The tesla coil, invented by Nikola Tesla, creates big sparks and can wirelessly power a fluorescent lamp. It consists of two coils and capacitors to store energy for discharge. Building and observing tesla coils is a popular activity among science enthusiasts. The largest tesla coil in the world produces 1.5 megavolts of current and 20-foot sparks.
A tesla coil is a resonant transformer invented by the great and eccentric scientist Nikola Tesla, who is also credited with inventing AC power and the radio. Its main purpose is to create big and beautiful sparks, make children’s hair stand on end, and generally demonstrate the power of electricity to mankind. The cloud of free electrons it produces can also wirelessly power a fluorescent lamp held close to it, but the device is too noisy, expensive, and close-range to be a practical power transmitter.
Nikola Tesla developed his coil in the early 1890s, inspired by the early results of electricity research. The tesla coil is based on a device called an induction coil, spark coil or, archaically, a Ruhmkorff coil. This consists of two coils of insulated copper wire wound around a central iron core. The first coil, the primary, is made up of a few tens of coils of thick copper wire. The secondary coil is made up of many thousands of turns of much finer copper wire. When a current is passed through the coil, a powerful magnetic field is formed in the primary. An abrupt interruption of the current causes the collapse of the field and the release of energy into the surrounding environment, through the secondary. Due to the many turns of the secondary, the release causes a discharge of thousands of volts, producing a visible spark as it leaps across a gap to a terminal.
The main component of the tesla coil is the induction coil, but it also includes a specially designed disruptive coil, two powerful capacitors, and a discharge target, usually a metal ball attached to a wire that reconnects to the coil, creating a complete circuit. . Capacitors are used to store large amounts of electrical energy for a sudden and visually stunning discharge.
Today, building tesla coils and observing their beautiful sparks is a common activity among electricity enthusiasts and science enthusiasts. The largest tesla coil in the world releases 1.5 megavolts of current and produces sparks 20 feet long.
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