B. (Prof.), Brief Account of the Construction and Effects of a very Powerful Induction Apparatus, devised by Mr. E.S. Ritchie, of Boston, United States , British Association for the Advancement of Science, Report of the Annual Meeting (1858), p. 15 and later at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. American Academy, pp. 359-360 Ruhmkorff himself purchased a Ritchie induction coil, utilizing its improvements in his own work. American Academy, pp. 359-360 Page, pp. 104-106 Induction coils were used to provide high voltage for early gas discharge and Crookes tubes and for X-ray research.
The energy in the batteries doesn't come from a plug and a charging point, but it comes from a wireless charging system built into the road. A series of induction coils built into the road resonate energy at certain frequency, like radio waves. The bus is able to capture those waves and store the energy in its batteries http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1431/.
Source: Wikipedia > Induction Coil
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