TESLA COIL

Tesla coils are air-core, resonant transformers. Working at high frequencies, they can generate tremendous voltages with spectacular lightning-like discharges. The picture shown is just an example. I will post pictures of mine in operation when I finish building it. As of March 23 I have all of the parts to build one. A 15Kv Neon Sign Transformer, 50ft of 1/4" coppper refrigeration tubing, 1000ft of 22AWG enameled copper wire, 4" PVC drain pipe, 4" aluminum dryer duct, aluminum tape, polyurethane, and my homemade saltwater capacitors. The 15Kv NST is the power house for my project. It plugs into the wall outlet and delivers 15,000 volts of electricity @ 30ma. That is enough amperage		Neon Sign Transformer Price: Nada, Freebie, Zip, Zero. Saltwater Capacitor Bank Price: $20 Primary Coil Price: $18 Secondary Coil Price: $20 Torriod Price: $16 Rotoray Spark Gap Price: Nada, Freebie, Zip, Zero. Total: $74
to be considered lethal! The saltwater capacitors are what store the electricity from the NST. They supply the power for the primary coil of the tesla coil. They connect to the primary coil through a spark gap. The NST charges the capacitors to a high enough voltage to jump the gap. When an arc jumps the gap it turns the air into plasma. Plasma is highly conductive. This in turn directly connects the capacitors to the primary coil. The current traveling through the primary induces an electromagnetic field in the secondary coil. Because the secondary has many more turns than the primary it increases the voltage @ tremendous rates. The output of the seconday coil is directly connected to a torriod (the big silver thing on top). This is the discharge terminal for the high voltage. The voltage can range from 250,000V to 1,000,000V!!

The Schematic

My Primary Coil

My Incomplete Primary and Secondary

My Saltwater Capacitor