in the middle
of where Tesla had his lab.
Yeah, do you think it's possible
that we could find something
if we were to dig deeper here?
I think it's worth a try.
The subterranean
room is really just an entranceway
to give you access to the well.
But the well itself
runs much deeper,
and we need to see
what's down there.
Any clues we can unearth here
might help us understand how
the death ray was constructed.
What do we
know about this well?
Not much.
We were hoping
you could tell us.
You guys looking to buy
the house or something?
Cameron might, depending
on what you find down there.
Yeah? You know, let's
have a look in there.
Have a look at the well casing.
That'll give us an idea.
Okay.
That well casing
does look pretty old.
This is a very thin, metal
casing used a long time ago.
Is there any way,
maybe, we can see what's
inside the well itself?
We have a camera
that will actually
fit in that well.
We can actually see
all the way to the bottom.
Yeah? Right on.
Okay,
everything's stable and set up.
I think we're ready to go.
We're right at the
top of the water now.
It looks pretty clear, too.
Come on and have a look.
That's looking down, and
that's looking sideways.
Okay.
These almost look
like perforations here.
Is that normal?
It would be if the
water was up here,
but at one time,
it may have been.
That actually
could just be holes
in the side of the
well casing from age.
This metal isn't
very thick at all.
It's right about 1/8 inch thick.
So, it's not very heavy,
and that's what leads us
to believe that
this well is very old.
- Whoa. We stopped.
- We stopped.
Yeah, we hit something at 279.
- What's that?
- I don't...
Just some sort of
protrusion in the well casing.
I'd say that's about as far
as this camera's gonna go.
I mean, does this look
like man-made or...?
It looks like it's metal.
It's orange, it's rusty,
just like the rest of
our steel casings.
So, that's not a brown
rock. We've seen rocks.
That's not a brown
rock. That's rust.
That's some sort of metal.
What metal would be
down there at 279 foot?
It's hard to say.
I'll leave the
speculation to you.
This metal at
the bottom of the well
may indicate that there's
something else here...
Something man-made.
It's suspicious enough
that we need to look into it.
Just like at wardenclyffe,
we have a team of experts
with technology
that they can use
to determine if there's anything
buried underground here.
These tests could
reveal buried structures,
tunnels, or infrastructure
similar to wardenclyffe.
The first
test is resistivity,
which gives us a broad picture
of what's going on beneath
the surface of this property.
Resistivity testing
works by passing
electrical current
through electrodes in the ground
and then measuring how
fast or slow the electricity
passes through the soil
between the electrodes.
Slower current means the
ground is more resistant,
made up of dense earth.
Faster current means
the ground is less resistant,
containing conductive
metals or even empty tunnels.
Everything's good,
and now we're gonna
start acquiring data.
Let's take a look and
see what we've got.
These red objects here...
Those are the trees
and the bushes,
the root systems on those.
If we were to find a tunnel,
it would look like a
linear object, like a pipe.
It would be much
deeper than these.
These are very
close to the surface.
- So, no tunnel?
- No. Unfortunately not.
It looks as if there
aren't any tunnels here,
bases on the
resistivity testing,
but we're not done yet.
Another method we
have is the t.D.E.M.,
which is basically
like a metal detector.
Electromagnetic testing
could uncover remnants
of the foundation
of Tesla's lab,
electrical cables underground,
components of the
grounding system.
Whatever is down there,
we're gonna keep looking for it.
Are we at the
end of the line here?
I mean, if this
test strikes out,
are we pretty much done?
Yes.
So, looking
at the data here,
the blues are areas
where it's less conductive.
The darker reds
are more conductive,
so that could be a pipeline.
So this
long thing here...
That may be like a sewer
pipe or a water main?
Yes.
At wardenclyffe,
the team discovered
a grounding system
that was critical
to Tesla's design.
Here we have some of the
drawings from wardenclyffe.
Ah! Look at that.
Copper ground put
in lateral tunnels.
And it looks like that
connects to another pipe
in the yard there.
When Tesla got here in
1899, there wasn't much here,
but there was a
rudimentary water system,
probably made up of copper pipes
that some people say
he used to ground his lab.
It seems, with this data,
that this theory is confirmed.
Tesla's death ray
is a weaponized execution
of his obsession
with wireless energy.
The energy travels from
the air, to the ground,
and back to the base of
the weapon through the soil.
Copper pipes, like the ones
likely used in the water main
in Colorado Springs,
are needed to keep the device
from overloading or exploding.
Wherever he was,
Tesla used what was there
or he made it what he
needed for his experiments.
He was enough of a
genius that he figured out
how to plug into what existed
and to get the results
that he needed.
Here, it was a water
pipe. It was a water main.
This water main was
metal. It went for miles.
That gave him what he
needed to give it that ground.
Now, at wardenclyffe,
he didn't have that luxury,
so he dug that huge hole,
and he drove those
rods in the ground
to give him that
same grip there.
So, he learned from
this experience here,
at Colorado Springs,
and that informed what
he did at wardenclyffe.
Absolutely, without a doubt.
It's about getting the
most conductive metal
into the earth
that makes that connection.
So, this is what
Aron needs to know.
We need to give him a call.
Colorado Springs provided
us with a clue that might help us
crack open the
design of the death ray.
We understand now
that Tesla grounded
all of his systems with
metal underground,
and that's a huge piece
of information for us.
But when it comes
to Tesla's death,
there's got to be more
evidence out there somewhere.
To make the death ray work,
we wanted 1.5
gigawatts of power.
And to generate 1.5 gigawatts,
he would need an
enormous power source.
Tesla's first large-scale
power-generation experiment
was Niagara Falls.
Tesla's power
plant at Niagara Falls
is a hydroelectric dam,
which operates by harnessing
the power of falling water
to spin turbines and
generate electricity.
Tesla was looking for
ways to create power
so he could transfer it
wirelessly across the globe.
This power
plant was capable
of generating enough power
to power nearly 2 million homes,
which is astounding.
It's amazing when
you think about it,
but power plants of this scale,
they were just a means
to an end for Tesla.
This was a byproduct
of his experiments.
He needed these to
power the other things.
Even so, these things were
another Tesla contribution
that changed the world forever.
Back in Texas,
Jack and Cameron's discovery
of a grounding system
in Colorado Springs
has a major impact on
Aron's death ray build.
If Aron can demonstrate
that the death ray was viable,
this could prove that there was
motive to murder Nikola Tesla.
What's up, guys?
Looks like we've
got some good data.
Matter of fact, the
data's really clear.
Tesla was very pragmatic.
He put a bigger
ground structure in it
until he got what he wanted.
So, that's what we're
gonna try and do.
If we can create a
grounding system
that is as successful
as the ones Tesla used
at wardenclyffe and
Colorado Springs,
then we might have a
shot at a successful test.
We need to get as much
metal as we can into the ground.
Once we do that and we
hook it up to our prototype,
hopefully, we'll have
done everything we can
to prevent any more explosions.
I want to dig a hole out back,
I want to fill it with copper,
I want to connect it to the coil
and I want to
use it for our test.
This grounding
structure is gonna give us
a really good return
point for all of the current
that's coming
from our prototype.
That current... it's got to
flow from the capacitor bank,
through the Tesla
coil, into the target,
and then, from that
target, into the ground,
back to the bottom
of the system.
This accomplishes
what we need, I think.
The more surface area you
got in contact with the dirt,
the better it's gonna work,
and this is a really simple
way to do what we need it to do.
Great. Well, let's get digging.
You can see, it's dry up here.
- Yep.
- And down here, it's wet.
That extra moisture's gonna
give us more conductivity.
A grounding system,
likely using copper pipes,
was a critical component
of Tesla's experiments
with wireless energy.
What do you got going on?
The connections look good.
I mean, these look pretty solid.
I think once this is
all covered in dirt,
connected to the
rest of the system,
we have a pretty high
likelihood of success.
Everything's good right now.
You know, we had our
problems with our capacitors,
but that's dealt with.
- Absolutely.
- We blew up the coil.
That's fixed.
We've got us a good ground,
transmitting that energy
back into the bottom
of the Tesla coil.
So, we've got the
ground in place,
we've got our insulator ready.
We're finally ready
for another test
of our small-scale
death ray prototype.
If this works, the energy
from our capacitor bank
is gonna build that charge up
until all of the energy
is discharged through
that Tesla coil
in a split second.
And we are going to see
what amounts to a lightning bolt
come off the top
and hit the target rod.
If everything goes as planned,
then we are going to be able
to scale up to the
full-sized death ray
and take a shot at that
1.5 gigawatts of power
Tesla was talking about.
But none of that matters
unless we have a successful test
right now.
We've done everything we can.
Let's hope this works.
Five... four...
Three... two... one...
Wow! Holy!
We did it.
That did exactly what
it was supposed to.
Yeah, I couldn't be
happier with those results.
You know, the capacitor
bank didn't blow up,
the Tesla coil didn't blow up,
the capacitor bank didn't
blow the Tesla coil up,
and everything worked
the way it was supposed to.
The discharge, man,
that's really cool.
- It is.
- Very bright.
That looks like
something that would be called
a death ray, you know?
- Yeah.
It's like a little piece of
lightning almost, you know?
Something very
deathly and very ray-like.
Yep.
Now is the hard part.
We've got to see
if we can scale this
and build a giant death ray.
Yeah, Tesla was crazy.
And we might be, too.
Aron's successful test
means Tesla's death ray works,
but if the motive for
his murder is real,
then the question remains,
who killed Nikola Tesla?
We didn't
come all the way to Serbia
just to spin our wheels.
There are around
38,000 documents.
That came from New
York? Came from New York.
If documents were found,
then we are in business.
Don't have to make the story
more complicated than it is.
Now that we know this
works, we can move on
to something a little bigger.
If something fails,
it's gonna be a
really bad failure.
Those documents... That
would change the world.
Absolutely.
I think that you stay here.
Is that
the death ray or...?
That's definitely a death ray.
Have these documents
ever been published?
No.
Wow.
That makes the death ray real.
inventor in American history.
A/c power, electric motors,
fluorescent lights, x-rays.
Wireless energy.
Tesla paved the way for
all of these technologies.
Tesla was taking
several of his inventions
and putting them together
to become this super weapon.
He called it a "death ray."
Did Tesla invent the
world's first weapon
of mass destruction?
And was he murdered for it?
Now, a
military investigator,
a historian, and an engineer
unlock the mysteries
behind what could be
the greatest cover-up
of the 20th century.
We're gonna
build Tesla's death ray.
It's dangerous.
- Ready?
- We're ready.
Two, one.
Aw, what the
Recently, I've been going
over newly declassified FBI documents
that could re-write
American history.
This says, when Tesla died,
that his safe was forced open.
Could any of the documents
that were stolen from the safe
be related to the death ray?
If Tesla's weapon was
real, then we could have
a possible motive to
assassinate Nikola Tesla.
You really have to
go to wardenclyffe.
What's there for us to look at?
What is under the
ground might be of interest.
There are rumors
of tunnels at wardenclyffe.
The site
of Tesla's old lab.
We have to find
out what's buried there.
- Yo, we hit something.
- What is that?
- Oh, wow.
- Dude, we got something.
watch your back.
Jack and
Cameron are investigating
the most infamous
laboratory of the 20th century...
Wardenclyffe.
Nikola Tesla built this
lab as part of a plan
to wirelessly transmit
energy around the globe.
But many believe
he used it to work on
some of his most
dangerous inventions.
For decades, rumors persist
that the complex is riddled
with a network of tunnels.
Extensive testing may
have just proven this true.
Tesla was
famously secretive.
He was known to write
some notes in code.
He kept some
information locked away.
So, it stands to reason
that, whatever is buried
beneath wardenclyffe
could contain information
about the designs
of Tesla's death ray,
or even the circumstances
around his mysterious death.
Hey, what's that?
There's something
hard there, man.
- Yeah.
- Sure isn't a brick.
It's a rock.
Ah, a big rock.
Well, we need to go deeper.
Yeah, we're gonna
have to go deeper.
Maybe another five, six feet.
Digging
to these depths,
especially in the Sandy
earth beneath wardenclyffe,
requires shoring... large,
metal boxes that keep the walls
from caving in and
crushing any workers inside.
Tesla was a
very deliberate man.
Everything he did,
he did it for a reason.
So, the fact that the
tunnels are buried so deep
must mean something.
We have to keep digging
to find out what that is.
The ground-penetrating
radar shows anomalies
starting at 6 feet.
A couple more scoops, and
then, we're going down there.
15 feet deep.
That's it, guys.
That's as much
as we can get out.
Do some digging
down there by hand,
but that's about it
with the machine.
We've gotten so
deep that the excavator bucket
can't reach any deeper.
So, now, Cameron and I have
to go in there and dig by hand.
You're at your
maximum depth,
and anything after this
is just way too dangerous.
Go down a little bit, and then,
I think that's where
we're gonna have to call it.
Get in there.
I know it's down there, man.
I know it is.
- You're a true believer, cam.
We need to dig
as much as we can.
You know, I thought
this was gonna be easier,
but nothing about
Tesla surprises me.
The lengths he would go to
protect his work are astounding.
Hey, can I get a
light over here?
Yeah.
- Yeah, shine them down.
It's caving in faster
than I can dig.
Yeah.
- Hey.
- You got something?
I got something.
What the is that?
Do you think that's
the roof of a tunnel?
I sure hope it is.
Oh, it's red.
I hope it's a brick.
What's that?
Another big rock.
Biggest one we found.
Was not a brick.
Son of a bitch.
Hey, sal, how far are we down?
You guys are about
19 feet below grades
with the bottom of your shovels.
Dude, we can't
hardly do.
This stuff's falling
in as fast as we dig it.
Can we reposition the
ladder so we can get out?
Yep.
While the
ground-penetrating radar
points to tunnels in this spot,
the equipment and
permits for this dig
prevent the team
from going any deeper.
Sal, there's got to be
something we can do here.
I feel like we're so close to
what we need to find down there.
Well, right now,
the machine's at maximum depth.
We can't dig any lower
than we are right now,
because then, it could
cause the boxes to shift.
It's too dangerous to go any
further than you are right now.
Jack and Cameron travel back
to Texas to regroup with Aron,
who's been attempting
to build Tesla's death ray.
They hoped the
wardenclyffe tunnels
might hold the key to
the weapon's design.
We weren't
able to dig deep enough
to access the tunnels
at wardenclyffe,
but we know they're there.
When you take that fact,
coupled with the blueprints
and from talking
to the local people,
it shows us that this lab
was far more complex
than we had
previously understood.
Maybe the design and the
layout of Tesla's labs provide clues
as to how his
death ray functioned.
So, we need to take a look
at some of the other sites
where Tesla was developing the
wireless transmission of energy.
Wireless energy... Tesla's
concept of sending power
through the air for free...
Would eliminate the
need for power lines
and change the world.
A multi-billion-dollar idea,
this concept
remains the holy grail
for the tech industry today.
We have to go somewhere
else if we're gonna find anything
that can help Aron
build the death ray.
We really could
use some more data,
because it's not an
easy thing to do this.
And I'm not entirely sure we're
going to be successful with this
if we don't get something to
point us in the right direction.
If we go and
start looking elsewhere,
and broaden our
horizons a little bit,
there's this other
FBI document here
that talks about some successful
experiments at pikes peak.
That's Colorado Springs.
Tesla went there in 1899 and
built an experimental station
where he did some of his most
impressive and successful tests.
So, wait, before he
was at wardenclyffe,
he was in Colorado Springs?
Yep.
In 1899, hoping to
pursue his work on the death ray
and the transmission
of wireless energy,
Tesla leaves the east coast
and relocates to Colorado Springs.
He is drawn to this area
by the offer of free electricity
from the local utility company,
and by the frequency
of lightning storms
in the region...
A phenomenon he hopes
to study and recreate.
This article talks about
when Tesla was there
in Colorado Springs,
and the interesting
point is this headline.
"Wizard of electricity had
instruments which could kill."
Kill 30,000 people?
In an instant.
What does that sound like, Jack?
It sounds like a death ray.
Exactly.
So, this proves that, people
that were observing this,
they were comparing what
Tesla was doing to a weapon.
He was energizing
the whole earth.
You could reach
out to a water faucet
and a spark would
jump your finger.
It's crazy.
So, it sounds like
Tesla was developing
the same source of
technology at wardenclyffe
that he was developing
at Colorado Springs.
They were both created for
wireless power transmission.
So, there could possibly be
something in Colorado Springs
that could help Aron with
his build of the death ray.
Yeah. You know,
anything you can find
is really gonna help
me, at this point.
You know, documents,
drawings or, you know, even data
about what's under that ground,
you know, what
that area looks like.
Maybe why Tesla
chose the designs he did.
This might be the next
trail that we have to follow.
Yeah. The problem is, we've
got to find where the lab was.
Really?
When Tesla left there,
he ran up some debts,
and eventually, the
lab was foreclosed on,
and it was sold and dismantled.
Just like wardenclyffe.
So, at that point, a
neighborhood was built.
There was really nothing left
there that belonged to Tesla.
Yeah. You know, it
really is a real loss.
I guess, at the time,
people didn't realize
the significance of the
research he did there.
No. Not at all.
The lab is somewhere
in Colorado Springs.
We've got to go there,
get boots on the ground,
actually walk the terrain,
and figure out the
exact location of the lab.
Tesla never documented
tunnels at Colorado Springs,
but that doesn't mean
he didn't dig there.
I think we need to see
what's underground.
Yeah. That's critical right now.
That ground is really important.
I mean, we can take a look and
maybe it'll give you some idea
of how his lab was constructed
and how his
experiments were run.
Sounds great to me.
Yeah. Let's go to
Colorado Springs.
So, you think he
conceived of the death ray
here in Colorado Springs?
- Yes.
- And what do we have here?
Oh, Jack, look at that.
Holy
Colorado Springs,
the home of Tesla's
lost experimental lab.
Locating this lab
might mean finding
some of Tesla's
missing research,
which could confirm the
existence of the death ray
and provide a
motive for his murder.
When Tesla was
here, some people looked at him
like a star, a genius.
Some people thought
he was a wizard.
Some people were scared of him.
There were reports of people
walking around downtown,
watching horses walk by,
and sparks were flying from
the ground of the horseshoes.
Because Tesla was
forcing so much electricity
into the ground, he burned
out the town's generator,
made a total
blackout of the city.
I have the receipt that
shows where Tesla paid
to have this
alternator repaired.
Tesla's time in Colorado
Springs is shrouded in mystery.
Eyewitnesses report bolts of
lightning around 130 feet long
shooting from the
tower at his lab,
and thunder cracks are heard
for miles in every direction.
While here, Tesla receives
unexplained signals in his lab.
He is convinced the
messages originated on Mars.
Locals wonder whether Tesla is
a genius trying to power the world,
or a mad man hell-bent
on destroying it.
I'm dying to know
if this death ray is real or not.
There are bits and pieces,
but there never seems to be
enough to complete
the whole puzzle.
That's downtown, of course,
but more importantly
is the white dome.
That's memorial park. So,
Tesla's lab is somewhere...
- In that area.
- Closer to that area
than it is downtown.
Okay. Where do we even
begin to look right now?
There's a guy, John mcginnis,
he's a Tesla historian here.
And if anybody knows about
Tesla in Colorado Springs,
it's this guy.
All right, yeah.
I can start there.
I'm gonna go to the library.
Maybe a reporter
documented the location.
We're gonna find this lab.
All right, y'all.
Let's get it over to the table,
see what's going
on with this thing.
All right.
Back in Texas, Aron and
his team are building a smaller version
of Tesla's death ray.
If the weapon works,
there could've been a motive
to murder Nikola Tesla.
You want to bring
that forklift in here?
But their early attempts
are unsuccessful.
-Three, two, one.
- Oh, wow.
- What the was that?
We had too much
voltage too fast.
Now, the
team has to determine
why the power is
overwhelming the prototype.
- Oh, man.
- Smell good in there?
It's... It smelled charred.
Any engineer will tell
you, when an experiment fails,
it's an opportunity
to learn why.
- Oh, wow.
- How would that even happen?
Oh, we blew this the up.
I think everybody's tripped a
breaker in a house at some point.
You're in the
bathroom, you know,
you've got a heater
plugged in because it's cold.
You've got the hair dryer
plugged in over here, you know.
And then, the kid goes
and turns on the microwave,
and all the lights go out.
That's exactly what
happened here.
We pushed it, we pushed it,
we pushed it, everything was fine.
Then, we pushed a little bit
too far, and blew everything up.
If this happened with
the full-sized death ray,
it would blow
the whole coil off.
There wouldn't be anything left.
It would all be charcoal.
- Yep.
- Yep.
As opposed to little
areas of charcoal.
Well, I mean, this is
why we test it, right?
Had we been testing this at
even twice the amount of energy
we had, we would've
lost everything here.
Yeah. It would've
been a total rebuild.
Well, no wonder, you know,
we're having issues
and stuff like this.
It's never been done before.
Every time we run into
a roadblock like this,
it makes you wonder
if there's something
out there you're missing.
You know, Tesla,
he was brilliant,
but he was a strange man.
There could be a lot
more documentation.
There could be a lot more
out there we just didn't find.
You know, it looks
like we're gonna have to
make something for this.
For now, I think we
build an insulator,
we put it on top of this,
and then we test it again
and see what we get out of it.
Okay, so, we're gonna
put a big piece of plastic
in between this to
keep it separated?
- Yep. That's the idea.
- So, just a big insulator. - Yeah.
Tesla didn't specify
an insulator there,
but Tesla didn't specify a
lot of things in the design.
So, you know, trial and error.
Yeah.
I've been studying
Tesla since I was 11 years old.
If there's anything
written about him...
Whether it's in a book
or on the Internet...
I probably already
know about it.
But the vault
here in the library
at Colorado Springs
contains documents
and maps and articles
from newspapers
when Tesla was here.
That's probably
gonna have information
that has never been seen before.
If there are secrets
left to uncover
about Tesla's lab
in Colorado Springs,
this is the place to start.
When you work
a cold-case investigation,
you have to follow
up on every lead,
and this is especially
true in this mystery,
which is 100 years old.
Jack is meeting
with John mcginnis,
a local Tesla expert
who knows every detail
about the elusive inventor's
time in Colorado Springs.
I'm here in Colorado
because we had heard
that Tesla had a lab here.
He did, and as a matter of
fact, most of his early giant works
were done here in
Colorado Springs.
When he constructed
his lab here,
he did his first work
with the wireless
transmission of electricity.
And I know you've seen
that picture, I believe,
of Tesla sitting amongst
these lightning discharges.
- Yep.
- That was inside his laboratory,
so his laboratory
was pretty spacious.
But were any of
these experiments
related to the death ray?
Is that really a thing?
Yes, it is.
You would need enormous
amounts of power.
The laboratory provided that.
With the Tesla coils inside,
the amounts of voltage
go into the millions,
and this is what you need if
you're gonna do something.
So, you think he
conceived of the death ray
here in Colorado Springs?
Yes.
If what John
is telling us is true,
it's even more important now
that we find the location
of the Colorado Springs lab.
We might find clues
there that unlock
the mystery of the death ray.
This picture here
depicts his laboratory.
And what's important
here, for determining
the location of the
lab is in the photo.
You can see the
printers retirement home.
- Printers retirement home?
- Yeah.
That huge mansion right there?
- Right.
- Yeah.
Is the printers
home still there?
The union printers
home is still there.
Oh, wow. So, that's a
hard reference point.
Yeah. And from that, if
you do a little mathematics,
you can come pretty
close to identifying
where the lab may be.
It's the only clue we
have to determine
exactly where
the laboratory sat.
Wow.
If you find it, let me know.
Because, in my opinion,
the death ray was
a causative factor
in his demise.
I knew that foul
play was a possibility
because I read it in
the FBI documents.
But no one's ever
actually told me this before.
There was motivation that
wanted him out of the picture.
He had the death ray,
and I'm sure there's something
there that should be uncovered.
At this point, we don't
have enough information
to follow up on whether
or not Tesla was murdered.
But the information we
have about his lab is real,
and it's something we
can follow up on right now.
What's up, cam?
- Hey, Jack.
What you got?
I talked to Mr. Mcginnis.
He had some very
interesting things to say
about Tesla and the lab
here in Colorado Springs.
He laid a couple pictures on me.
I think this one is the
most interesting, though.
This shows the lab in 1899.
The building, of course, was
taken down after Tesla left,
so the lab is no
longer in existence.
However, this picture shows,
in the background, right here,
that is the union printers home.
That building is still
standing to this day.
This is the best
photographic evidence
that I know of that
kind of gives us an idea
of where the lab actually was.
- Yep.
I got some really good articles.
This article here says,
"highest point of the
land in that vicinity
and is on a direct line
east from pikes peak."
So, the articles, you know,
they're gonna get us close.
If you combine that
with this photograph,
we should be able to
figure out where the lab was.
Jack and Cameron
are in Colorado Springs
searching for the location
of Tesla's lost laboratory.
It was somewhere here that
Tesla started work on his designs
for wireless energy
transmission,
which could have
formed the backbone
for his death-ray plans.
Yeah. And you know,
that totally matches our photo.
The building hasn't
changed in what...
It's exactly the same.
You know, 100 years.
So, uh, let's find
Tesla's lab, man.
I'm gonna rely on
you for this stuff.
As a former
member of U.S. special forces,
this is one of those
unique moments
that I live for, where I
can offer some perspective
that others just don't have.
I've tracked targets
all over the world.
So, using skills
like map resections
and land navigation is
just second nature to me.
All right, we're
located right here.
Well, there's the
northwest corner
of the building right there.
Yep. Look at that.
That's what you're
seeing in the photograph.
We know that we have to
head in a Northwestern direction,
so it takes us somewhere
right along here.
Here is the 99th parallel
coming off pikes peak.
So, that matches our article.
So, the next question is,
where do these two lines
intersect with one another?
Well, let me give
you another clue here.
In this other article I found,
apparently, this is from a
police chief or something,
and he's saying Tesla
had enclosed a tower
at the end of a barn
or building north
of pikes peak Avenue and
east of hancock Avenue,
at the highest point.
So we have a series
of different data points
that are taking us
to the same location.
So "x" marks the spot.
That's it.
All right, so let's
walk that line,
look for the highest
point, and, you know,
that has to be
the exact location
of Tesla's lab.
It's definitely
in the ball park.
Pikes peak and union boulevard.
All right, so we
need to go that way.
We need to go
through this building.
Yeah, well, these
are city blocks now,
so we're gonna have to go
around some of these obstacles.
In 1899,
the infrastructure
here was very limited.
Back then, there
were a few streets
and a rudimentary water system
that was connecting a few
of the buildings around here,
but that's about it.
As this neighborhood went up,
the location of the
lab was lost to history.
Well, well, well. What
do we have here?
Oh, Jack, look at that.
You know, we got
a high spot there,
and you got pikes peak here.
I mean, this is it. We
got a pretty good match.
I think at this point,
if we want to pin down
the exact location
of where the lab is,
we should call in some
experts who can come out here
and do a better job than I can
do with a map and a compass.
Aron's team
designs an insulator
for the death ray prototype,
to protect against
another explosion.
Oh, we blew this the up.
The insulator will fit between
the base of the Tesla
coil and the secondary...
The tube that makes sure
the 20,000 volts
traveling through the system
moves successfully from the base
to the weaponized
portion of the coil.
In the previous attempt,
the energy escaped
through this joint,
causing the explosion.
We've got a couple
notches in here.
So, instead of the power
going straight across the surface,
it's gonna have to go
down, over, up, over,
down, over, up, over.
If this works for our prototype,
then we should be
able to scale it up
and use it on the
final death ray.
The energy
in this insulator...
It's like a runner
running along a track.
It's very easy for a runner
to run along a straight track.
They'll get from point "a"
to point "b" no problem,
but you put a bunch
of hurdles in there,
we turn it into an
obstacle course,
then the runner might not
make it to the other end.
If we design this
insulator the right way,
the energy will never be able
to find a path to the other side,
because there's too
many obstacles in the way.
All right, guys,
this looks good.
Let's get the secondary in here.
If this does work,
we've definitely got
the ground work
for something big.
We might be able
to scale this up,
all the way up to the
sizes Tesla talked about.
- Hey, I'm Cameron.
- Tyler. Nice to meet you.
- And I'm Jack.
- Hey, Jack.
- How's it going?
- Good, man.
My skill set got us this far,
but we're gonna have to bring in
somebody who has
the skills and the tools
that Cameron and I don't have
in order to pinpoint the
exact location of the lab.
We think Tesla's lab is
somewhere in that vicinity,
but we need to
find the high ground.
Sure thing.
We can launch my drone,
take some still images,
get a topographical
map out of it.
We'll be able to
find the high points
that you're looking for,
and you can pinpoint
your elevated point.
- Awesome.
- All right, man.
This drone is equipped
with some very sophisticated
and precise mapping technology.
Once the drone scans the area,
it'll identify the highest
point of elevation
down a tenth of an inch.
According to one of the articles
that Cameron
found in the library,
this is exactly where we're
supposed to find the lab.
It's gonna make a right around
here and come back that way.
We got 70 images so far.
Should end up
with about 590 or so
when it's done. Nice.
You know, it's ironic... We're
using Tesla's technology.
I mean, this would
not be possible
without what he gave
mankind... Remote control.
New York City, 1898...
Tesla stuns crowds in
Madison square garden
by presenting the first
remote-controlled boat.
The innovation is
so ahead of its time,
many perceive it as magic.
Tesla predicts this technology
will soon be used to
create guided weapons,
like torpedos.
What he does not predict
is the extent to which
the new remote
control technology
will drive human exploration,
from rovers on Mars
to the voyagerprobe far
beyond our solar system.
He was thinking
about it a long time ago.
Yep, and we're using his
technology to find his lab.
All right, so what
are we looking at?
This is a 3D
model of the area.
So, this is showing
terrain elevations.
Correct. We got pike
peaks ave. Up over here.
Okay.
North foote right there.
Right. That's kiowa.
Got it. If we pan
down a little bit,
you see you definitely
got a high spot over here,
across north foote and
east kiowa right there.
Yeah, it matches all the
other information we got.
I mean, I think this is it, man.
We got it.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Let's go check it out.
I hope
we're gonna be able
to search every
inch of this property.
This could be the key to many
of the answers that we need.
Tesla always
had this determination.
And we're the same way.
I want to wring every
bit of information
we possibly can
out of this property.
If he dropped a
nickel, I want to find it.
You guys can come
back this way, if you want.
Thank you so
much for letting us do this.
So, tell us a little
bit about the history.
How long have you had the house?
I purchased the house
in September, 2013.
Okay, so...
Did you know that Tesla
had a laboratory
on your property?
When I purchased it,
they had mentioned that
there might be
some Tesla history.
Have you heard
any stories about,
like, anything underground
in this neighborhood?
Not to my knowledge, no.
What's that?
That's a well.
When I bought the property,
they told me it didn't work,
and I just was so worried
that my son would
fall down in there
that I covered it
up with the rocks.
I don't know, maybe we can
find something down there.
Who knows?
Could we look down there?
Sure.
I'm interested to see, too.
There we go.
Got it?
Holy
Jack and
Cameron pinpoint the location
of Tesla's lost lab
in Colorado Springs.
Although the lab is long gone,
an old well on the property
could hold clues to what
exactly Tesla was doing here.
There we go.
Holy.
We got to get down there, Jack.
What do we got there?
It's like there's a subfloor.
It's very interesting that
it's right in the middle
of where Tesla had his lab.
Yeah, do you think it's possible
that we could find something
if we were to dig deeper here?
I think it's worth a try.
The subterranean
room is really just an entranceway
to give you access to the well.
But the well itself
runs much deeper,
and we need to see
what's down there.
Any clues we can unearth here
might help us understand how
the death ray was constructed.
What do we
know about this well?
Not much.
We were hoping
you could tell us.
You guys looking to buy
the house or something?
Cameron might, depending
on what you find down there.
Yeah? You know, let's
have a look in there.
Have a look at the well casing.
That'll give us an idea.
Okay.
That well casing
does look pretty old.
This is a very thin, metal
casing used a long time ago.
Is there any way,
maybe, we can see what's
inside the well itself?
We have a camera
that will actually
fit in that well.
We can actually see
all the way to the bottom.
Yeah? Right on.
Okay,
everything's stable and set up.
I think we're ready to go.
We're right at the
top of the water now.
It looks pretty clear, too.
Come on and have a look.
That's looking down, and
that's looking sideways.
Okay.
These almost look
like perforations here.
Is that normal?
It would be if the
water was up here,
but at one time,
it may have been.
That actually
could just be holes
in the side of the
well casing from age.
This metal isn't
very thick at all.
It's right about 1/8 inch thick.
So, it's not very heavy,
and that's what leads us
to believe that
this well is very old.
- Whoa. We stopped.
- We stopped.
Yeah, we hit something at 279.
- What's that?
- I don't...
Just some sort of
protrusion in the well casing.
I'd say that's about as far
as this camera's gonna go.
I mean, does this look
like man-made or...?
It looks like it's metal.
It's orange, it's rusty,
just like the rest of
our steel casings.
So, that's not a brown
rock. We've seen rocks.
That's not a brown
rock. That's rust.
That's some sort of metal.
What metal would be
down there at 279 foot?
It's hard to say.
I'll leave the
speculation to you.
This metal at
the bottom of the well
may indicate that there's
something else here...
Something man-made.
It's suspicious enough
that we need to look into it.
Just like at wardenclyffe,
we have a team of experts
with technology
that they can use
to determine if there's anything
buried underground here.
These tests could
reveal buried structures,
tunnels, or infrastructure
similar to wardenclyffe.
The first
test is resistivity,
which gives us a broad picture
of what's going on beneath
the surface of this property.
Resistivity testing
works by passing
electrical current
through electrodes in the ground
and then measuring how
fast or slow the electricity
passes through the soil
between the electrodes.
Slower current means the
ground is more resistant,
made up of dense earth.
Faster current means
the ground is less resistant,
containing conductive
metals or even empty tunnels.
Everything's good,
and now we're gonna
start acquiring data.
Let's take a look and
see what we've got.
These red objects here...
Those are the trees
and the bushes,
the root systems on those.
If we were to find a tunnel,
it would look like a
linear object, like a pipe.
It would be much
deeper than these.
These are very
close to the surface.
- So, no tunnel?
- No. Unfortunately not.
It looks as if there
aren't any tunnels here,
bases on the
resistivity testing,
but we're not done yet.
Another method we
have is the t.D.E.M.,
which is basically
like a metal detector.
Electromagnetic testing
could uncover remnants
of the foundation
of Tesla's lab,
electrical cables underground,
components of the
grounding system.
Whatever is down there,
we're gonna keep looking for it.
Are we at the
end of the line here?
I mean, if this
test strikes out,
are we pretty much done?
Yes.
So, looking
at the data here,
the blues are areas
where it's less conductive.
The darker reds
are more conductive,
so that could be a pipeline.
So this
long thing here...
That may be like a sewer
pipe or a water main?
Yes.
At wardenclyffe,
the team discovered
a grounding system
that was critical
to Tesla's design.
Here we have some of the
drawings from wardenclyffe.
Ah! Look at that.
Copper ground put
in lateral tunnels.
And it looks like that
connects to another pipe
in the yard there.
When Tesla got here in
1899, there wasn't much here,
but there was a
rudimentary water system,
probably made up of copper pipes
that some people say
he used to ground his lab.
It seems, with this data,
that this theory is confirmed.
Tesla's death ray
is a weaponized execution
of his obsession
with wireless energy.
The energy travels from
the air, to the ground,
and back to the base of
the weapon through the soil.
Copper pipes, like the ones
likely used in the water main
in Colorado Springs,
are needed to keep the device
from overloading or exploding.
Wherever he was,
Tesla used what was there
or he made it what he
needed for his experiments.
He was enough of a
genius that he figured out
how to plug into what existed
and to get the results
that he needed.
Here, it was a water
pipe. It was a water main.
This water main was
metal. It went for miles.
That gave him what he
needed to give it that ground.
Now, at wardenclyffe,
he didn't have that luxury,
so he dug that huge hole,
and he drove those
rods in the ground
to give him that
same grip there.
So, he learned from
this experience here,
at Colorado Springs,
and that informed what
he did at wardenclyffe.
Absolutely, without a doubt.
It's about getting the
most conductive metal
into the earth
that makes that connection.
So, this is what
Aron needs to know.
We need to give him a call.
Colorado Springs provided
us with a clue that might help us
crack open the
design of the death ray.
We understand now
that Tesla grounded
all of his systems with
metal underground,
and that's a huge piece
of information for us.
But when it comes
to Tesla's death,
there's got to be more
evidence out there somewhere.
To make the death ray work,
we wanted 1.5
gigawatts of power.
And to generate 1.5 gigawatts,
he would need an
enormous power source.
Tesla's first large-scale
power-generation experiment
was Niagara Falls.
Tesla's power
plant at Niagara Falls
is a hydroelectric dam,
which operates by harnessing
the power of falling water
to spin turbines and
generate electricity.
Tesla was looking for
ways to create power
so he could transfer it
wirelessly across the globe.
This power
plant was capable
of generating enough power
to power nearly 2 million homes,
which is astounding.
It's amazing when
you think about it,
but power plants of this scale,
they were just a means
to an end for Tesla.
This was a byproduct
of his experiments.
He needed these to
power the other things.
Even so, these things were
another Tesla contribution
that changed the world forever.
Back in Texas,
Jack and Cameron's discovery
of a grounding system
in Colorado Springs
has a major impact on
Aron's death ray build.
If Aron can demonstrate
that the death ray was viable,
this could prove that there was
motive to murder Nikola Tesla.
What's up, guys?
Looks like we've
got some good data.
Matter of fact, the
data's really clear.
Tesla was very pragmatic.
He put a bigger
ground structure in it
until he got what he wanted.
So, that's what we're
gonna try and do.
If we can create a
grounding system
that is as successful
as the ones Tesla used
at wardenclyffe and
Colorado Springs,
then we might have a
shot at a successful test.
We need to get as much
metal as we can into the ground.
Once we do that and we
hook it up to our prototype,
hopefully, we'll have
done everything we can
to prevent any more explosions.
I want to dig a hole out back,
I want to fill it with copper,
I want to connect it to the coil
and I want to
use it for our test.
This grounding
structure is gonna give us
a really good return
point for all of the current
that's coming
from our prototype.
That current... it's got to
flow from the capacitor bank,
through the Tesla
coil, into the target,
and then, from that
target, into the ground,
back to the bottom
of the system.
This accomplishes
what we need, I think.
The more surface area you
got in contact with the dirt,
the better it's gonna work,
and this is a really simple
way to do what we need it to do.
Great. Well, let's get digging.
You can see, it's dry up here.
- Yep.
- And down here, it's wet.
That extra moisture's gonna
give us more conductivity.
A grounding system,
likely using copper pipes,
was a critical component
of Tesla's experiments
with wireless energy.
What do you got going on?
The connections look good.
I mean, these look pretty solid.
I think once this is
all covered in dirt,
connected to the
rest of the system,
we have a pretty high
likelihood of success.
Everything's good right now.
You know, we had our
problems with our capacitors,
but that's dealt with.
- Absolutely.
- We blew up the coil.
That's fixed.
We've got us a good ground,
transmitting that energy
back into the bottom
of the Tesla coil.
So, we've got the
ground in place,
we've got our insulator ready.
We're finally ready
for another test
of our small-scale
death ray prototype.
If this works, the energy
from our capacitor bank
is gonna build that charge up
until all of the energy
is discharged through
that Tesla coil
in a split second.
And we are going to see
what amounts to a lightning bolt
come off the top
and hit the target rod.
If everything goes as planned,
then we are going to be able
to scale up to the
full-sized death ray
and take a shot at that
1.5 gigawatts of power
Tesla was talking about.
But none of that matters
unless we have a successful test
right now.
We've done everything we can.
Let's hope this works.
Five... four...
Three... two... one...
Wow! Holy!
We did it.
That did exactly what
it was supposed to.
Yeah, I couldn't be
happier with those results.
You know, the capacitor
bank didn't blow up,
the Tesla coil didn't blow up,
the capacitor bank didn't
blow the Tesla coil up,
and everything worked
the way it was supposed to.
The discharge, man,
that's really cool.
- It is.
- Very bright.
That looks like
something that would be called
a death ray, you know?
- Yeah.
It's like a little piece of
lightning almost, you know?
Something very
deathly and very ray-like.
Yep.
Now is the hard part.
We've got to see
if we can scale this
and build a giant death ray.
Yeah, Tesla was crazy.
And we might be, too.
Aron's successful test
means Tesla's death ray works,
but if the motive for
his murder is real,
then the question remains,
who killed Nikola Tesla?
We didn't
come all the way to Serbia
just to spin our wheels.
There are around
38,000 documents.
That came from New
York? Came from New York.
If documents were found,
then we are in business.
Don't have to make the story
more complicated than it is.
Now that we know this
works, we can move on
to something a little bigger.
If something fails,
it's gonna be a
really bad failure.
Those documents... That
would change the world.
Absolutely.
I think that you stay here.
Is that
the death ray or...?
That's definitely a death ray.
Have these documents
ever been published?
No.
Wow.
That makes the death ray real.