Holy Bajeebus! That thing scares the crap outta me.

I built a small one of those Tesla coils and used 7 glass plates 300 x 400mm with foil in between as the capacitor, The tube for the main coil was 1m in height and 100mm dia and wound with copper wire to a copper ball on top, scared the crap outa me when I first turned it on, got a severe telling off from the old man for firing it up in the basement. he he.

People yearn after this robotic dream, but you can't strip your life of all meaning, emotion and feeling and expect to function.


Robotic madness http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/

you can bild one like I did out of an old tv chasie, just crank up the HVT and set it close to a ground termimal and you'll get a 4 to6" spark. I did this while I was in high school many years ago.

GWJax, To Hack and make mods on robots is a life style and comes natural and not by choice. If a robot has a screw to open it then it must be opened!

Start by reading the Wikipedia article listed above.
Discharges of the size in that video aren't something I would want traveling over, or through, my skin.

This, from the Wiki page....
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Large Tesla Coils and magnifiers can deliver dangerous levels of high frequency current, and they can also develop significantly higher voltages (often 250,000-500,000 volts, or more). Because of the higher voltages, large systems can deliver higher energy, potentially lethal, repetitive high voltage capacitor discharges from their top terminals. Doubling the output voltage quadruples the electrostatic energy stored in a given top terminal capacitance. If an unwary experimenter accidentally places himself in path of the high voltage capacitor discharge to ground, the low current electric shock can cause involuntary spasms of major muscle groups and may induce life-threatening ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest. Even lower power vacuum tube or solid state Tesla Coils can deliver RF currents that are capable of causing temporary internal tissue, nerve, or joint damage through Joule heating. In addition, an RF arc can carbonize flesh, causing a painful and dangerous bone-deep RF burn that may take months to heal. Because of these risks, knowledgeable experimenters avoid contact with streamers from all but the smallest systems.

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Having said that, the higher current, lower voltage, electric coil in the base is apparently more dangerous than the spark discharges.

ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)

I know my 1Mtr tall tesla coil [When I look back] was dangerous, it had a spark of 4" and you could smell ionized air around you, It was quit scary really, but when I was younger I didn't care much then, I would think twice now if I were to build one.

People yearn after this robotic dream, but you can't strip your life of all meaning, emotion and feeling and expect to function.


Robotic madness http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/