Nikola Tesla

“ Thomson seems to think that conduction through the glass is an impossibility. Has he then never measured insulation resistance, and has he then not measured it by means of a conduction current? Does he think that there is such a thing as a perfect non-conductor among the bodies we are able to perceive ? Does he not think that as regards conductivity there can be question only of degree? If glass were a perfect non-conductor, how could we account for the leakage of a glass condenser when subjected to steady differences of potential? ”

“ Thomson says, that in such a comparatively poor conductive material as animal tissue the distribution of current cannot be governed by self-induction to any appreciable extent, but he does not consider the two-fold effect of the large cross-section, pointed out by Sir William Thomson. As the resistance of the body to such currents is low, we must assume either condenser action or induction of currents in the body. ”

“ Many electricians frequently confound the theoretical dielectric of Maxwell with the dielectric bodies in use. They do not stop to think that the only perfect dielectric is ether, and that all other bodies, the existence of which is known to us, must be conductors, judging from their physical properties. ”