In 1979, Hutchison discovers a number of unusual phenomena, while trying to duplicate experiments done by Nikola Tesla. He refers to several of these phenomena jointly under the name "Hutchison effect", including:
1. levitation of heavy objects
2. fusion of dissimilar materials such as metal and wood
3. the anomalous heating of metals
4. the spontaneous fracturing of metals
5. changes in metal crystalline structure
6. disappearance of metal samples.