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demonstrations:5_electricity_and_magnetism:5l_ac_circuits:tesla_coil:start

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Tesla Coil

Description

High voltage generator of historical interest designed almost 100 years ago!

Useful Links: The Museum of Science in Boston has a brief description on how these coils work. It is rumored that these coils were built by Tesla himself!

Danger:

This demo has a ground fault. Anything metal and in contact with the probe or the base should be assumed to be at high voltage. Use a ruler to turn the machine on or off to avoid a nasty shock. Be conscious of what the demo is sitting on- some floors have conductive runners underneath them which may transmit a shock to your feet.

This demo uses high voltage. Procede with caution.

Purpose

To demonstrate the operation of a Tesla coil and the appearance, sound, and effects of high voltage discharges.

Apparatus

  • Self-contained Tesla coil and probe
  • Wooden ruler
  • Fluorescent bulb (optional)
  • Faraday Cage (optional)

Setup

Use a wooden ruler to hit the switch and turn on the coil. Long sparks up to eight inches long can be produced from the probe. These sparks produce a loud noise and look particularly dramatic when the lecture room lights are turned off.

Notes

This demonstration works well with a variety of others to demonstrate the effects of high voltage.

Demo room information

Location —-
Maker Unknown
Current State Working


demonstrations/5_electricity_and_magnetism/5l_ac_circuits/tesla_coil/start.1551212475.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/02/26 20:21 by demoroom