Tesla Coil Project |
What is a Tesla
Coil you ask? How about a big nasty machine capable of producing
nice bright streamers of electricity very similar to lightning.
How is that for an explanation! Although there is far more
to it than that, the description should be enough for you
to see that it is a device that is perfect for construction
in the garage. Why would we build one? To make really big
lightning bolts of course! How big will it be? As big as
we can make it with the materials we have available to us!
For more information
on Tesla Coils, please visit these off-site pages at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_coil
The Solid State Tesla Coil or SSTC
Here we see a
Tesla Coil constructed using the same kit we are receiving
from one of our great sponsors for the Jet Bike. After asking
him some questions about how big we could make one of these
devices, the verdict is still out. What I do know is that
his kit is very nicely made, and keeps the size of the power
supply very small. Yes we do want a large coil, but we don't
want the hassle of an extremely large and inefficient power
supply to deal with.
Since our ignition
sponsor is a whiz with electrical devices of all kinds (especially
high voltage ones) he whipped up this kit for us to tinker
with. A big special thanks goes out to William at Aautomation
for all his help with the build! If you wish to build a
kit like this for yourself, you can purchase one directly
from him through his Ebay auctions which can be found by
following this link. Aautomation
Lighting up a fluorescent bulb
One of the many
interesting properties of a Tesla Coil is its ability to
light up a fluorescent bulb or neon tube with absolutely
no physical connection! The coil in the picture above is
a relatively small one compared to what we are going to
attempt to build, yet it can still throw lightning bolts
for a fair distance.
The tube on the
left is being energized only by the current flowing through
the air. In his original design for the coil, Nikola
Tesla was trying to find a way to transmit electrical
power through the air much the same way radio waves are
transmitted. It would seem as though he succeeded!
Streamers of electrical current
When a ground
is available for the high current to surge to, streamers
of electricity become even longer and more visible. I am
hoping to use the large metal fence outside of the garage
to get some very impressive sparks! While I am certain that
we can build one, I am not certain exactly how large or
effective it will be. Time will tell on that aspect. I do
know it will be a lot of fun, and invite anyone interested
in the project to pick
up one of the kits and build along with us. Maybe we
could have a competition to see who can get the biggest
lightning bolt from the same kit? If you pick up one of
the kits, please let William know we sent you!
Thanks for reading
so far, and be sure to help support the site! See you again
soon.
Russ W. Moore
and
The Bad Brothers Build Team
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