• Category Archives High Voltage – AC High Current
  • High Voltage Experiments » High Voltage - AC High Current
  • Kirlian Photography

    Equipment

     Two A5 sized thin pieces of glass.
    Copper Wire.
    Water.
    Silicon bath sealant.
    Black Card
    Insulated wire
    AC HV Generator
    2 x peices of Wood 15mm square  x 30mm
    Coins, leaves or other object to photograph.

    Diagram

    kirlian

    Method

    Bend the wire in to a ‘U’ shape slightly smaller than one of the sheets of glass. Lay the wire on top of the glass and add a bead of sealant around the outer edge. Apply the second piece of glass on top of the wire and ensure that the sealant has contacted both pieces of glass all the way around. Leave until the sealant has completely dried. This forms a water pocket with a copper strip all the way around.

    Cut slots in the wood to allow the glass pocket to stand upright. Fill the pocket with water.

    Place an object on the back of the glass pocket and apply power from the HV source.

    A visible corona should be visible around the object from the front of the camera. Different objects create different patterns.

    Results

    key leaf screw spanner bulb 5pound

    More at Extreme Electronics – Kirlian Camera


  • Lightbulb – Single Connection

    Equipment

    Tesla Coil
    Light Bulb (low wattage filament lamp)
    Stiff Wire

    Diagram

    lightbulbone-tesla

     

    Method

    LES

    Attach the using the stiff wire wrap a 30cm piece of the wire around the light bulb screw. Solder another 30cm length of wire to the tesla coil top. Arrange the free wire so it points away from the top of the tesla coil.

    Bayonet cap

    Solder two pieces of wire to each of the lamp connectors, attach one to the tesla coil top load and have the other point away from the tesla coil.

    Turn on the coil. Steamers will flow from the free wire and if there is enough power the lamp will light.

     Results

    Img2005-07-18 171646

     


  • Coloured Sparks

    Equipment

    Tesla coil (ideally 1KW or bigger and ideally an SSTC)Ceramic Tube
    Small Soft wood pieces (2-4cm long 5mm diameter)
    Selection of materials (Salt, Strontium, Copper)
    Water

    Diagram

    coloured salts

    Method

    Soak the wood peices in a strong solution made from selection of test materials. In a well ventilated room place the wood pieces in place of the tesla coil breakout and run the tesla coil. Cut the power to the tesla coil if smoke or fire occurs on the breakout. Beware of materials that burn with poisonous smoke.

    Img2005-08-20 204906
    Salt Sparks !!

    More at Extreme Electronics Salty Sparks


  • Light a Flourecent Tube at a distance

    Equipment

     Tesla coil, or High frequency AC source

    Diagram

    Flourecent-distance

    Method

    Place the florescent tube close to (but not touching) the HV source. The tube will light. Be careful not to get a streamer from the tesla coil to strike the end of the tube.

    Some Plasma globes are powerful enough to light a small florescent tube.

    Van de graff machines will light florescent tubes intermittently.

    Do not hold the tube in your mouth as is the tube fractures you may get a mouth full of glass and mercury.

    Teslathon Mar 2011--5

     

     


  • Erase a CD

    Equipment

    Tesla Coil
    Bulldog clip
    Aluminium foil
    A pile of CD’s

    Diagram

    cd-erase

    Method

     Attach the CD’s in place of the teslacoil’s breakout using the bulldog clip  and aluminium foil.
    In a well ventilated room, Turn on the tesla coil. The Aluminium is removed from the CD in a display of sparks and arcs.

    Be careful that the CD does not catch fire as this produces toxic smoke, Also be careful with cheap writeable DVD’s and CD’s some of them catch fire quite easily.

    dwdsc_6215


  • Jacobs Ladder

    Equipment

    HV supply AC
    2 x coat hangers
    2 x Electrical terminals
    Insulating base board

     

    Diagram

    jacobsladder

    Method

    Attach the two terminals on to a non conductive surface about 30mm apart

    Straighten the coat hangers in to two straight conductors. Bend the ends of the coat hangers slightly more than 90 degrees about 30mm from the ends and insert them into the two electrical terminals. Space the bottom of the wires 10mm apart and arrange the longer ends to spread out from the bottom to about 40mm wide at the top.

    Connect the HV supply and turn on. Arcs should start at the bottom of the V and work their way up. If the arc isn’t struck, turn off make the bottom of the V closer together and try again.


  • Ion Engine – Rotor

    Equipment

    HV Supply DC or AC
    Piece of stiff Card
    Aluminium foil
    Needle
    Cork

    Diagram

    rota-tesla

    Method

    Cover the card with the aluminium foil and cut out into a rotor shape. Find the center of the rotor and make an indentation in the car with the needle. Balance the rotor on a needle pushed into the cork. Attach one side of the HV supply to the needle and the other to earth.

    If a small DC power supply is used, a small rotor can be made 50mm or so in diameter.
    If a Tesla coil is used then you will need a larger rotor, Up to 300mm can be made with the method above. If you have a bigger tesla coil then make a larger rotor from copper tubing balanced on a needle point.

    Switching on the supply causes the rotor to spin. If the rotor doesn’t spin, move an earthed object nearer the rotor. For the rotor to spin, the bearing must allow the rotor to spin freely, Ensure the needle hasn’t gone too far through the card. The card should just rest on the end of the needle. If the needle has broken through the card the rotor will not spin freely enough.


  • Lichtenberg figures – Wood

    Equipment

    High voltage AC supply (NST)
    Two self tapping Screws
    Piece of wood (MDF is good)
    Cloth and a bowl of water

     

    Diagram

    lichtenburg-wood

    Method

    Screw in the two screws around 100mm apart. Using the water and cloth dampen the wood between the screws. Attach the HV power supply to the screws. Turn on the power a Lichtenberg figure will slowly be burnt into the wood. If the burning stops, remove the power and re-dampen the wood.

    Results