subject: Tesla Coil - What is it and how does it work? [print this page] Tesla Coil - What is it and how does it work?
Nikola Tesla, the Serbian born inventor, built his first Tesla Coil around 1891. He patented a plethora of devices and some people even call him the "The man who invented the 20th Century". Without him we wouldn't have had alternating current, radio control and even the common spark plug.
The Tesla Coil is basically a form of resonant transformer which consists of a primary and secondary coil. The device steps up voltage using loosely coupled coils to enormously high voltages. Tesla himself managed to create more than a million volts with one of his tesla coils.
A basic Tesla Coil consists of the following components:
1.) High Voltage Power Supply - at least 5kV
2.) A Primary Capacitor (C1)
3.) A spark gap (S1)
4.) A primary coil (L1)
5.) A secondary coil (L2)
6.) A toroid (C2)
The theory behind the Tesla Coil:
1.) The high voltage power supply charges the primary capacitor until it reaches its full capacity.
2.) Once the capacitor is fully charged, the spark gap fires and the current flows through to the primary coil. (The spark gap acts like an on and off switch)
3.) When most of the current is in the primary coil, the capacitor runs empty and the spark gap stops firing, thereby closing the circuit again.
4.) The capacitor starts charging again and the spark gap fires again. This process repeats itself until the power is switched off. The circuit is now resonating.
5.) Each time the current flows to the primary coil, some of the current is induced by the secondary coil. As the secondary coil has more windings than the primary coil, the voltage is increased by more than ten times. Because of this, resonant rise takes place. This means that the secondary coil charges more with every cycle.
6.) With every cycle, the secondary coil dumps its load into the Toroid, which acts as the secondary capacitor.
7.) When the cycle is at its peak, the Toroid is filled to the brim with current and cannot contain the voltage anymore. It emits sparks in all directions and the process starts all over again.
This whole cycle occurs more than 120 times per second in the average Tesla Coil.
For further information about Tesla Coils, click here: http://www.free-energy-now.us/free energy latest.html
