if your metric is revolutionary new physics discovered per dollar.
Why do you think that anything revolutionary or even new can be discovered that way?
Lightning has recently been found to generate positrons via gamma rays. This is very recent science and definitely underexplored and not yet solved via theory.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/11jan_antimatter/
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2011/2011EO220001.shtml
(more research on this appreciated by anyone that's up for it)
A Tesla Coil this large looks a lot like a lightning generator, an opportunity to explore the space where electrical arcs become lightning.
Lightning had also been hypothesized to produce x-rays for a long time,...
"If the government is not willing to fund the building of two 10-story tall Tesla Coils, then why the hell do I even pay taxes?"
This seems like by far the best investment of $300,000 out there, if your metric is revolutionary new physics discovered per dollar. I pointed the founder at Thiel's Breakout Labs, which is probably more suited to this kind of thing than Kickstarter. But there is still a very non-negligible chance that the Kickstarter Grant will come to fruition.