Control Systems & PLC's

Tesla Coil

Tesla Coil - What is it and how does it work?

Nikola Tesla, the Serbian born inventor, built his first Tesla Coil around 1891. He patented a plethora of devices and some people even call him the "The man who invented the 20th Century". Without him we wouldn't have had alternating current, radio control and even the common spark plug.

The Tesla Coil is basically a form of resonant transformer which consists of a primary and secondary coil. The device steps up voltage using loosely coupled coils to enormously high voltages. Tesla himself managed to create more than a million volts with one of his tesla coils.

 

A basic Tesla Coil consists of the following components:

1.) High Voltage Power Supply - at least 5kV

2.) A Primary Capacitor (C1)

3.) A spark gap (S1)

4.) A primary coil (L1)

5.) A secondary coil (L2)

6.) A toroid (C2)

 

The theory behind the Tesla Coil:

1.) The high voltage power supply charges the primary capacitor until it reaches its full capacity.

2.) Once the capacitor is fully charged, the spark gap fires and the current flows through to the primary coil. (The spark gap acts like an on and off switch)

3.) When most of the current is in the primary coil, the capacitor runs empty and the spark gap stops firing, thereby closing the circuit again.

4.) The capacitor starts charging again and the spark gap fires again. This process repeats itself until the power is switched off. The circuit is now resonating.

5.) Each time the current flows to the primary coil, some of the current is induced by the secondary coil. As the secondary coil has more windings than the primary coil, the voltage is increased by more than ten times. Because of this, resonant rise takes place. This means that the secondary coil charges more with every cycle.

6.) With every cycle, the secondary coil dumps its load into the Toroid, which acts as the secondary capacitor.

7.) When the cycle is at its peak, the Toroid is filled to the brim with current and cannot contain the voltage anymore. It emits sparks in all directions and the process starts all over again.

 

This whole cycle occurs more than 120 times per second in the average Tesla Coil.

For further information about Tesla Coils, click here: http://www.free-energy-now.us/free energy latest.html

 

 

 

About the Author

Jay Erasmus is a self taught expert in free energy devices. He runs a non-profit renewable energy company in Southern Africa that installs free energy devices in impoverished communities throughout Africa.

 

Would a giant Tesla coil be safe or practical to use onstage?

I'm in the process of writing and developing a play about the life of Nikola Tesla and his lifelong feud with Thomas Edison. As a fairly essential part of the set, I want to have a giant Tesla coil center stage shooting bursts of lighting everywhere. I realize that this isn't probably entirely safe or practical, but I'm curious if it can be done safely without electrocuting anyone in the audience or destroying the electrical system in the theater. If it's not possible, is there any way to mimic the effect with projection or something?

A tesla coil is high voltage not current. It works on the basis that there is a grounding conductor to earth out the positive charge in the head of the coil causing a high voltage arc onto a grounding wand that will be attached to the base of the Tesla coil. The user should have rubber soled shoes on and be standing on a rubber mat. If they were dressed in black and stood behind the Tesla coil and waved the wand above the coil this would give the affect of arcing in different directions.

The audience would not be in any danger. You wouldn't need a huge one to have a good effect. Ones that they use in school science labs would produce an impressive visual and audible effect especially when used on a stage in a dimly lit theatre. Ive seen ones that stand about 4ft high and are quite impressive. There are others that mimic lightening strikes which are used in special laboratories but you would never get access to one like that. Like I said a school Tesla coil about 4ft would be pretty awesome on stage.

You would be hard pressed to get an electric shock from a Tesla coil. It may sting and might burn a little but an electric shock relies on current to fibrillate the muscles in your body especially the heart. There is negligible amounts of current in a Tesla arc and no it wont affect the electrical system in the theatre they just plug into a normal power outlet and drive a motor.

Tesla coils aren't dangerous if used responsibly.

Fun with a Giant Tesla Coil