A typical Tesla Coil
A Tesla Coil is an air-core transformer that produces extremely high voltage, high frequency sparks of electricity. Apart from making an extremely impressing display when powered up, it is also used for radio and power transmission purposes. A search on the Internet will reveal that there is a considerable number of hobbyists who actively design and fabricate their own Tesla coils. Before you start building Tesla coils as well, be aware that the Tesla Coil and its associated driving circuitry is extremely dangerous and can kill!
The inventor was a Croatian inventor called Nikola Tesla. From his birth in 1856 until his death in 1943, he was a pioneer in the development of the AC power distribution system and experimented in a number of other facets of electricity. He invented the Tesla Coil in 1891.
The Tesla Coil is usually powered by neon sign transformers or "pole-pigs" (power distribution transformers) that output approximate 10-20 kV. This powers a tank circuit that is comprised of a pulse discharge capacitor, a spark gap, and the primary coil, pictured at the bottom of the above picture. The tank circuit causes a current to flow in the primary coil, which in turn induces an extremely high voltage in the secondary coil (the middle section of the above diagram). This voltage can be in the order of millions of volts and jumps off the discharger at the top of the coil to create lightning-like sparks.
No, I don't, so I'm confined to being jealous of other peoples' coils :-). I'm planning to build a small one eventually, but no time in the near future due to schoolwork. In the meantime, I just gaze in awe at the web pages of Bill Beatty and others.
Last updated 4/4/99
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