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Additional Photo Information
Both the Tesla Coil, and Jacobs Ladder are driven by a 3KVA pole transformer. It uses 240v input on a 30 amp breaker, and generates 14.4KV output. Current and voltage control are achieved by a 56 amp dual stack variac, and a welder. The "Z" pinch, or coin shrinking is done via two Aerovox 50KV DC pulse caps rated at 7.2uF each, and they are parralleled together by thick buss bars. A 2.5" steel ball rolling between two electrodes acts as the trigger. I recently acquired a large X-ray transformer rated 100KVP @ 300mA. This is used to drive the lightning screen. |
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This is my 6" Tesla Coil in operation. Rotary gap made by Ed Wingate. Spark length of up to 50". |
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Jacob's Ladder driven by a 3KVA pole tranformer, running at 7.6KVA. You can see the heat waves surrrounding the flame. |
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A variation on the Jabob's Ladder, invented by Ken Strickfaden. One hot lead goes to the spinner, the other to the copper pipe. The spinning arm is self driven by the voltage. |
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A lightning screen driven by the X-ray transformer. I call it my "ozone generator" because it can fill my garage with ozone in just a couple minutes! |
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Shrunken Coins. When large capacitors are discharged into a coil wrapped around the coin, the electromagnetic pulse is strong enough to shrink the coin on it's axis. |
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This device is called a "lifter", and will propel itself upwards, without any moving parts. The top wire is fed approx. 32KV DC and the skirt is grounded. These things are finicky, and everything has to be just right for it to work. |
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An 8" length of tungsten wire exploding. I had to stop down the lens to f/60 to get this shot, as the flash was so bright. |
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The ultimate electrostatic generator! A shot of lightning over east Phoenix, AZ. Pentax 6x7, 165mm lens. |
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An active summer storm, that produced lots of sky-to-ground lightning. |
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A storm came through recently, and I managed to capture a lightning strike. Taken 8/12/01, Pentax 6x7, 165mm lens. |
Electrostatics
| This part of the hobby involves devices which can be constructed easily, using common items. The Electrophorus was invented in 1762, and it remains a great device for demostrating voltage, capacitance, and charge. The Leyden Jar was also invented long ago, and was called a "condenser" before the modern term of capacitor came into being. Though simple in design, when fully charged to a high potential, the medium to large size Leyden Jar can store a lethal amount of energy. |
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The Electrophorus. It's basically, a flat plate capacitor which generates voltage when the top plate is lifted off. You can see the effect on the doll. |
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A collection of Leyden Jars. These are a simple form of capacitor, and when charged, can pack quite a punch. |
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My large leyden Jar being discharged. It was charged by my Van de Graff at aprox 400,000 volts. The spark is quite loud! |
| Steve Cole's HV Page : Steve is an expert builder
of Tesla Coils, and the photos on his web page attest to that. He also
has a wide ranging assortment of both HV and electrostatic gear.
http://home1.gte.net/res07cmo/hv/hv.htm For a great source of information on building and using Leyden Jars, take a look at this page. http://home.gci.net/~natnkell/static/staticgen.htm If you're interested in building a Lifter, then this page is a great resource on building them, and tips on how to make them work. http://www.americanantigravity.com |
My Astrophototography page
E-Mail : PSLedlie@aol.com