Nikola Tesla was a renowned inventor and electrical engineer known for his contributions to the field of electricity and energy. He developed the concept of alternating current, which allowed for long-distance power transmission, and worked on wireless communication and energy transfer. Despite his brilliance, Tesla had a mysterious and eccentric personality. Conspiracy theorists may find him intriguing due to his association with unexplained phenomena such as UFOs, the Tunguska explosion, and an alleged earthquake generator.

Tesla developed and patented a device known as an "electromechanical oscillator," which was based on the concept that every substance in the universe has a unique "resonance frequency" that can be manipulated. The device was designed to produce a mechanical resonance that matched the frequency of any object.

Conspiracy theorists view the story of Tesla's electromechanical oscillator as legendary. According to the story, while conducting experiments at his laboratory at 46 East Houston Street in Manhattan, Tesla matched the frequency of the oscillator to the resonance frequency of the building, causing structural damage. The building and others in the area were made primarily of brick and wood, making them less sturdy than modern steel and concrete structures.

According to the story, the electromechanical oscillator got stuck in the "on" position, and as Tesla tried to shut it off, buildings in the vicinity of 46 East Houston Street began to vibrate more and more violently, leading residents to call the police reporting an earthquake.

According to the story, some people who were close enough to hear the machine followed the loud, vibrating noise it was making to the room where Tesla was located. Upon breaking down the door, they found him frantically trying to destroy the machine by hitting it with a sledgehammer. He succeeded in destroying the machine just as they were about to approach him, and at that moment, the noise and the trembling both stopped, and the buildings became stable.

According to the story, even though the machine had not caused any damage, Tesla reportedly wrote letters to various business interests stating that if he had kept it running for an additional minute or so, the walls would have begun to crack and the buildings would have collapsed.

This story is unverified and may not be true. Tesla is said to have written about it in his writings, but skeptics question the authenticity of these claims and whether he was being truthful. This conspiracy theory has gained significant attention and even featured on an episode of the television show "Mythbusters."

The machine, built according to Tesla's specifications, was turned on and used to attempt to bring down a bridge. The theory of mechanical resonance was found to be true, as an "I" beam began to oscillate, moving 16 feet with each oscillation, but the bridge did not appear to weaken or shake violently, and no damage was reported. However, the experiment did not take into account the building materials of Tesla's time, which would not have been as strong as modern materials.

The theory of mechanical resonance is supported by the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940. On November 7, the bridge began to undulate and sway so violently that it resembled a snake wriggling. This event was captured on film and well-documented by numerous witnesses.

The scientists concluded that the wind was responsible for the collapse of the bridge, as there was no audible vibration. This explanation is supported by the fact that the wind was blowing over and under the bridge at the precise moment of the bridge's mechanical resonance. The collapse of the bridge is well-documented, and footage of the incident can be found on YouTube and other websites.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed suddenly, causing the entire structure to disintegrate and fall into the water of Puget Sound. This event is now used as a case study and a lesson taught to architects and engineers around the world.

Conspiracy theorists have also questioned whether the device was built correctly on the Mythbusters show. The lack of recent developments in the device and its use for terrorism leads to the belief that the US government may have taken possession of Tesla's invention after his death, when the FBI broke into his NY apartment and stole his work from his safe.

It is true that the FBI has not released any of Tesla's work and continues to refuse to do so. The electromechanical oscillator may be one of these works. The possibility of the invention being kept hidden by the government is a matter of speculation and opinion.