Good thing I have a big basement

Welcome to my new obsession. I want to build my own Tesla Coil.

 

You can thank my friend Sam for this. He told me that Jack White (yes, that Jack White) boasted of one that he made with his own two hands in the movie Coffee and Cigarettes. Now I want one.

 

You might be wondering to yourself, “What is a Tesla Coil?”

 

OK. I will tell you. A Tesla Coil is a device that generates artificial lightning.

 

Now you might be thinking, “Hey douchebag, please stop messing with my head.”

 

I’m not messing with your head. I want to go about making my own lightning. Kinda like the way some people like to make their own pie. Or soap. Or mittens.

 

I found a more complex definition on the net. I have no idea what any of this means. But I want to find out so I can be like Jack White in Coffee and Cigarettes.

 

“A Tesla Coil is a resonant air-cored transformer. The primary winding forms part of a tank circuit (tuned L-C oscillator) which is loosely coupled to the secondary coil. The secondary coil has one end connected to earth, and the other end has a capacitive load (a metal sphere or other smooth object), making another L-C resonant circuit. The resonant frequency of the secondary is the same as the primary coil circuit. Because the two coils are only loosely coupled (no iron core, just air) the voltage induced in the secondary winding is allowed to ring up to a very high voltage, more than can be accounted for by the turns ratio of the transformer. The strong electric field generated around the capacitive load terminal (sphere) causes lightning-like streamers to break out into the air.

The output voltage can be hundreds of thousands of volts, although a true measurement of this is difficult! The tank circuit can operate from a supply of 8 to 15 kV (50/60Hz AC), derived from normal mains voltages (110/220/240 VAC) with the aid of a high voltage transformer.”

 

This is all I have to say about Tesla Coils right now. No wait. Let me add this: I think they are awesome. The absolute epitome of cool is to have built your own Tesla Coil.

 

Or to at least have one on the drawing board.