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Magnifier Vs. Conventional Coil
Demonstration Outline

Presentation

Simple Method to Tune a Tesla Coil
Transporting
Schematics
Photo Gallery
Transformer Cart
Torroid Construction
Rotary Spark Gap
Control Box
Tesla Coil Safety Ground Check !
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Jamie Oliver's Photo Gallery Page:

 

The Coil in the Magnifier configuration without the resonator. I no longer use it this way.

 

 

 

Burning the 2x4 Wood stand...

 

This foto shows a strike to the 2x4 and how it conducted down the 2x4 starting to burn it. You can see the yellowish burn racing down the wood along the grain of the wood. This shot is also by Don Race. This was with his Canon 10D DSLR, handheld, set to asa 3200 using a Canon 28-135mm image stabilization lens.

 

Average random shot...

 

 

The beginning of electro-shock therapy...

 

This is holding a florescent lamp and taking a discharge to the bulb, through me out my sneakers to the floor. Makes a great demo and doesn't hurt (well, doesn't hurt too much if ya don't mind twitching a bit). There are some important things in this "trick." Use high rotary gap speed to minimize the impulses, have the arc welder balast set at the minimum current setting, and use TWO HANDS (one on top of the other) to hold the lamp. My arms seem to twitch a bit but not too much else does. Not shown is a special platform that I made of two boards and 4 PVC pipe spacers with aluminum tape on the top. I take my sneakers off and stand on it with my sweaty feet and the discharge goes into the lamp through me to my feet, to the tape and arc 3 inches to the floor. I ask them why I am not dead and explain about "skin effect." And don't forget to tell folks to NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! " This shot is also by Don Race. This was with his Canon 10D DSLR, handheld, set to asa 3200 using a Canon 28-135mm image stabilization lens.

 

 

The "Poor Man's Shield"

 

This pic just shows a chicken wire shield that allows one to stand behind shield and see the arcs up close and personal. I didn't think this was a big deal but kids seem to really love this. In a demo, if you get a teacher that knows not to stick his or her finger near the fence, the kids get a real kick out of this. Some folks do get scared of this.

 

 

 

Plasma Forming:

 

The 3 states of matter are typically taught in schools. The 4th state is sometimes taught but since it is an unstable state of matter it is neglected and this can be shown well with a properly adjusted coil. When set at the right level, the blue cloud can be seen well and see that the air molecules are being broken down in a continuous stream. Cranking up the juice will flow a continous arc. Note that the rotary gap level must be set close for a low voltage breakdown (I have it at about 0.020 inches on each of both left and right gaps). This shot is also by Don Race of Webster. This was with his Canon 10D DSLR, handheld, set to asa 3200 using a Canon 28-135mm image stabilization lens.

This demo shows the effect that a lightning rod has. That it will go to a sharp point well before a smooth point. I call the ball "Wilson" (from the movie "Castaway") and tell them that this is what you look like to the clouds, well, from an electrical discharge point of view. See my outline, this is the lightning rod demo. Notice the arc forms to the lightning rod over the smooth ball.


I'm standing on a 3 inch insulation plate. Standing on this with just sweaty socks and the electricity goes through the bulb, through me to the plate and jumps to the floor. When I do this I adjust the rotary gap to a very narrow-small gap of about 0.02

Arc to open air:

This is my friend Steven from Shanghai, China. We had fun with him behind the chicken wire fence.

This isn't a great picture but you can show the effect of a lightning "streamer" coming from one's body. I have the coil set at low power (just a bit more than it takes for the rotary to arc) and the arcs jump out of your fingers and it looks really cool. It burns a bit where the arcs come out of your fingers but it gets alot of oooohs and ahhhhs and you can laugh it up like I always liked these scenes in Star Trek when some guy has this power like the episode of Zeus and Athena, yomen whatz her face?


What Does a Portable Lightning Rod Look Like:

Three students at a local college were just hit by lightning. I understood they were all carrying umbrellas, aka, portable lightning (Hit Me! Hit Me!) rods. Just wanted to zap the point home. Sharp objects to avoid being a source for a streamer is a step in the right direction. Getting wet might not be so bad. Some umbrellas might be plastic in parts. This photo is also by Don Race.

 

 

  © Copyright 2006-2017. Jamie Oliver  -  Contents of this page are the sole responsibility of me, Jamie Oliver, and no, I'm not the British "Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef" but I'd enjoy meeting him some day.