The Strange and Unexplained Story of the Tesla Death Ray

Imagine a beam of energy that could bring down planes from a mile away, using nothing but electricity. How about an invisible wall that could protect a country from invasion, that the moment the enemy soldiers cross the barrier, they are vaporized instantly. Sounds like something most militaries would love to get their hands on, doesn't it? Sounds like something straight out of But the concept of a Death Ray isn't just the stuff of science fiction, it may have actually been invented. Join us today as we examine the mystery of the Tesla Death Ray, here on Mystery Archives. The dream of a kind of Death Ray has inspired weapons developers for decades, but it was It was one inventor who actually claimed to have successfully created one. Nikola Tesla, one of the most brilliant minds the world has ever seen, was born in what is now Croatia in 1856, where he received an education in engineering before immigrating to the United States. There he got a job working for Thomas Edison before breaking out on his own venture as an inventor. Many of Tesla's inventions in this period were revolutionary, and while he primarily focused on improving systems for generating electric power and transmitting electric currents, he additionally made innovations in the field of radio technology. Tesla's biggest dream was to find a way to beam limitless power directly through the air. And over the course of his life, he managed to develop a number of devices that could emit electric energy wirelessly. But sadly, a lack of funding limited his research. However, in 1934, Tesla claimed that his research had resulted in an incredible new discovery, a device that could kill from miles away using electricity. He called this invention the teleforce, and according to him, the weapon worked by focusing electric currents along a narrow path, which created a ray of electricity that could, in theory, shoot a plane out of the sky. But despite the supposed death ray he had created, Tesla was actually very anti-war, and hoped by gaining funding by selling a weapon, that he could then use the very same technology to create force fields, that when activated, would prevent armies from invading countries and end war altogether. But Tesla's high-minded dreams were limited by a serious problem. No one had interest in funding the project. He approached the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union among others, but none offered any money for it. And of course, it's hard to build a massive death ray without some cash. But one night in 1937, at a meeting at the Yugoslavian embassy, Tesla told the room that not only was his invention possible, but that he had already built one. And in fact, he would be unveiling it to the world in a matter of months. Unfortunately, later that same year, the inventor was struck by a car while crossing the street in New York City and never truly recovered. He passed away shortly after, nearly penniless, in the New Yorker Hotel where he had been living in 1943. Tragically, or rather fortunately, depending on how you look at the situation, It seems like if the inventor had had such a weapon that it never saw the light of day, or so it would seem. Upon the news of the inventor's death, the US military showed up at the hotel and quickly searched the room for any inventions that they didn't want anyone else to get their hands on, but suspiciously reported that they had found nothing, as if we'd ever know about it if they did. So the real question is, what happened to the death ray? Now, it's possible that the government secretly took the weapon, along with other inventions, to some warehouse somewhere, and continued to develop such concepts, especially for use during the Cold War. It's also possible that the man never developed such a weapon in the first place, that perhaps it was just a concept, and considering no one ever saw it, at least that we know of, that's likely the case, or perhaps the inventor stored it away somewhere. Now sleeps waiting to be rediscovered and revolutionized the already terrifying landscape of warfare. What do you think? Make sure to let me know down in the comments below and don't forget to like share and subscribe and while you're here, check out another mystery by watching one of these videos now. This has been Cody here with Mystery Archives. Remember to always question everything and we will see you next time.