--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can now state that I have succeeded in…" description: "\"I can now state that I have succeeded in operating a motive device by means of [cosmic rays]. I will tell you in the most general way, the cosmic ray i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/nikola-tesla-1383_air_i-can-now-state-that-i-have-succeeded-in_1652880.jpg" --- # I can now state that I have succeeded in operating a… ![“I can now state that I have succeeded in operating a motive device by means of [cosmic rays]. I will tell you in the most general way, the cosmic ray ionizes the air, setting free many charges - ions and electrons. These charges are captured in a condenser which is made to discharge through the…” quote by Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/nikola-tesla-1383_air_i-can-now-state-that-i-have-succeeded-in_1652880.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/nikola-tesla-1383_air_i-can-now-state-that-i-have-succeeded-in_1652880.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/nikola-tesla-1383_air_i-can-now-state-that-i-have-succeeded-in_1652880.jpg) > “I can now state that I have succeeded in operating a motive device by means of \[cosmic rays\]. I will tell you in the most general way, the cosmic ray ionizes the air, setting free many charges - ions and electrons. These charges are captured in a condenser which is made to discharge through the circuit of the motor.” [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tesla describes using cosmic rays to ionize air, creating charge that powers a motor via a condenser discharge. **In simple terms:** Cosmic rays can generate electricity by ionizing air. Key Takeaway Explore ionizing radiation for power generation. Themes science innovation energy physics experimentation Mood curious inquisitive Type technical historical When to use this quote - laboratory research - early 20th century physics - experimental setups - energy harvesting Key Concepts electricity generation ionization condensed charge motor operation Questions to Reflect On - How can ionizing radiation be safely harnessed? - What modern technologies could replicate this effect? A Different Perspective Reliability and safety of cosmic ray based power are uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circuits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circuits/) [Cosmic rays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmic-rays/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) ## Related quotes > [I have harnessed the cosmic rays and caused them to operate a motive device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/i-have-harnessed-the-cosmic-rays-and-caused-them-to-operate-a-motive/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [At the moment, it actually says nothing about a possible cosmic-ray effect on clouds and climate, but it's a very important first step.” This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dieter-heuer/at-the-moment-it-actually-says-nothing-about-a-possible-cosmic-ray/) [Rolf-Dieter Heuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dieter-heuer/) > [During the last 100 years cosmic rays became scarcer because unusually vigorous action by the Sun batted away many of them. Fewer cosmic rays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-svensmark/during-the-last-100-years-cosmic-rays-became-scarcer-because/) Henrik Svensmark > [In order to make further progress, particularly in the field of cosmic rays, it will be necessary to apply all our resources and apparatus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-francis-hess/in-order-to-make-further-progress-particularly-in-the-field-of-cosmic/) [Victor Francis Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-francis-hess/) > [At two-tenths the speed of light, dust and atoms might not do significant damage even in a voyage of 40 years, but the faster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/at-two-tenths-the-speed-of-light-dust-and-atoms-might-not-do/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Sunspots and cosmic rays have a 79 percent correlation with our thermometer record since 1860. Meanwhile the CO2 correlation is a mere 22 percent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-t-avery/sunspots-and-cosmic-rays-have-a-79-percent-correlation-with-our/) Dennis T. Avery > [It didn't take a trauma to make you wear a mask. It didn't take your parents getting shot...or cosmic rays or a power ring...Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/it-didn-t-take-a-trauma-to-make-you-wear-a-mask-it-didn-t-take-your/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [On what can we now place our hopes of solving the many riddles which still exist as to the origin and composition of cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-francis-hess/on-what-can-we-now-place-our-hopes-of-solving-the-many-riddles-which/) [Victor Francis Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-francis-hess/) > [It may well be said that the answer to the question: Of what do the cosmic rays in fact consist before they produce their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-francis-hess/it-may-well-be-said-that-the-answer-to-the-question-of-what-do-the/) [Victor Francis Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-francis-hess/) > [A feeling that was possibly generated by experiences in my previous work on cosmic rays; more likely it was inborn and was the reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-rossi/a-feeling-that-was-possibly-generated-by-experiences-in-my-previous/) Bruno Rossi > [Physics is the science of all the tremendously powerful invisibilities - of magnetism, electricity, gravity, light, sound, cosmic rays. Physics is the science of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/physics-is-the-science-of-all-the-tremendously-powerful/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [Om is the mysterious cosmic energy that is the substratum of all the things and all the being of the entire universe. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/om-is-the-mysterious-cosmic-energy-that-is-the-substratum-of-all-the/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [The investigation into the possible effects of cosmic rays on living organisms will also offer great interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-francis-hess/the-investigation-into-the-possible-effects-of-cosmic-rays-on-living/) [Victor Francis Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-francis-hess/) > [On what can we now place our hopes of solving the many riddles which still exist as to the origin and composition of cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-francis-hess/on-what-can-we-now-place-our-hopes-of-solving-the-many-riddles-which-2/) [Victor Francis Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-francis-hess/) > [It seems to be a natural consequence of our points of view to assume that the whole of space is filled with electrons and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-birkeland/it-seems-to-be-a-natural-consequence-of-our-points-of-view-to-assume/) Kristian Birkeland ## More by Nikola Tesla > [From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/from-childhood-i-was-compelled-to-concentrate-attention-upon-myself/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [In a time not distant, it will be possible to flash any image formed in thought on a screen and render it visible at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/in-a-time-not-distant-it-will-be-possible-to-flash-any-image-formed/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Women will ignore precedent and startle civilization with their progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/women-will-ignore-precedent-and-startle-civilization-with-their/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Great moments are born great opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/great-moments-are-born-great-opportunity/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Man, like the universe, is a machine. Nothing enters our minds or determines our actions which is not directly or indirectly a response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/man-like-the-universe-is-a-machine-nothing-enters-our-minds-or/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/the-day-science-begins-to-study-non-physical-phenomena-it-will-make/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [All knowledge or form conception is evoked through the medium of the eye, either in response to disturbances directly received on the retina or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/all-knowledge-or-form-conception-is-evoked-through-the-medium-of-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/every-living-being-is-an-engine-geared-to-the-wheelwork-of-the-2/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Perhaps I failed, but I did my best, These masters of mine may do the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/perhaps-i-failed-but-i-did-my-best-these-masters-of-mine-may-do-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Religion is simply an ideal. It is an ideal force that tends to free the human being from material bonds. I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/religion-is-simply-an-ideal-it-is-an-ideal-force-that-tends-to-free/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/what-we-now-want-is-closer-contact-and-better-understanding-between/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [When a coil is operated with currents of very high frequency, beautiful brush effects may be produced, even if the coil be of comparatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/when-a-coil-is-operated-with-currents-of-very-high-frequency/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Of all the frictional resistances, the one that most retards human movement is ignorance, what Buddha called 'the greatest evil in the world.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/of-all-the-frictional-resistances-the-one-that-most-retards-human/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [I am even grateful to Einstein and others because through their erroneous theories they lead mankind away from that dangerous path I followed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/i-am-even-grateful-to-einstein-and-others-because-through-their/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) [Explore all 248 Nikola Tesla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can now state that I have succeeded in operating a motive device by means of [cosmic rays]. I will tell you in the most general way, the cosmic ray ionizes the air, setting free many charges - ions and electrons. 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