A transformer that increases voltage and frequency many times over is called a Tesla transformer. Energy-saving and fluorescent lamps, kinescopes of old TVs, charging batteries at a distance and much more have been created thanks to the principle of operation of this device. We will not exclude its use for entertainment purposes, because the "Tesla transformer" is capable of creating beautiful purple discharges - streamers resembling lightning (Fig. 1). During operation, an electromagnetic field is formed that can affect electronic devices and even the human body, and during discharges in the air, a chemical process occurs with the release of ozone. To make a Tesla transformer with your own hands, it is not necessary to have extensive knowledge in the field of electronics, just follow this article.

Components and principle of operation

All Tesla transformers, due to the similar principle of operation, consist of the same blocks:

1. Source of power.
2. primary contour.

The power supply supplies the primary circuit with the required voltage and type. The primary circuit creates vibrations high frequency, generating resonant oscillations in the secondary circuit. As a result, a current of high voltage and frequency is formed on the secondary winding, which tends to create an electrical circuit through the air - a streamer is formed.

The choice of primary circuit depends on the type of Tesla coil, the power source and the size of the streamer. Let's focus on the semiconductor type. It is distinguished by a simple circuit with accessible parts, and a small supply voltage.

Selection of materials and details

Let's search and select parts for each of the above structural units:

After winding, we isolate the secondary coil with paint, varnish or other dielectric. This will prevent the streamer from getting into it.

Terminal - additional capacity of the secondary circuit, connected in series. With small streamers, it is not necessary. It is enough to bring the end of the coil 0.5–5 cm up.

After we have collected all the necessary parts for the Tesla coil, we proceed to assemble the structure with our own hands.

Construction and assembly

We assemble according to the simplest scheme in figure 4.

Separately install the power supply. Parts can be assembled by surface mounting, the main thing is to exclude a short circuit between the contacts.

When connecting a transistor, it is important not to confuse the contacts (Fig. 5).

To do this, we refer to the diagram. We tightly fasten the radiator to the transistor case.

Assemble the circuit on a dielectric substrate: a piece of plywood, a plastic tray, a wooden box, etc. Separate the circuit from the coils with a dielectric plate or board, with a miniature hole for the wires.

We fix the primary winding so as to prevent falling and touching the secondary winding. In the center of the primary winding, we leave room for the secondary coil, taking into account the fact that optimal distance 1 cm between them. It is not necessary to use the frame - a reliable fastening is enough.

We install and fix the secondary winding. We make the necessary connections according to the scheme. You can look at the work of the manufactured Tesla transformer in the video below.

Switching on, checking and adjusting

Remove before turning on. electronic devices away from the test site to prevent breakage. Remember electrical safety! For a successful launch, follow these steps in order:

1. We set the variable resistor to the middle position. When power is applied, make sure that there is no damage.
2. Visually check the presence of the streamer. If it is absent, we bring a fluorescent light bulb or incandescent lamp to the secondary coil. The glow of the lamp confirms the operability of the "Tesla transformer" and the presence of an electromagnetic field.
3. If the device does not work, first of all, we swap the conclusions of the primary coil, and only then we check the transistor for breakdown.
4. When you first turn on, monitor the temperature of the transistor, if necessary, connect additional cooling.

A distinctive feature of a powerful Tesla transformer is a large voltage, large dimensions of the device and a method for obtaining resonant oscillations. Let's talk a little about how it works and how to make a spark-type Tesla transformer.

The primary circuit operates on alternating voltage. When turned on, the capacitor is charged. As soon as the capacitor is charged to the maximum, a breakdown of the spark gap occurs - a device of two conductors with a spark gap filled with air or gas. After breakdown, a series circuit is formed from the capacitor and the primary coil, called the LC circuit. It is this circuit that creates high-frequency vibrations that create during secondary circuit resonant vibrations and huge voltage (Fig. 6).

In the presence of necessary details, a powerful Tesla transformer can be assembled with your own hands even at home. To do this, it is enough to make changes to the low-power circuit:

1. Increase the diameters of the coils and the cross section of the wire by 1.1 - 2.5 times.
2. Add a toroid-shaped terminal.
3. Change the DC voltage source to an AC one with a high boost factor, delivering a voltage of 3–5 kV.
4. Change the primary circuit according to the diagram in Figure 6.
5. Add a reliable ground.

Tesla spark transformers can reach up to 4.5kW, hence making large streamers. The best effect is obtained when the same frequency indicators of both circuits are achieved. This can be done by calculating the details in special programs– vsTesla, inca and others. You can download one of the Russian-language programs from the link: http://ntesla.at.ua/_fr/1/6977608.zip.

The Tesla coil consists of two coils L1 and L2 which sends a large current pulse to the coil L1. Tesla coils do not have a core. More than 10 turns are wound on the primary winding. The secondary winding is a thousand turns. A capacitor is also added to minimize spark losses.

The Tesla coil produces a large transformation ratio. It exceeds the ratio of the number of turns of the second coil to the first. The output potential difference of the Tesla coil is more than a few million volts. This creates such discharges electric current that the effect is spectacular. The discharges are several meters long.

Tesla Coil Principle

To understand how the Tesla coil works, you need to remember the rule of electronics: it's better to see once than hear a hundred times. The Tesla coil circuit is simple. This simple Tesla coil device creates streamers.

A streamer flies out of the high-voltage end of the Tesla coil. purple. There is a strange field around it that makes a fluorescent lamp glow, which is not connected and is in this field.

The streamer is the energy loss in the Tesla coil. Nikola Tesla tried to get rid of streamers by connecting it to a capacitor. Without a capacitor, there is no streamer, and the lamp burns brighter.

Tesla coil can be called a toy, who shows interesting effect. She amazes people with her powerful sparks. Designing a transformer is an interesting business. In one device, different effects of physics are combined. People don't understand how the coil functions.

The Tesla coil has two windings. Voltage is on the first alternating current A that creates a flow field. Energy is transferred to the second coil. Similar action for a transformer.

The second coil and C s form give oscillations summing the charge. For some time, the energy is held in the potential difference. The more energy we put in, the output will be more potential difference.

The main properties of the Tesla coil:

• The frequency of the second circuit.
• Coefficient of both coils.
• Q factor.

The coupling coefficient determines the speed of energy transfer from one winding to the secondary. The quality factor gives the energy conservation time of the circuit.

Likeness with a swing

For a better understanding of accumulation, a large potential difference in a circuit, imagine a swing swinging by an operator. The same oscillation circuit, and the person serves as the primary coil. The swing stroke is the electric current in the second winding, and the rise is the potential difference.

The operator swings, transfers energy. For several times they have accelerated strongly and rise very high, they have concentrated a lot of energy in themselves. The same effect occurs with the Tesla coil, there is an excess of energy, penetration occurs and a beautiful streamer is visible.

You need to swing the swings in accordance with the beat. The resonance frequency is the number of vibrations per second.

The length of the swing trajectory is determined by the coupling coefficient. If you swing the swing, they will quickly swing, move exactly to the length of a person’s arm. This coefficient is one. In our case, the Tesla coil with an increased coefficient is the same.

A person pushes the swing, but does not hold it, then the coupling coefficient is small, the swing moves even further. It takes longer to swing them, but it does not require strength. The coupling coefficient is greater, the faster energy accumulates in the circuit. The potential difference at the output is less.

Quality factor - the opposite of friction on the example of a swing. When the friction is large, the quality factor is small. Hence, the quality factor and coefficient are consistent for greatest height swing, or the largest streamer. In the transformer of the second winding of the Tesla coil, the quality factor is a variable value. It is difficult to agree on two values; it is selected as a result of experiments.

Main Tesla Coils

Tesla made one type of coil, with a spark gap. The base of elements has improved a lot, many types of coils have appeared, in the likeness they are also called Tesla coils. Species are also called in English, abbreviations. They are called abbreviations in Russian, without translation.

• Tesla coil with a spark gap. This is the initial conventional construction. With low power, it's two wires. With high power - arresters with rotation, complex. These transformers are good if you need a powerful streamer.
• Radio tube transformer. It runs smoothly and gives thickened streamers. Such coils are used for high frequency Tesla, they look like torches.
• Coil on semiconductor devices. These are transistors. Transformers operate constantly. The view is different. This reel is easy to control.
• Resonance coils in the amount of two pieces. Semiconductors are the keys. These coils are the most difficult to tune. The length of streamers is less than with a spark gap, they are less controlled.

To be able to control the view, we created an interrupter. This device was slowed down so that there was time to charge the capacitors, to reduce the temperature of the terminal. This increased the length of the discharges. Currently there are other options (music plays).

The main elements of the Tesla coil

AT different designs main features and details are common.

• Toroid- has 3 options. The first is resonance reduction.
  The second is the accumulation of discharge energy. The larger the toroid, the more energy it contains. The toroid releases energy, boosts it. This phenomenon will be beneficial if an interrupter is used.
  The third is the creation of a field with static electricity, repelling from the second winding of the coil. This option is performed by the second coil itself. The toroid helps her. Due to the repulsion of the streamer by the field, it does not hit the short path to the second winding. From the use of a toroid, pulse-pumped coils with interrupters are useful. The value of the outer diameter of the toroid is twice the second winding.
  Toroids can be made from corrugated and other materials.
• secondary coil- the basic component of Tesla.
  The length is five times the diameter of the skein.
  The diameter of the wire is calculated, 1000 turns fit on the second winding, the turns are wound tightly.
  The coil is varnished to protect it from damage. Can be applied in a thin layer.
  The frame is made of PVC sewer pipes, which are sold in construction stores.
• Ring of Protection- serves to get the streamer into the first winding without damaging it. The ring is placed on the Tesla coil, the streamer is longer than the second winding. It looks like a coil of copper wire, thicker than the wire of the first winding, it is grounded by a cable to the ground.
• Winding primary- created from a copper tube used in air conditioners. It has a low resistance so that a large current can flow through it easily. The thickness of the pipe is not calculated, they take about 5-6 mm. The wire for the primary winding is used with a large cross section.
  The distance from the secondary winding is selected based on the presence of the required coupling coefficient.
  The winding is adjustable when the first circuit is defined. Place, moving it adjusts the frequency value of the primary.
  These windings are made in the form of a cylinder, a cone.

• grounding is an important part.
  Streamers hit the ground, close the current.
  There will be insufficient grounding, then the streamers will hit the coil.

The coils are connected to power through the ground.

There is an option to connect power from another transformer. This method is called "magnifer".

Bipolar Tesla coils produce a discharge between the ends of the secondary winding. This causes a short circuit current without grounding.

For a transformer, grounding is used as a ground with a large object that conducts electric current - this is a counterweight. There are few such structures, they are dangerous, since there is a high potential difference between the ground. The capacitance from the counterweight and surrounding things negatively affects them.

This rule applies to secondary windings whose length is 5 times greater than the diameter and power up to 20 kVA.

How to make something spectacular according to Tesla's inventions? Seeing his ideas and inventions, a Tesla coil will be made by hand.

This is a high voltage transformer. You can touch a spark, light bulbs.

For manufacturing we need copper wire in enamel with a diameter of 0.15 mm. Any from 0.1 to 0.3 mm will do. You need about two hundred meters. It can be obtained from various devices, for example, from transformers, or bought on the market, it will be better. You will also need a few frames. Firstly, it is a frame for the secondary winding. Perfect option is 5 meters sewage pipe, but anything with a diameter of 4 to 7 cm, a length of 15-30 cm will do.

For the primary coil, you will need a frame a couple of centimeters larger than the first. You will also need a few radio components. This is a D13007 transistor, or its analogues, a small board, several resistors, 5.75 kilo-ohm 0.25 W.

We wind the wire on the frame for about 1000 turns without overlaps, without large gaps, carefully. Can be done in 2 hours. When the winding is finished, we coat the winding with varnish in several layers, or with another material so that it does not become unusable.

We wind the first coil. It is wound on the frame more and is wound with a wire of the order of 1 mm. A wire is suitable here, about 10 turns.

If a transformer of a simple type is made, then its composition is two coils without a core. On the first winding there are about ten turns of thick wire, on the second - at least a thousand turns. In the manufacture, a Tesla coil with its own hands has a coefficient ten times greater than the number of turns of the second and first windings.

The output voltage of the transformer will reach millions of volts. This gives a beautiful sight of several meters.

It is difficult to wind a Tesla coil with your own hands. It is even more difficult to create a look for a reel to attract viewers.

First you need to decide on a power supply of several kilovolts, fix it to the capacitor. With excess capacitance, the value of the parameters of the diode bridge changes. Next, a spark gap is selected to create the effect.

• The two wires are held together, the bare ends turned to the side.
• The gap is set at the rate of breaking through a slightly higher voltage of a given potential difference. For alternating current, the potential difference will be higher than a certain one.
• Do-it-yourself power is connected to the Tesla coil.
• The secondary winding of 200 turns is wound on a pipe made of insulating material. If everything is done according to the rules, then the discharge will be good, with branches.
• Grounding the second coil.

It turns out a Tesla coil with your own hands, which you can make at home, having basic knowledge of electricity.

Safety

The secondary winding is energized, capable of killing a person. The breakdown current reaches hundreds of amperes. A person can survive up to 10 amps, so do not forget about the protection furs.

Tesla coil calculation

Without calculations, it is possible to make an oversized transformer, but spark discharges greatly heat the air and create thunder. The electric field disables electrical devices, so the transformer must be located away.

To calculate the arc length and power, the distance between the wires of the electrodes in cm is divided by 4.25, then squared, the power (W) is obtained.

To determine the distance, the square root of the power is multiplied by 4.25. A winding that creates an arc discharge of 1.5 meters should receive a power of 1246 watts. A winding powered by 1 kW creates a spark 1.37 m long.

Bifilar Tesla Coil

This wire winding method distributes more capacitance than standard winding.

Such coils cause the approximation of turns. The gradient is cone-shaped, not flat, in the middle of the coil, or with a dip.

The current capacitance does not change. Due to the convergence of the sections, the potential difference between the turns increases during oscillations. Consequently, the capacitance resistance at high frequency decreases several times, and the capacitance increases.

Write comments, additions to the article, maybe I missed something. Take a look at , I will be glad if you find something else useful on mine.

One of the famous inventions of Nikola Tesla was the Tesla coil. This invention is a resonant transformer that generates a high frequency high voltage. In 1896, a patent was issued for the invention, which had the name of an apparatus for generating an electric current of high potential and frequency.

Device and work

The elementary Tesla transformer includes two coils, a toroid, a capacitor, a spark gap, a protective ring and .

The toroid performs several functions:

• Decreased resonance frequency, especially for the Tesla coil type with semiconductor switches. do not perform well at higher frequencies.
• Accumulation of energy before the occurrence of an electric arc. How larger size toroid, the more energy is stored. At the moment of air breakdown, the toroid releases this accumulated energy into an electric arc, while increasing it.
• The formation of an electrostatic field that repels the arc from the secondary winding. Part of this function is performed by the secondary winding. However, the toroid helps her with this. Therefore, the electric arc does not hit the secondary winding along the shortest path.

Usually outside diameter the toroid is twice the diameter of the secondary winding. Toroids are made from aluminum corrugations and other materials.

Secondary winding The Tesla transformer is the main design element. Usually the length of the winding refers to its diameter 5:1. The diameter of the conductor for the coil is chosen so as to accommodate about 1000 turns, which should be closely spaced. The winding turns are covered with several layers of varnish or epoxy resin. PVC pipes are chosen as a frame, which can be bought at a hardware store.

Protective ring serves to prevent damage electronic elements in the event of an electric arc entering the primary winding. The protective ring is installed if the size of the streamer (electric arc) is greater than the length of the secondary coil. This ring is made in the form of a copper open conductor, grounded by a separate wire to a common ground.

Primary winding most often made of copper tube used in air conditioners. The resistance of the primary winding should be small, since a large current will pass through it. The tube is most often chosen with a thickness of 6 mm. Can also be used for winding conductors large section. The primary winding is a kind of adjustment element in such Tesla coils, in which the first circuit is resonant. Therefore, the place of power connection is performed taking into account its movement, with the help of which the resonance frequency of the primary circuit is changed.

The shape of the primary winding can be different: conical, flat or cylindrical.

The Tesla coil must have grounding. If it is not there, then the streamers will hit the coil itself to close the current.

The oscillatory circuit is formed by a capacitor together with the primary winding. A spark gap is also connected to this circuit, which is a non-linear element. An oscillation circuit is also formed in the secondary winding, in which the capacitance of the toroid and the interturn capacitance of the coil act as a capacitor. Most often, to protect against electrical breakdown, the secondary winding is coated with varnish or epoxy.

As a result, the Tesla coil, or in other words the transformer, consists of two oscillation circuits connected to each other. This gives the Tesla transformer unusual properties, and is the main distinguishing quality from conventional transformers.

When the breakdown voltage between the electrodes of the spark gap is reached, an electrical avalanche-like breakdown of the gas is formed. In this case, the capacitor is discharged to the coil through the spark gap. As a result, the circuit of the oscillation circuit, which consists of a capacitor and a primary winding, remains closed to the spark gap. In this circuit, high frequency oscillations occur. Resonant oscillations are formed in the secondary circuit, resulting in a high voltage.

In all types of Tesla coils, the main element is the circuits: primary and secondary. However, the high frequency oscillator may differ in design.

The Tesla coil essentially consists of two coils that do not have a metal core. The transformation ratio of the Tesla coil is several tens of times higher than the ratio of the number of turns of both windings. Therefore, the output voltage of the transformer reaches several million volts, which provides powerful electrical discharges several meters long. An important condition is the formation of an oscillation circuit by the primary winding and the capacitor, the entry into resonance of this circuit with the secondary winding.

Varieties

Since the time of Nikola Tesla, there have been many various kinds Tesla transformers. Consider the common main types of transformers such as the Tesla coil.

SGTC- a coil operating on a spark discharge has classic device used by Tesla himself. In this design, the switching element is a spark gap. For low-power devices, the arrester is made in the form of two segments of a thick conductor located at a certain distance. Higher power devices use rotating spark gaps complex design using electric motors. Such transformers are produced when it is necessary to obtain a streamer of great length, without any effects.

VTTC- a coil based on an electron lamp, which is a switching element. Such transformers are capable of operating in a constant mode and delivering discharges of great thickness. This type of power supply is usually used to create high-frequency coils. They create a streamer effect in the form of a torch.

SSTC- a coil in the design of which a semiconductor element in the form of a powerful one is used as a key. This type of transformer is also capable of operating in continuous mode. The external form of streamers from such a device is very different. Control with a semiconductor key is simpler, there are Tesla coils that can play music.

DRSSTC- a transformer having two resonance circuits. The role of keys is also played by semiconductor components. This is the most difficult transformer to set up and control, however, it is used to create impressive effects. In this case, a large resonance is obtained in the primary circuit. The brightest thick and long streamers in the form of lightning are formed in the second circuit.

Types of effects from the Tesla coil

• arc discharge - occurs in many cases. It is characteristic of lamp transformers.
• corona discharge is the glow of air ions in electric field increased voltage, forms a bluish beautiful glow around the elements of the device with high voltage, as well as having a large surface curvature.
• spark otherwise called a spark discharge. It flows from the terminal to the ground, or to a grounded object, in the form of a bunch of bright branched strips that quickly disappear or change.
• Streamers - these are thin weakly luminous branching channels containing ionized gas atoms and free electrons. They do not go into the ground, but flow into the air. Streamer is the ionization of air, formed by the field of a high voltage transformer.

The action of the Tesla coil is accompanied by a crackle of electric current. Streamers can turn into spark channels. This is accompanied by a large increase in current and energy. The streamer channel expands rapidly, the pressure rises sharply, so a shock wave is formed. The totality of such waves is like a crackle of sparks.

Lesser Known Tesla Coil Effects

Some people consider the Tesla transformer to be some special device with exceptional properties. There is also an opinion that such a device can become an energy generator and a perpetual motion machine.

It is sometimes said that with the help of such a transformer it is possible to transmit electrical energy over considerable distances without using wires, and also to create anti-gravity. Such properties have not been confirmed or verified by science, but Tesla spoke of the imminent availability of such abilities for humans.

In medicine, with prolonged exposure to high frequency currents and voltage, chronic diseases and other negative phenomena can form. Also, the presence of a person in a high voltage field adversely affects his health. You can be poisoned by the gases emitted during the operation of the transformer without ventilation.

Application

• The voltage at the output of the Tesla coil sometimes reaches millions of volts, which forms significant air electrical discharges several meters long. Therefore, such effects are used as a demonstration show.
• The Tesla coil found application in medicine at the beginning of the last century. Patients were treated with low-power high-frequency currents. Such currents flow on the surface of the skin, have a healing and tonic effect, without causing any harm to the human body. However, powerful high-frequency currents have a negative effect.
• Tesla coil is used in military equipment for immediate destruction electronic engineering in a building, on a ship, a tank. In this case, a powerful impulse of electromagnetic waves is created for a short period of time. As a result, transistors, microcircuits and other electronic components burn out within a radius of several tens of meters. This device is completely silent. There is evidence that the current frequency during the operation of such a device can reach 1 THz.
• Sometimes such a transformer is used to ignite gas discharge lamps, as well as to search for leaks in a vacuum.

Tesla coil effects are sometimes used in filming, computer games. Currently, the Tesla coil has not found wide application in practice in everyday life.

Tesla coil on future

currently remain topical issues by the scientist Tesla. The consideration of these problematic issues makes it possible for students and engineers of institutes to look at the problems of science more broadly, to structure and generalize the material, to abandon stereotyped thoughts.

Tesla's views are relevant today not only in technology and science, but also for work in new inventions, the application of new technologies in production. Our future will give an explanation for the phenomena and effects discovered by Tesla. He laid the foundations of the newest civilization for the third millennium.

Nikola Tesla, like many other physicists, to the study of the energy of currents and methods of its transmission, the creation of unique developments. One of them was a Tesla coil - this is designed to receive high frequency currents.

Tesla was definitely a genius. It was he who brought the use of alternating current into the world and patented many inventions. One of them is the famous coil, or Tesla transformer. If you have certain knowledge and skills, you can easily create a Tesla coil at home on your own. Let's find out what the essence of this device is and how to create it at home, if you suddenly really want it.

What is a Tesla coil and why is it needed?

As noted earlier, the Tesla coil is a resonant transformer. The purpose of the transformer is to change the value of the voltage of the electric current. These devices are respectively step-down and step-up.

Many are trying to repeat the numerous unique experiments of the great genius. However, for this they will have to solve the most important task - how to make a Tesla coil at home. But how to do that? Let's try to describe in detail so that you can do it the first time.

How to make a Tesla coil at home with your own hands

On the Internet you can find a lot of information on how to make a musical or mini Tesla coil with your own hands. But we will tell and clearly show on the example of illustrations how to make simple coil Tesla at 220 volts at home.

Since this invention was created by Nikola Tesla for experiments with high-voltage charges, it contains the following elements: a power source, a capacitor, 2 coils (it is between them that the charge will circulate), 2 electrodes (the charge will jump between them).

The Tesla coil is used in a variety of applications, from televisions and particle accelerators to toys for children.

To get started, you will need the following items:

• power supply from neon signs (supply transformer);
• several ceramic capacitors;
• metal bolts;
• hair dryer (if there is no hair dryer, you can use a fan);
• varnished copper wire;
• metal ball or ring;
• toroidal forms for coils (can be replaced with cylindrical ones);
• safety bar;
• chokes;
• ground pin.

Creation should take place in the following steps.

Design

To begin with, it is worth deciding what size the coil should be and where it will be located.

If finances allow, you can create just a huge generator at home. But you should remember one thing important detail : The coil creates a lot of sparks that heat up the air, causing it to expand. The result is thunder. As a result, the created electromagnetic field is able to disable all electrical appliances. Therefore, it is better to create it not in an apartment, but somewhere in a more secluded and remote corner (garage, workshop, etc.).

If you want to determine in advance how long the arc will be for your coil or the power of the required power supply, take the following measurements: divide the distance between the electrodes in centimeters by 4.25, square the resulting number. The final number will be your power in watts. And vice versa - to find out the distance between the electrodes, Square root power must be multiplied by 4.25. For a Tesla coil, which will be able to create an arc one and a half meters long, 1,246 watts will be required. And a device with a one kilowatt power supply can make a spark 1.37 meters long.

Next, we study terminology. To create such an unusual device, you will need to understand highly specialized scientific terms and units of measurement. And in order not to blunder and do everything right, you will have to learn to understand their meaning and meaning. Here is some information that will help:

1. What is electric capacitance ? This is the ability to accumulate and hold an electric charge of a certain voltage. Something that stores an electrical charge is called capacitor. Farad is a unit of measure for electric charges (F). It can be expressed in terms of 1 ampere second (Coulomb) multiplied by a volt. Typically, capacitance is measured in parts per million or trillions of a farad (micro- and picofarads).
2. What is self-induction? This is the name of the phenomenon of the occurrence of EMF in the conductor when the current passing through it changes. High-voltage wires, through which low-ampere current flows, have high self-inductance. Its unit of measurement is Henry (H), which corresponds to a circuit where, when the current changes at a rate of one ampere per second, an EMF of 1 Volt is created. Typically, inductance is measured in mi- and microhenries (thousandths and millionths).
3. What is resonant frequency ? This is the name of the frequency at which the energy transmission losses will be minimal. In a Tesla coil, this would be the frequency minimum losses when transferring energy between the primary and secondary windings. Its unit of measurement is hertz (Hz), that is, one cycle per second. The resonant frequency is usually measured in thousands of hertz or kilohertz (kHz).

Gathering the necessary parts

We have already written above what components you will need to create a Tesla coil at home. And if you are a radio amateur, you will certainly have some of this (or even all).

Here are some of the required details:

• the power source must feed through the inductor a storage or primary oscillatory circuit, consisting of a primary coil, a primary capacitor and a spark gap;
• the primary coil should be located near the secondary coil, which is an element of the secondary oscillatory circuit, but the circuits should not be connected by wires. As soon as the secondary capacitor accumulates a sufficient charge, it will immediately begin to release electrical charges into the air.

Creating a Tesla Coil

1. Choosing a transformer. It is the supply transformer that will decide what size your coil will be. Most of these coils operate from transformers capable of delivering current from 30 to 100 milliamps at a voltage of five to fifteen thousand volts. You can find the right transformer at the nearest radio market, on the Internet, or you can remove it from a neon sign.
2. Making the primary capacitor. It can be assembled from several smaller capacitors by connecting them in a circuit. Then they will be able to accumulate equal shares of charge in the primary circuit. True, it is necessary that all small capacitors have the same capacitance. Each of these small capacitors will be called composite.

You can buy a small capacitor on the radio market, on the Internet, or remove ceramic capacitors from an old TV. However, if you have golden hands, you can make them yourself from aluminum foil using plastic wrap.

To achieve maximum power, it is necessary that the primary capacitor is fully charged every half power cycle. For a 60 Hz power supply, it needs to be charged 120 times per second.

1. Designing a spark gap. To make a single spark gap, use a minimum of six millimeters (thick) wire. Then the electrodes will be able to withstand the heat that is generated during charging. In addition, it is possible to make a multi-electrode or rotary spark gap, as well as to cool the electrodes by air blowing. For these purposes, an old household vacuum cleaner is perfect.
2. We make the winding of the primary coil. We make the coil itself from wire, but you need a form around which you have to wind the wire. For these purposes, varnished copper wire is used, which you can buy at a radio electronics store or simply remove it from any old unnecessary electrical appliance. The shape around which we will wind the wire should be conical or cylindrical (plastic or cardboard tube, old lampshade, etc.). Due to the length of the wire, the inductance of the primary coil can be adjusted. The latter should have a low inductance, so it should have a small number of turns. The wire for the primary coil does not have to be solid - you can fasten several together to adjust the inductance during assembly.
3. We collect in one circuit the primary capacitor, the spark gap and the primary coil. This circuit will form the primary oscillatory circuit.
4. Making a secondary inductor. Here we also need cylindrical shape where to wind the wire. This coil must have the same resonant frequency as the primary, otherwise losses cannot be avoided. The secondary coil must be higher than the primary coil, because it will have more inductance and it will prevent the discharge of the secondary circuit (it is this that can lead to the combustion of the primary coil). If there are not enough materials to create a large secondary coil, a discharging electrode can be made. This will protect the primary circuit, but cause this electrode to take on most of the discharges, resulting in the discharges not being visible.
5. Create a secondary capacitor, or terminal. It should have a rounded shape. Usually it is a torus (donut-shaped ring) or a sphere.
6. We connect the secondary capacitor and the secondary coil. This will be the secondary oscillatory circuit, which must be grounded away from the household wiring that feeds the source of the Tesla coil. What is it for? This way it will be possible to avoid the wandering of high-voltage currents through the wiring of the house and the subsequent harm to any connected electrical appliances. For a separate grounding, it will be enough just to drive a metal pin into the ground.
7. We make impulse chokes. It is possible to make such a small coil that can prevent the breakdown of the power supply by the arrester by winding a copper wire around a thin tube.
8. Putting all the details together. We place the primary and secondary oscillatory circuits side by side, through the chokes we connect a supply transformer to the primary circuit. That's all! To use the Tesla coil for its intended purpose, just turn on the transformer!

If the primary coil is too large diameter, you can place the secondary coil inside the primary.

And here is the whole sequence of collecting the Tesla coil in pictures:

Tip 1: if you want to control the direction of the discharges that come out of the secondary capacitor, place any metal object so that there is no contact between the two. In this case, the contact will take the form of an arc stretching from the capacitor to the object. Interestingly, if a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent lamp is placed nearby, then thanks to the Tesla coil, they will begin to glow.

Tip 2 : If you want to design and create a quality coil, you need to make complex mathematical calculations. However, if you yourself cannot complete them, look for helpers or formulas from the Internet.

Tip 3 : You should not start building a Tesla coil if you do not have the appropriate engineering experience or knowledge in electronics.

Tip 4 : The latest generation of neon signs contain solid state power supplies with a built-in residual current device. This makes them unsuitable for building a Tesla coil.!

The world of physics and electronics is fraught with many secrets and beauty, which, with proper experience and knowledge, can be recreated by everyone with their own hands. So you, following all the above tips, can always create the legendary Tesla coil at home with your own hands, impressing guests and seducing the opposite sex. And if a brilliant mind and a thirst for inventions prevent you from studying, just use the services for students!

Some images are taken from the source:

The Tesla Coil is a resonant transformer that creates a high voltage at a high frequency. Invented by Tesla in 1896. The operation of this device causes very beautiful effects, similar to controlled lightning, and their size and strength depend on the supplied voltage and the electrical circuit.

It is not difficult to make a Tesla coil at home, and its effects are very beautiful. Ready-made and powerful such devices are sold in this Chinese store.

Without using wires, with the help of the proposed high-frequency transformer, it is possible to maintain the glow of gas-filled lamps (for example, fluorescent lamps). In addition, a beautiful high-voltage spark is formed at the end of the winding, which you can touch with your hands. Due to the fact that the input voltage on the presented generator will be low, it is relatively safe.

Safety precautions for the operation of the presented Tesla coil circuit

Remember not to turn on this device near phones, computers and other electronic devices, as they may be damaged by its radiation.

A simple Tesla generator circuit

To assemble the circuit you need:

1. Copper enameled wire 0.1-0.3 mm thick, 200 m long.

2. plastic pipe diameter 4-7 cm, length 15 cm for the frame of the secondary winding.

3. A plastic pipe with a diameter of 7-10 cm, a length of 3-5 cm for the frame of the primary winding.

4. Radio components: transistor D13007 and a cooling radiator for it; 50 kΩ variable resistor; fixed resistor at 75 ohms and 0.25 watts; power supply with an output voltage of 12-18 volts and a current of 0.5 amperes;
5. Soldering iron, tin solder and rosin.

Having picked up the necessary parts, start by winding the coil. It is necessary to wind a turn to turn on the frame without overlaps and noticeable gaps, about 1000 turns, but not less than 600. After that, you need to provide insulation and fix the winding, it is best to use varnish for this, which cover the winding in several layers.

For the primary winding (L1), a thicker wire with a diameter of 0.6 mm or more is used, the winding is 5-12 turns, the frame for it is selected at least 5 mm thicker than the secondary winding.

Next, assemble the circuit, as in the figure above. The transistor is suitable for any NPN, PNP is also possible, but in this case it is necessary to change the polarity of the power supply, the author of the circuit used BUT11AF, from domestic ones, which are in no way inferior, KT819, KT805 are well suited.
To power the kacher - any power supply 12-30V with a current of 0.3 A or more.

Tesla winding parameters

Secondary - 700 turns with a wire 0.15 mm thick on a 4 cm frame.
Primary - 5 turns with 1.5 mm wire on a 5 cm frame.
Power supply - 12-24 V with current up to 1 A.

Video channel "How-todo".