Everyone interested in electronics should build at least one Tesla coil. But be careful. Sure, the high voltage can be dangerous, but the urge to build lots of coils is even worse. [Learnelectronics] shows how to build a slayer exciter using a 3D-printed core, and lots of wire of course. You can see the coil, an explanation of the design, and a comparison to a cheap kit in the video below.
Of course, you hear about Tesla coils, but it is really more of a Tesla transformer. The 3D-printed core holds the many turns of the secondary coil. The larger Tesla coil, amusingly, upset the camera which made it hard to get close-up shots.
The new coil will use a 555 to interrupt the flow. We were sad that by the end of the video, we didn’t get to see the new coil except in an early prototype stage, but he promised to show it once it is working properly, so stay tuned. The explanation of the circuit is worth a watch though. One important thing to remember: the circuit capitalizes on a parasitic capacitor inherent in the large coil so any analysis of the circuit needs to account for that.
If you can’t wait to build your own, we’ve seen plenty of slayer exciter coils over the years. Some of them are extremely simple to build.
When was the last time anyone built a Van De Graf machine? Was right of passage in my day…
Cyclotrons are the new hotness.
Decades after building one, I’m still in the habit of checking used world globes at sales in case they’re made of metal.
What if it’s textured with mountains like my 1960 cardboard globe? Corona over the Himalayas, the Rockies, the Urals! The west coast of South America becomes a line of light.
Geography and physics all in one. Bonus for making polar aurorae.
Thanks for mentioning me.