Russian countryside yields sometimes most improbable sights – abandoned artifacts and installations from bizarre military/scientific research, strangely futuristic forms left to rust and decay – to be found by a curious photographer.
“Master” stumbled upon this installation close to Russian city of Istra (50 km from Moscow) quite by chance, and these mysterious shots were percolating for a while around the web, until the answer was found. According to this little, cryptic, and quite secretive website, the weird alien-like towers are the Experimental Grounds for High-Voltage Generation, the only open-air kind in the world. Amazingly, it’s still in use… as the powerful lightnings rip through the night and the darkened forest – much like in “The Prestige” movie.
High Voltage Cascade Transformers (for alternating current):
Towering High Voltage Pulse Generator:
This is it! Aliens’ landing pad! (just joking) -
I wonder if people in these apartment buildings can see mysterious “flashes in the night”… -
(Images published by permission of Master-z-great)
Generator tower height: 43 meters
Maximum output voltage: 9 Megavolt
Record length of lightning discharge attained – 150 meters
Yes, be careful going around in that forest: 150 meters-long lightnings are no joke:
The structures were erected in the late 70s, and certainly are not in the best condition today. However, they are still in active use, according to official research papers:
The Institute has open-air, as well as indoor testing grounds:
The experiments are based on work of Nikola Tesla, who was considered to be something of a “mad scientist” in his later years (according to Wiki), but continued research with generators and multi-million volts transmitters until his death in 1943.
His tower generators, akin to one found in the Russian forest:
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Similarly fantastic experiments are going on in the US
Consider High frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP. Their official site is full of helpful scientific info, but fails to mention the possible adverse effects that such high-powered installations can have on weather and atmospheric patterns.
HAARP Ionospheric Research Observatory in Gakona, Alaska – aiming to simulate and control ionospheric processes that might alter the performance of global communication systems.
(image credit: HAARP)
(image credit: ru_abandoned)
This ionospheric research project is a ready target for various conspiracy theories, discussing its possible use as a nefarious weapon, affecting the very Earth climate and causing earthquakes. You are welcome to form your own opinion on this, but I might say that Nikola Tesla would be quite at home there, happily uncovering new ways to energize the world.
