Nikola Tesla's valvular conduit is another one of his forgotten inventions. Invented in 1920 it has largely been overlooked. What is it? In simple terms it is a one-way valve. That in itself is not special. What makes it special is the fact it has NO moving parts. Think about that for a moment.

How does a valvular conduit work?

The design uses a particular shape. When the gas/fluid flows in one direction it changes direction slightly, in a zigzag way but is relatively unrestricted and does not find much resistance. However, when it flows in the other direction because of the design, the gas/fluid gets spilt into two. These flows then end up meeting almost head on. This causes some resistance. This is repeated numerous times, each time reducing in pressure/flow. This type of valve is never going to work as a seal for your wine bottle, it simply does not work that well at low pressures. However, when high pressures are used it comes into its own and the ratio between two directional flows gets higher and higher.

Why did Tesla invent it?

Tesla invented the valvular conduit around the time he was doing work with Tesla turbines. It seems to compliment his work with Tesla turbines rather than being a separate invention. Tesla turbines are primarily concerned with laminar flows (steady flows) and work better at higher pressures. Experiments show that the Tesla valve on the other hand works best with pulsed flow. In fact it becomes highly effective with high pressure pulsed flows.

How to use it

Amazingly a valvular conduit can be demonstrated just by blowing into it. Blow in one end and not much passes through. Blow in the other end and air passes through much easier: The higher the pressure the more of the restriction. How does the gas/fluid get stopped if there is nothing mechanical to get in the way? The answer is bizarrely simple. The gas/fluid itself becomes the physical restriction.

When is most effective?

At high pressures.

For more information, see http://www.grand-illusions.com/acatal...