Tesla coil

[avmtdan]

Friggin. Cool. Now figure out how to make it target incoming tanks

 

[palmettomoon]

 

[Granite3]

Great laugh you have, like a mad scientist starter kit.........

Zapped you through the glove....... Never had one do that.

 

[patracy]

Great laugh you have, like a mad scientist starter kit.........

Zapped you through the glove....... Never had one do that.

Gloves are only rated for 26,500v. I exceed it by about a million.

 

[patracy]

Great laugh you have, like a mad scientist starter kit.........

You should hear my laugh when I'm behind a belt fed.

 

[rumrunner55]

@Tesla

 

[BangBang]

And I thought the bug zapper hanging on my back porch was cool

 

[Hayata]

What's going on in the base unit in the first pic? It looks like it's lighting up in there.

<--- doesn't know how a Tesla coil works

 

[patracy]

What's going on in the base unit in the first pic? It looks like it's lighting up in there.

<--- doesn't know how a Tesla coil works

Those are the multiple spark gaps. Basically several electrodes that can be adjusted for gap.

Here's how a tesla coil works. Power from wall (120v) goes into a step up transformer. 120v turns into ~6,000v. At the same time, capacitors are being charged up, when they peak, an arc travels over the spark gap. This "closes" the circuit to the primary coil of the tesla. (The flat spiral copper pipe) And the 6Kv surges into that coil. The coil induces a voltage to secondary coil (long vertical pipe). That pipe has ~1000 turns of wire on it. Each turn basically increases voltage up another thousand volts. Until it reaches the top and is dissipated. The top aluminum ducting is hollow, it acts as a capacitor of sorts. This happens over and over faster than we can see. (The arcs are actually multiple discharges that ionize the air and cause the following arcs to follow the same "tunnels" through the air.) There's a bit more science to it, but that's a high level. And yes, the sparks inside the enclosure are normal. Believe it or not, the arc coming off the coil isn't likely to kill you. (Just hurt like !@#$%) But those arcs you see inside the cabinet are much higher in amperage and very much lethal.

 

[Necrosis]

Then I have to deal with a dead body.

I hear bricks and a pond don't work too well, just FYI.