Tesla Coil Pictures And Links
For those of you unfamiliar with
what a Tesla coil is, it is a device invented by Nikola Tesla in 1891.
His idea was to transmit energy at very high voltages, but low amperage,
through the air. People would then use antennas on their houses to tap
into the energy, and convert it to usable power through a transformer
in the house. Our current electrical system works in the opposite fashion.
Very high amperage current is sent to our houses, where it is then dropped
down to 110v for our use. Many people feel that the only reason Tesla's
ideas were ignored, is because the energy would be free to anyone who
could tap into it. He built huge towers which transmitted massive amounts
of energy many miles away. Anyhow, his work is mainly in the realm of
hobbyists now. What his coils do, is take normal household current, and
boost it up to 10-15,000 volts with a neon sign transformer. This voltage
is run through a primary coil. This coil generates 500,000 to 1,000,000
volts in a secondary coil, which runs through the middle of the primary
coil. Capacitors and a spark gap are used to boost the speed and power
of the primary coil. Anyhow, the end result is a secondary coil that puts
out so much voltage, that it jumps right out of the top of the coil, and
tries to reach ground by shooting through the air. Which looks pretty
darned cool, by the way. The best part of the device, is that this energy
is moving very fast, being at such high voltage, but is very low amperage,
so is generally harmless. Many people have passed the energy through their
bodies with no ill effects. But it is not recommended, as if there is
a jump from the primary coil, you will be very dead very quickly. But
in general, it is much safer energy than our household 110v AC current.
Anyhow, most of you probably want to see some nifty pictures. Well, here
you go:
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