Thomas Commerford Martin's Introduction to Tesla's paper read before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in May 1888
Chapter III - The Martin Book
The Tesla Rotating Magnetic Field - Motors with Closed Conductors - Synchronizing Motors - Rotating Field Transformers
The best description that can be given of what he attempted, and succeeded in doing, with the rotating magnetic field, is to be found in Mr. Tesla's brief paper explanatory of his rotary current, polyphase system, read before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, in New York, in May, 1888, under the title "A New System of Alternate Current Motors and Transformers." As a matter of fact, which the perusal of the paper will establish, Mr. Tesla made no attempt in his paper to describe all his work. It dealt in reality with the few topics enumerated in the caption of this chapter. Mr. Tesla reticence was no doubt due largely to the fact that his action was governed by the wishes of others with whom he was associated, but it may be worth mentioning that the compiler of this volume - who has seen the motors running, and who was then chairman of the Institute Committee on Papers and Meetings - had great difficulty in inducing Mr. Tesla to give the Institute any paper at all. Mr. Tesla was overworked and ill, and manifested the greatest reluctance to the exhibition of his motors, but his objections were at last overcome. The paper was written the night previous to the meeting, in pencil, very hastily, under the pressure just mentioned.
In this paper casual reference was made to two special forms of motors not within the group to be considered. These two forms were: 1. A motor with one of its circuits in series with a transformer, and the other in the secondary of the transformer. 2. A motor having its aramature circuit connected to the generator, and the field coils closed upon themselves. The paper in its essence is as follows, dealing with a few leading features of the Tesla system, namely, the rotating magnetic field, motors with closed conductors, synchronizing motors and rotating field transformers:--
A NEW SYSTEM OF ALTERNATE CURRENT MOTORS AND TRANSFORMERS
