On experimental and theoretical physics

On experimental and theoretical physics

Tesla exhibited a pre-atomic understanding of physics in his writings;^[181] he disagreed with the theory of atoms being composed of smaller subatomic particles, stating there was no such thing as an electron creating an electric charge (he believed that if electrons existed at all, they were some fourth state of matter or "sub-atom" that could only exist in an experimental vacuum and that they had nothing to do with electricity).^{[16]:249[182]} Tesla believed that atoms are immutable—they could not change state or be split in any way. He was a believer in the 19th century concept of an all pervasive "ether" that transmitted electrical energy.^[183]

Tesla was generally antagonistic towards theories about the conversion of matter into energy.^[16]:247 He was also critical of Einstein's theory of relativity, saying:

I hold that space cannot be curved, for the simple reason that it can have no properties. It might as well be said that God has properties. He has not, but only attributes and these are of our own making. Of properties we can only speak when dealing with matter filling the space. To say that in the presence of large bodies space becomes curved is equivalent to stating that something can act upon nothing. I, for one, refuse to subscribe to such a view.^[184]

Tesla claimed to have developed his own physical principle regarding matter and energy that he started working on in 1892,^[16] and in 1937, at age 81, claimed in a letter to have completed a "dynamic theory of gravity" that "[would] put an end to idle speculations and false conceptions, as that of curved space."^[185] He stated that the theory was "worked out in all details" and that he hoped to soon give it to the world.^[186] Further elucidation of his theory was never found in his writings.^[10]:309