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Tesla coil | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica

Tesla coil | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica

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Also known as: Tesla transformer

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Tesla coil

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Tesla coil, an electrical transformer that uses high-frequency alternating current (AC) to increase voltage. Because of its extremely high voltage, the electricity in a Tesla coil can travel through the air, powering—or damaging—nearby electronic devices, often with arcs of lightninglike electricity. Though the Tesla coil produces extremely high voltage, the high frequency of the current generally makes it possible for most people to approach the device and even be struck by the arcs without suffering injury. The spectacular effects created by the Tesla coil make the device popular for scientific exhibitions, but the principles underlying the coil were also important to the development of radio technology.The Tesla coil was invented by Serbian American inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891. Tesla was primarily interested in its potential to wirelessly transmit electricity, particularly for lighting. He hoped to build large coils scattered across Earth, each of which would provide power to any device with a receiver coil. However, he had little success with this plan. In 1893 Tesla gave a lecture and demonstration on wireless transmission in which he proposed signal transmission in conjunction with power transmission. He also obtained a patent describing the same principles, which is considered the first radio patent.A Tesla coil is an electrical transformer, or a device that raises or lowers voltage, which is a measure of electrical potential. A Tesla coil generates very high voltage, often in excess of one million volts. It uses AC electricity, meaning that the voltage of the circuit changes at a particular frequency. A modern Tesla coil usually consists of an initial transformer that boosts voltage from the power source and sends it to a capacitor attached to the primary coil, which absorbs the high-voltage power. When the capacitor reaches a sufficiently high voltage, electricity flows across a spark gap, or a space between two high-conducting terminals, at a high frequency, creating an AC current in the primary coil.One of the key principles of the Tesla coil is resonance—achieving the frequency at which the device’s primary coil induces maximum voltage in the secondary coil. This is achieved through magnetic coupling, also called inductive coupling. The two coils are not tied together with a conductor; rather, electricity is run through the primary coil, which creates a magnetic field. This magnetic field creates an electrical current in the secondary coil, at a much higher voltage. To achieve this increase in voltage, the secondary coil must have many more windings than the primary coil. Frequently, the primary coil has only one or two windings, while the secondary may have hundreds or thousands. The secondary coil also contains a capacitor, which builds up extremely high voltage.

The resulting high voltage results in a magnetic field so strong that arcs of electricity flow like lightning from the Tesla coil to nearby objects. These lightninglike discharges can even flow to people, but this is usually dangerous only if a nearby person has a pacemaker or other medical device that could be affected by the Tesla coil. Though the voltages are very high, the impedance of the coil is high enough that only a small current is produced in humans who interact with it, and the frequency of the current is such that it has little interaction with nerve cells. A popular demonstration of a Tesla coil is to have a person hold a metal rod in one hand and a lightbulb in the other. Holding the rod close to the coil produces an arc of electricity that travels through the person’s body and lights the bulb. Fluorescent lightbulbs and other devices can also be powered by proximity to the Tesla coil, even without drawing an arc. It was this ability to produce wireless power that Tesla found so compelling. Stephen Eldridge

What Is A Tesla Coil? How Does A Tesla Coil Work?

What Is A Tesla Coil? How Does A Tesla Coil Work?

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What Is A Tesla Coil?

Written by Venkatesh VaidyanathanLast Updated On: 19 Oct 2023Published On: 12 Jan 2019

Table of Contents (click to expand)Operation Of The Tesla CoilMathematical Nuances Of The Tesla Coil

A Tesla Coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives a double-tuned resonant transformer to produce high voltages with low currents. The term Tesla coil inherently contains an element of genius within it. This technological wonder prides itself in being named after one of the most prolific and mysterious scientists in history—Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla is credited as the pioneer who championed the use of Alternating Current (A.C.) and has a log list of other inventions under his belt that have truly transformed the world. However, there was one idea that Tesla was simply obsessed with—the free delivery and transmission of wireless energy. Sounds crazy, right? Even so, that’s what Tesla set out to do with his Tesla Coil. (Photo Credit : J. Gerhard Daniel Grohmann/Wikimedia Commons) Recommended Video for you:Why Do Power Lines Buzz? Operation Of The Tesla Coil To put this in a nutshell, a Tesla Coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives a double-tuned resonant transformer to produce high voltages with low currents. Now, to better understand what a radio frequency oscillator is, let’s take one further step back to first understand an electronic oscillator.  An electronic oscillator is primarily an electronic circuit that produces an osmicating electrical signal, which is often a sine wave or a square wave. Oscillators convert direct current from a power supply to an alternating current signal. An electronic oscillator that produces signals in the radio frequency range (100kHz to 100GHz) is called a radio frequency oscillator. (Photo Credit : Omegatron/Wikimedia Commons) A resonant transformer works on the concept of resonant inductive coupling, where the secondary coil in the transformer is loosely coupled, so it resonates. The special aspect of the resonant transformer is that either one or both the circuits present in the transformer consists of a capacitor connected in parallel to it. This coupling of the transformer circuit and the capacitor turns it into a tuning circuit. A tuning circuit or LC circuit is used either for generating signals at a particular frequency or picking out a signal at a particular frequency from a more complex signal, which is also known as a bandpass filter. Whether you compare the first patented model or the more modern ones, there is one commonality that you will find in all of them—the spark gap. The functionality of the spark gap is to excite the oscillated electrical signal from the resonant circuit. The unique design of the coil ensures that there are low resistive energy losses at high voltages, which the Tesla Coil produces. Now that we understand the different components of such a coil, we can delve into the operation of the Tesla Coil in its entirety. First, the resonant transformer steps up the voltage to a very high level, to the point where high voltage begins jumping across the spark gap. The typical voltages are between 5 and 30 kilovolts. The capacitor in the circuit forms a tuned circuit with the primary winding L1 of the apparatus. The spark gap plays the role of the switch in the primary circuit. The Tesla Coil (L1, L2) together with the spark gap, generates a high output of voltage when coupled together. Also Read: What Is A Transformer?Mathematical Nuances Of The Tesla Coil There are three important mathematical nuances or foundations upon which the operation of the Tesla Coil is built. The two main features are the oscillating frequency and the output voltage. First, let’s take a look at the oscillating frequency. To produce the largest amount of voltage possible from a Tesla Coil, it must be ensured that the primary and secondary circuits of the resonance transformer are tuned to resonate with each other. The resonant frequencies of the primary and secondary circuits are defined by f1 and f2. Usually, the secondary circuit frequency (f2) cannot be adjusted. However, the primary can be adjusted with the help of a tap. The conditions for resonance are given below: Unlike conventional transformers, the output voltage of the resonance transformer is not directly proportional to the number-of-turns ratio, as in the case of an ordinary transformer. It can be calculated through the conservation of energy. When the cycle begins, and the spark starts all of the energy from the primary circuit, W1 is stored in the capacitor C1.  If V1 is the voltage at which the spark gap breaks down, which is usually close to the peak output voltage of the supply transformer T, this energy is: Once the energy level crosses 85% capacity, it transfers over to the secondary circuit. At the peak energy level of the system, the voltage on the secondary side is V2, the energy stored is W2, and the capacitor on the secondary circuit is C2. Assuming that no energy losses occur, W1 and W2 will be equal. This shows that the loss of energy by transmitting it wirelessly could have theoretically been kept to a minimum. Also Read: What Are Inductors And What Is Induction?References (click to expand)Music, Magic and Mayhem with Tesla Coil | ElectroBoom. electroboom.comWireless Electricity? How the Tesla Coil Works | Live Science. Live ScienceTesla coil - Wikipedia. Wikipedia

Tags: Alternating current, Capacitor, Physics, Transformer

About the AuthorVenkatesh is an Electrical and Electronics Engineer from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India. He is deeply fascinated by Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. He is also a chess aficionado, He likes studying chess classics from the 1800 and 1900’s. He enjoys writing about science and technology as he finds the intricacies which come with each topic fascinating.

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经典电路——什么特斯拉线圈?什么是谐振变压器?看这篇就够了! - 知乎

经典电路——什么特斯拉线圈?什么是谐振变压器?看这篇就够了! - 知乎首发于疯狂的运放切换模式写文章登录/注册经典电路——什么特斯拉线圈?什么是谐振变压器?看这篇就够了!创客皮特Linux/开源硬件/物联网/智能产品, wx:疯狂的运放一、概述特斯拉线圈(Tesla Coil)是一种谐振变压器(Resonant Transformer),由尼古拉·特斯拉在1891年发明,用于生产超高电压、低电流、高频率的电力。特别的,特斯拉线圈可产生绚丽的电弧效果,所以成千上万的电子爱好者至今都在制作它。通常情况下,空气被认为是绝缘的,当电极两端的电压足够高,空气中的分子被电离,形成各种离子,此时空气被击穿,空气变成导体,电流通过就会形成电弧。图1-特斯拉线圈电弧放电那么击穿空气需要多大电压呢?3KV/mm(该值随压力、温度、湿度改变)。也就是说,如果要在1cm的间距上产生电弧,那就要30KV。可见特斯拉线圈上的输出电压有多高了。当然你可以说,在划破长空的大自然雷电面前,这都不算什么。二、电路构成我在网上找了一个比较直观的特斯拉线圈的实物连接图:图2-特斯拉线圈实物连接图对应原理图如下(电极与电容的位置与实物图中有所调整):图3-特斯拉线圈电路原理图主要元器件有:电源输入:通常为市电,如AC 110V 60Hz/220V 50Hz等;升压变压器(变压器1):通过匝数之比升高电压,能将电压升高到上千伏。工作频率较低(市电频率50~60Hz),一般带有磁芯;火花间隙:由两个电极构成,之间有较短距离间隙,图中描述为“Spark Gap”;谐振变压器(变压器2):由图中的初级线圈(Primary Coil)和次级线圈(Second Coil)组成,所谓的特斯拉线圈指的就是这个;电容(电容1):起到储能作用,并且与谐振变压器中的初级线圈(Primary Coil)构成LC谐振电路;你可能觉得谐振变压器中的次级线圈(Second Coil)呈现开路状态,没有电流流过。但实际上线圈的寄生电容、以及线圈顶部的环状体电极(Torus)与大地之间的电容,组合构成了“等效电容”(电容2),且电压足够高时,就会击穿空气,在电容上流经电流:图4-特斯拉线圈上“看不见”的等效电容所以,完整的特斯拉线圈电路图如下所示:图5-加入等效电容的特斯拉电路原理图三、工作原理(1)火花间隙要理解特斯拉线圈,首先要理解火花间隙(Spark Gap)。火花间隙在此就相当于一个开关:当初始状态下,变压器1对电容形成充电电路,见下图(a);当电容电压达到一定值,火化间隙导通,相当于短路,电容和变压器2的初级线圈(Primary Coil)构成LC谐振电路,见下图(b);图6-火花间隙 不导通(a)和导通(b)(2)LC谐振电路上图(b)中,电容和电感组成了经典的LC谐振电路。简而言之,电容里储存的能量逐步释放,传递给电感;然后电感的能量逐步释放,传递给电容,周而复始。能量交互的周期为谐振频率(与电容、电感有关),考虑到电路上不可避免的电阻消耗,能量会逐步减小。图7-LC谐振电路关于LC谐振电路,更详细的介绍可以查看之前的文章:当能量减少,火花间隙两个电极上高电压难以维持,火花间隙断路,重新回到上图(a)的状态。注意,通过L、C的取值,LC电路的谐振频率非常高(数百KHz)。结合火花间隙的开、关,以及LC谐振电路的振荡,电容上电压波形示意图如下所示:图8-电容的波形变化示意图相对LC电路谐振过程,电容的充电过程较慢,这就是为什么图6(a)、(b)分别标注了慢电路(Slow Circuit)和快电路(Fast Circuit)。当然,相比50/60Hz的输入电源,慢电路还是很快的!所以在输入电源的一个周期内,慢电路和快电路作为一个大整体发生过很多次。(3)谐振变压器最终迎来了由初级线圈(Primary Coil)和次级线圈(Second Coil)组成的谐振变压器。其中初级线圈同时属于上述LC谐振电路。图9-谐振变压器谐振变压器和普通变压器(如图3中的变压器1)的工作原理不一样,普通变压器基于电磁感应的原理,即初级线圈和次级线圈围绕同一个磁芯绕制而成,两个线圈共享同样的磁通量,两个线圈电压之比与两个线圈匝数之比有关:图10-普通变压器谐振变压器基于共振(谐振)原理。在声波领域有共振,譬如女高音歌唱家通过声音可以把玻璃杯振碎,就是因为两者谐振频率一致,能量通过声波最大化传递到杯子,使其振动、破裂。在电磁波领域也有共振,我们仔细看图9的谐振变压器,其实包含了两个LC谐振电路,如果当两个谐振频率相同,能量就会最大化进行交互。谐振变压器工作频率很高,通常没有磁芯;两个线圈的磁通量不相同,因此两个线圈不需要紧密靠拢或对齐。谐振变压器初级线圈和次级线圈上的电压之比公式如下,它和两个线圈的电感量(受匝数、直径、长度影响)、谐振电路质量因素Q(代表选频能力)、耦合系数K(受距离影响)有关:图11-谐振变压器初级线圈和次级线圈电压之比我们看图2中特斯拉线圈的实物图也确实可以看到谐振变压器两个线圈的匝数之比很大,代表升压很高。谐振变压器的能量交互比较复杂,能量可以从初级线圈传递到次级线圈,也会从次级线圈传递到初级线圈,我没深入学习过,在此不展开,但是你可以想象一下常见RFID应用就是基于这种原理:图12-RFID谐振频率上的能量传输四、总结今天我们介绍了特斯拉线圈,它的核心是两个LC电路构成的谐振变压器,它的输出电压非常高,以至于能电击穿空气。制作特斯拉线圈线圈的难点在于两个LC电路的谐振频率要保持一致,这需要花费很大功夫调试谐振变压器上的环状体电极(Torus)。下回,我们会介绍一个Slayer Exciter电路,国内某宝上称为“Mini特斯拉线圈”,它利用三极管+LC电路打造能够“自”谐振的电路,以此实现特斯拉线圈相同的效果。图13-趣图(全文完)我在知乎开设了专栏“疯狂的运放”,为创客们打造的有趣、有用的硬件和电路专栏,如果你觉得有收获,欢迎点赞和收藏,这是我最大的动力:也可以关注我的微信公众号“CrazyOPA”,及时收到最新的文章推送:编辑于 2020-08-16 10:47特斯拉线圈电磁感应变压器​赞同 165​​9 条评论​分享​喜欢​收藏​申请转载​文章被以下专栏收录疯狂的运放开源软件、开

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Wireless Electricity? How the Tesla Coil Works

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By Kelly Dickerson published 10 July 2014

University of Illinois student Steve Ward and Fermilab senior technician Jeff Larson developed twin Tesla coils capable of emitting 12 feet (4 meters) of sparks.

(Image credit: Fermilab)

Among his numerous innovations, Nikola Tesla dreamed of creating a way to supply power to the world without stringing wires across the globe. The inventor came close to accomplishing this when his "mad scientist" experiments with electricity led to his creation of the Tesla coil.The first system that could wirelessly transmit electricity, the Tesla coil was a truly revolutionary invention. Early radio antennas and telegraphy used the invention, but variations of the coil can also do things that are just plain cool — like shoot lightning bolts, send electric currents through the body and create electron winds.Tesla developed the coil in 1891, before conventional iron-core transformers were used to power things like lighting systems and telephone circuits. These conventional transformers can't withstand the high frequency and high voltage that the looser coils in Tesla's invention can tolerate. The concept behind the coil is actually fairly simple and makes use of electromagnetic force and resonance. Employing copper wire and glass bottles, an amateur electrician can build a Tesla coil that can produce a quarter of a million volts. [Infographic: How the Tesla Coil Works]The setupA Tesla coil consists of two parts: a primary coil and secondary coil, each with its own capacitor. (Capacitors store electrical energy just like batteries.) The two coils and capacitors are connected by a spark gap — a gap of air between two electrodes that generates the spark of electricity. An outside source hooked up to a transformer powers the whole system. Essentially, the Tesla coil is two open electric circuits connected to a spark gap.A Tesla coil needs a high-voltage power source. A regular power source fed through a transformer can produce a current with the necessary power (at least thousands of volts).In this case, a transformer can convert the low voltage of main power into the high voltage.How Tesla coils generate high-voltage electrical fields. (Image credit: by Ross Toro, Infographics Artist)How it worksThe power source is hooked up to the primary coil. The primary coil's capacitor acts like a sponge and soaks up the charge. The primary coil itself must be able to withstand the massive charge and huge surges of current, so the coil is usually made out of copper, a good conductor of electricity. Eventually, the capacitor builds up so much charge that it breaks down the air resistance in the spark gap. Then, similar to squeezing out a soaked sponge, the current flows out of the capacitor down the primary coil and creates a magnetic field.The massive amount of energy makes the magnetic field collapse quickly, and generates an electric current in the secondary coil. The voltage zipping through the air between the two coils creates sparks in the spark gap. The energy sloshes back and forth between the two coils several hundred times per second, and builds up in the secondary coil and capacitor. Eventually, the charge in the secondary capacitor gets so high that it breaks free in a spectacular burst of electric current.The resulting high-frequency voltage can illuminate fluorescent bulbs several feet away with no electrical wire connection. [Photos: Nikola Tesla's Historic Lab at Wardenclyffe]In a perfectly designed Tesla coil, when the secondary coil reaches its maximum charge, the whole process should start over again and the device should become self-sustaining. In practice, however, this does not happen. The heated air in the spark gap pulls some of the electricity away from the secondary coil and back into the gap, so eventually the Tesla coil will run out of energy. This is why the coil must be hooked up to an outside power supply.The principle behind the Tesla coil is to achieve a phenomenon called resonance. This happens when the primary coil shoots the current into the secondary coil at just the right time to maximize the energy transferred into the secondary coil. Think of it as timing when to push someone on a swing in order to make it go as high as possible.Setting up a Tesla coil with an adjustable rotary spark gap gives the operator more control over the voltage of the current it produces. This is how coils can create crazy lightning displays and can even be set up to play music timed to bursts of current.While the Tesla coil does not have much practical application anymore, Tesla’s invention completely revolutionized the way electricity was understood and used. Radios and televisions still use variations of the Tesla coil today.Follow Kelly Dickerson on Twitter. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

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Kelly DickersonSocial Links NavigationStaff WriterKelly Dickerson is a staff writer for Live Science and Space.com. She regularly writes about physics, astronomy and environmental issues, as well as general science topics. Kelly is working on a Master of Arts degree at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, and has a Bachelor of Science degree and Bachelor of Arts degree from Berry College. Kelly was a competitive swimmer for 13 years, and dabbles in skimboarding and long-distance running.

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How the Tesla Coil Works (Infographic)

Infographics

By Ross Toro published 9 July 2014

How Tesla coils generate high-voltage electrical fields.

(Image credit: by Ross Toro, Infographics Artist)

Named for its inventor, Nikola Tesla, this machine transforms energy into extremely high-voltage charges, creating powerful electrical fields capable of producing spectacular electrical arcs. Besides the lightning-bolt shows they can put on, Tesla coils had very practical applications in wireless radio technology and some medical devices.A Tesla coil is made of two parts: a primary coil and a secondary coil, each with its own capacitor. The two coils are connected by a spark gap, and the whole system is powered by a high-energy source and transformer. Basically, two circuits are connected by a spark gap.HOW IT WORKS: 1. The transformer boosts the voltage. 2. The power source is hooked up to the primary coil. The primary coil’s capacitor acts like a sponge and soaks up the charge. 3. Electric current builds up in the capacitor until it reaches a tipping point. The current streams out of the capacitor into the coil. Once the first capacitor is com-pletely wrung out and has no energy left, the inductor reaches its maximum charge and sends the voltage into the spark gap (basically a gap of air between two electrodes). 4. The huge voltage current flows through the spark gap into the secondary coil. The energy sloshes back and forth between the two coils. 5. The secondary coil has a top-load capacitor that concentrates all the current and can eventually shoot out lightninglike bolts.The idea is to achieve a phenomenon called resonance between the two coils. Resonance happens when the primary coil shoots the current into the secondary coil at the perfect time that maximizes the energy transferred into the secondary coil. Think of it as timing a push to a swing to make it go as high as possible. 

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Ross ToroSocial Links NavigationInfographics ArtistRoss Toro is a contributing infographic artist for Live Science. He specializes in explanatory graphics that deal with science topics. Ross is a former art director of the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and United Press International. He teaches Filipino martial arts when not dabbling in cartoons and animation.

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The Tesla Coil – The Wonders of Physics – UW–Madison

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The Tesla Coil

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The Tesla Coil we bring with us is small, and only generates a couple hundred thousand volts of electricity and will light up a fluorescent bulb held in your hand.

The Demonstration:

A fluorescent light bulb held near a Tesla coil will light up and spark, even without being plugged in!

Quick Physics: The Tesla coil creates an electric field that pushes electrons through the light bulb. This is the same way the lights in your house work, except in your house, the electricty comes through a wire instead of through the air.

The Details:

A Tesla coil is a device for making very high voltages. Voltage is a way to measure how much energy an electric charge has. Tesla coils can make voltages of more than a million volts. The small one used in the demonstration makes about 60,000 volts. Normally, such high voltages are very dangerous, but the Tesla coil makes very high frequency electricity. This means the coil turns on and off very quickly so the electricity flows on the outside of your skin instead of through your body.

The Tesla coil is very different from the Van de Graaff generator. A Van de Graaff generator makes static electricity; the charges don’t move on their own. A Tesla coil makes current electricity; the charges are flowing. One end of the Tesla coil is connected to the ground. Because the coil makes very high voltages, the electricity can leave the Tesla coil and go through the air to get back to the ground. If a fluorescent light bulb is held near the coil, the electricity will then go through the light bulb to get to the ground, which makes it light up. If you get the light bulb close enough to the Tesla coil, you can see the electricity jumping into the light bulb.

Also see the page on Plasma Balls.

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Tesla Coil – 1891

By the late 1800s, electricity had long been discovered and was no longer considered a novelty. The science of how to store, enhance, or transmit electrical current was just beginning to evolve, and eccentric scientist Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was on the cutting edge of that research.

In 1891, Tesla unveiled one of his most important inventions, the "Tesla coil," a high-frequency transformer capable of creating very high voltage at low current. He built several variations of his invention.

The most popular of his designs is made up of a transformer, capacitor, spark gap, main coil, minor coil and discharge sphere. Here is how it works: The transformer receives a charge of about 100 volts from an outside source and increases it to as many as 50,000 volts or more. The capacitor stores the voltage until it reaches its limit, at which point the spark gap emits all of the pent-up energy in one massive outburst, surging to the main coil, which is often built out of wide copper wire, generating a powerful magnetic field. The current continues to the minor coil that serves as a transformer, utilizing the effects of the magnetic field to build enormous quantities of voltage. At this point, the electricity flows to a discharge sphere that emits the current as a stream or arc of sparks.

Circuitry using the Tesla coil was part of the first generation of transmitters to carry wireless telegraphy. Tesla used his brainchild to research such diverse areas as lighting, X-rays and electric power transmission. Customized Tesla coils are now frequently used to ignite powerful mercury and sodium streetlamps.

Although they have now been largely replaced by more modern circuitry, Tesla coils frequently show up in popular culture, most commonly in the form of high-tech guns in video games, blasting bolts of lightning at adversaries. On the big screen, a Tesla coil was used to produce lighting effects for the 1979 film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

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PBS: Tesla - Master of Lightning: The Tesla Coil

PBS: Tesla - Master of Lightning: The Tesla Coil

— The Tesla Coil —

To investigate the electrical realm of high-frequency and high-voltage, Tesla invented an apparatus that pushed the limits of electrical understanding. None of the circuit's typical components were unknown at the time, but its design and operation together achieved unique results—not the least because of Tesla's masterful refinements in construction of key elements, most particularly of a special transformer, or coil, which is at the heart of the circuit's performance.

Such a device first appeared in Tesla's US patent No. 454,622 (1891), for use in new, more efficient lighting systems. In its basic form, the circuit calls for a power supply, a large capacitor, the coil (transformer) itself, and adjustable spark-gap electrodes. Why these components, and what do they accomplish?

Oscillators

Capacitors (or condensers) and inductors (or coils) are, electrically speaking, somewhat opposite in operation. Whereas current builds quickly in a capacitor as it charges up, voltage lags. In an inductor, voltage is felt immediately, while current is retarded as it works against the magnetic field its own passage builds in the coil. If a coil and condenser are sized and selected to act with exactly opposite timing—with voltage peaking in the coil just as it reaches a minimum in the capacitor—then the circuit may never reach an electrically quiet, stable state. A bit like the sloshing of water back and forth in a tub, current and voltage can be made to chase each other back and forth, from end to end of the circuit. (An oscillator of this kind is often called a tank circuit.)

Spark Gaps

To set his oscillator "ringing," Tesla employed sudden discharges, sparks, across an adjustable gap between two electrodes. Voltage on a capacitor builds until it reaches a level at which air in the gap breaks down as an insulator. (Precision screws set the gap clearance, so that a larger or smaller gap selects a larger or smaller breakdown voltage.)

The initial impulse is very powerful—all the energy stored over several microseconds is released in a rush, and that impulse is itself transformed to a somewhat higher voltage in passing from the primary coil windings to those of its secondary. This, of course, completes but a single cycle in the circuit's operation. The air gap restores itself as an insulator, and the capacitor begins to charge until it reaches a breakdown value once again. The whole process can repeat itself many thousand times per second.

The transformer's secondary is rather special, too, designed by Tesla to react quickly to a sudden energy spike and, most importantly, to concentrate voltage at one end as a standing wave. Its length is calculated so that wave crests, as they reach the end and are reflected back, meet and exactly reinforce the waves behind them. The net effect is a wave, a voltage peak, that appears to stand still.

Applications

If, as happened in practice, Tesla made an antenna of the high-voltage end of his secondary, it became a powerful radio transmitter. In fact, in the early decades of radio, most practicable radios utilized Tesla coils in their transmission antennas. Tesla himself used larger or smaller versions of his invention to investigate fluorescence, x-rays, radio, wireless power, biological effects, and even the electromagnetic nature of the earth and its atmosphere.

Today, high-voltage labs often operate such devices, and amateur enthusiasts around the world build smaller ones to create arcing, streaming electrical displays—it is not difficult to reach a quarter million volts. (One of the very first particle accelerator designs, by Rolf Wideroe in 1928, generated its high voltage in a Tesla coil.) The coil has become a commonplace in electronics, used to supply high voltage to the front of television picture tubes, in a form known as the flyback transformer.

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Small Tesla coil designed for use by medical profession, 1897

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Small Tesla coil presented by Lord Kelvin to the British Association, 1897

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Tesla coil - Physics Book

Tesla coil - Physics Book

Tesla coil

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claimed by Julia Denniss (Fall 2016)

Contents

1 Tesla Coil

1.1 Fundamental Principles and Models

1.2 History

2 Usage

3 Connectedness

4 See also

4.1 Further reading

4.2 External links

5 References

Tesla Coil

Named for its inventor, Nikola Tesla, a Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit capable of producing a potential of millions of volts. The coil is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high frequency alternating-current electricity. The Tesla coil was initially created as a power supply for Tesla's "System of Electric Lighting" and was used in experiments in electrical lighting, wireless telegraphy, and X-rays. The Tesla coil first appeared in Tesla's patent No. 454,622 (1891) for use in electric lighting. Tesla coils can output anywhere from 50 kilovolts to several million volts for larger coils. The alternating current output is usually between 50 kHz and 1 MHz, in the low frequency radio range.

Fundamental Principles and Models

Tesla coils can produce massive electrical fields due to their ability to create high voltages. They are comparable to transformers, as they also utilize electromagnetic induction, yet there are key differences between the two. The main principle behind the Tesla coil is achieving resonance.

Resonance occurs when the primary coil transfers the current to the secondary coil at the exact time when the energy passed on will be at a maximum. An adjustable spark gap gives the user more control over the voltage of the current produced. The primary and secondary coils must be tuned to resonate with each other. With a significant amount of voltage, the air in the internal spark plug gap will become ionized, forming a circuit. Through a series of capacitors, the coils can produce the required voltage. The common 2-coil circuit includes a high-voltage transformer (usually between 5-30 kilovolts), a capacitor, a spark gap, and the coils themselves. Optionally, an electrode in the form of a torus with a large surface area can be attached to the second terminal of the coil to suppress corona discharge and arcs. Corona discharges occur when electric field strength surpasses the dielectric strength of the air. This results in a loss of energy that damps oscillation and prevents voltage from reaching a theoretical maximum, as predicted by lossless models. The torus's large diameter and surface area reduces the potential gradient at the high voltage terminal, which increases the threshold at which corona discharges occur and decreases their likeliness.

The condition for resonance between the first and second coils is as follows:

L1C1 = L2C2

where L is the magnetic inductance in henries, and C is the capacitance in farads. 1 and 2 indicate the first and second coils. This equation only applies if the secondary coil is not adjustable, meaning that the first coil must be adjusted to the second.

The equation to find the voltage is as follows:

V2 = V1\sqrt{C1 \ C2} = V1\sqrt{L2 \ L1}

where V is the voltage in volts, C is the capacitance in farads, and L is the inductance in henries. 1 indicates the first coil, and 2 indicates the second coil. This formula is derived from the above formula. Inductance is calculated differently based on the shape of the coil (spiral, helical, or inverse conical).

The resonant frequency of the circuit can be found with the following equation:

F= 1/(2*pi*sqrt{L*C})

where F is the frequency in Hertz, L is the inductance in henries, and C is the capacitance in farads.

History

Around 1891, Tesla created the Tesla coil while expanding on and repeating the experiments of Heinrich Hertz, who had discovered electromagnetic radiation in 1888. He intended to go beyond the traditional iron-core transformer design to generate higher-frequency radio waves. As part of the design, Tesla initially utilized a high-speed alternator but found that the high frequency current melted the insulation and overheated the iron core. He then included a "spark gap" into the system, which put a gap of insulating material between the primary and secondary windings, while also eliminating the iron core entirely. He also placed a capacitor between the alternator and the primary winding to avoid burning out the coil. The capacitor could connect through the short gap to the primary winding set to form a resonant circuit, once it was first charged to a high enough voltage to rupture the air in the gap. The current through the spark gap causes the primary resonant circuit to ring at its resonant frequency. It then magnetically couples energy into the secondary circuit over a series of radiofrequency cycles. Eventually the gap "quenches" or stops conducting, which traps all the energy in the secondary circuit. The gap can then reignite, and the secondary circuit can then transfer that energy back to the primary circuit. The coil may fire many times during an alternating current cycle. The secondary winding must be grounded to the surroundings in order to keep the balance of charge.

"Electric current, after passing into the earth travels to the diametrically opposite region of the same and rebounding from there, returns to its point of departure with virtually undiminished force. The outgoing and returning currents clash and form nodes and loops similar to those observable on a vibrating cord. To traverse the entire distance of about twenty-five thousand miles, equal to the circumference of the globe, the current requires a certain time interval, which I have approximately ascertained. In yielding this knowledge, nature has revealed one of its most precious secrets, of inestimable consequence to man. So astounding are the facts in this connection, that it would seem as though the Creator, himself, had electrically designed this planet just for the purpose of enabling us to achieve wonders which, before my discovery, could not have been conceived by the wildest imagination."

-- Nikola Tesla

Tesla saw the Earth itself as a potential conductor of electrical energy. Between 1899 and 1900, he worked in a laboratory in Colorado Springs and researched possible methods of wireless power transmission. There, he built a large Tesla coil that he called a "magnifying transmitter", intended to transmit power through the ground to a receiver far away. The main coil was 53 feet in diameter and could produce potentials from 12 to 20 megavolts at a frequency of 150 kHz. When in use, the apparatus created massive 140-foot "bolts" of electricity. The magnifying transmitter included a third coil, which produced high voltage by resonance. With the magnifying transmitter, Tesla was able to light up a set of lamps 26 miles from the laboratory without using any wires between the two points. Though Guglielmo Marconi went down in history as the "father of the radio", much of his technology was based on discoveries made by Tesla using his invention, the Tesla coil.

Usage

Until the 1920s, Tesla coils were used commercially as spark gap radio transmitters for wireless telegraphy. Guglielmo Marconi eventually replaced Tesla's spark gap with less expensive technology involving a metal powder coherer on the receiver side. The Tesla coil was also used in electrotherapy and other pseudomedical devices. Today, Tesla coils are mainly used in entertainment, educational displays, music, and in leak detection in high vacuum systems. They are not used as power supplies due to being impractically expensive and complex. A hobby community of "coilers" has been built by those who build and design Tesla coils for personal use. Tesla coils can be used to produce music by modulating the system's "break rate", or the rate and duration of high power radio frequency bursts. These can be regulated with a control unit and MIDI music data to produce the effect of a "singing" coil. In high vacuum systems, it is imperative to ensure that there are no leaks, as even tiny ones could affect the system. Scientists test for the presence of leaks by using high-voltage discharges given off by a small Tesla coil. The high-voltage electrode of the coil is placed over the outside surface of the apparatus being tested when it is evacuated. The discharge given off by the coil travels through any leak below it and illuminates the imperfection to indicate points that must be filled in before using the apparatus. Vacuum glassware is often tested in this way.

An exhibition of a "singing" Tesla coil accompanied with electronic music can be seen here.

Connectedness

1. Wireless energy transmission is a topic that is still being researched today, especially with relation to charging devices. The vast majority of devices still require some sort of wire in order to recharge, but the prospect of eliminating that barrier could lead to on-the-go charging and a more convenient way of life. Additionally, modern radio technology has a basis in Tesla's findings, even if most radios do not involve an actual Tesla coil.

2. Device design is a large part of Biomedical Engineering. Energy usage is always a limitation, especially when using medical devices in areas that may not have easy access to power. Wireless charging could revolutionize the field and enable devices to be used in previously limiting environments. Wireless communication remains an important element of research as well, especially in cases where research must be done in geographically remote locations.

3. The main industrial application of the Tesla coil is found in leak detection, as mentioned before.

See also

http://www.physicsbook.gatech.edu/Nikola_Tesla

Further reading

[1]

External links

[2]

[3]

[4]

References

http://onetesla.com/about

http://scipp.ucsc.edu/edu/tesla/teslacoil/whatisateslacoil.html

http://www.richieburnett.co.uk/operation.html#operation

Dommermuth-Costa, Carol (1994). Nikola Tesla: A Spark of Genius. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 75. ISBN 0-8225-4920-4.

U.S. Patent No. 454,622, Nikola Tesla, SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING, filed 23 June 1891; granted 25 April 1891

Duckon 2007-Steve Ward's Singing Tesla Coil video Archived January 1, 1970, at the Wayback Machine.

Mazzotto, Domenico (1906). Wireless telegraphy and telephony. Whittaker and Co. p. 146.

W. Bernard Carlson, Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age, Princeton University Press - 2013, page 120

Gray, Andrew (1921). Absolute Measurements in Electricity and Magnetism. Macmillan, London. p. 777.

Burnett, Richie (2008). "Operation of the Tesla Coil". Richie's Tesla Coil Web Page. Richard Burnett private website. Retrieved July 24, 2015.

Retrieved from "http://www.physicsbook.gatech.edu/index.php?title=Tesla_coil&oldid=26623"

Category: Real Life Applications of Electromagnetic Principles

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The Tesla Coil: The Holy Grail of Electricity Transmission - Interesting Engineering

Tesla Coil: The Holy Grail of Electricity Transmission - Interesting Engineering

NEWSLETTERSSubscribeSign InThe Tesla Coil: The Holy Grail of Electricity TransmissionThe Tesla Coil. Free, wireless electrical power, the holy grail of electricity transmission. The near-tangible dream of an engineering visionary. [Image source: TeslasAutobiography.com] Ah, Tesla. How your inventions have inspired us. Your work ethic, your passion for your craft; how we all wish we’d lived near you as kids, so we could sneak a glimpse […]

Interesting Engineering Published: Sep 15, 2016 07:54 AM ESTscienceOur daily news digest will keep you up to date with engineering, science and technology news, Monday to Saturday.By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Policies You may unsubscribe at any time.The Tesla Coil. Free, wireless electrical power, the holy grail of electricity transmission. The near-tangible dream of an engineering visionary.

[Image source: TeslasAutobiography.com]

Ah, Tesla. How your inventions have inspired us. Your work ethic, your passion for your craft; how we all wish we’d lived near you as kids, so we could sneak a glimpse of you at work, creating a future you’d never see… Or maybe that’s just me. Nevertheless, the man was a genius, by any definition of the word. Famous champion of alternating current, his most well-known invention is the spectacular Tesla Coil. But how does it work?

OK, so, full disclosure: I’m a mechanical engineer. I’m much more comfortable with heat transfer and fluid dynamics than I’ve ever been with the somewhat mysterious world of electricity. I can empathize with non-technical folk who are baffled by the seemingly magical way in which a button is pressed and the hidden dance of switches and gates brings forth complex outcomes. But, on closer inspection, this secret world may be explainable in relatively tactile terms. So, from one mech-head to I’m sure many others, here’s a blow by blow description of how a Tesla Coil works. And any sparkies out there are encouraged to critique this analysis.

Anatomy of a Tesla Coil

[Image source: Wikipedia]

The heart of the Tesla Coil is a transformer, an example of which is shown above. As we’re dealing with massive voltages and frequencies, however, the transformer in a Tesla Coil must be air; any other material would quickly break down under such extreme stresses.

As the name suggests, the transformer changes the voltage from one winding to the other. It does this by directing the magnetic field from the charged primary winding through the secondary winding, inducing a specific voltage. The transformer in the image above decreases the voltage between the primary and secondary windings, as you’d find in your 5V phone charger when trying to charge your phone from a 120V wall outlet. The ratio between the number of windings determines the change in voltage between the windings, so the secondary winding in a phone charger must have twenty-four times fewer turns than in the primary winding. A Tesla Coil does exactly the opposite.

[Image source: Wikimedia]

In a Tesla Coil, the primary winding is large (shown above on the horizontal plane) and contains just a few turns. The secondary coil is very thin and has thousands of turns; in the image above, this is the copper coil wrapped around the vertical axis. While, strictly speaking, the output voltage in air-cored transformers is primarily determined by the capacitance and inductance values of the coils, the resultant effect is equivalent to the ratio of windings found in traditional transformers. So let’s keep this simple – more coils in the secondary winding gives you WAY more voltage.

Another key component of a Tesla Coil is the capacitor, which is charmingly likened in many texts to a sponge. Turn on the juice, the capacitor soaks it up until it’s saturated, then BOOM – like squeezing a sponge by slamming it with a mallet, all of the electrical energy bursts into the primary coil, producing a massive magnetic field which induces a similarly massive electric potential in the secondary coil. Once the capacitor is discharged, the current reverses and the process repeats, resulting in an alternating current of a very high frequency.

Perched on top of the secondary coil, positioned to act as a high voltage terminal, is a dome- or torus-shaped cap. The electric potential at this point is now so high that electrons are stripped from the surrounding air molecules, resulting in spectacular purple lightning arcs discharging to the nearest earthing point. Check it out, how amazing is this:

[Image source: Wikimedia]

One of the tragedies of history is that Tesla never got to finish his work on his extraordinary coils. We are all shackled to our chargers and outlets for the time being, while the curious and inspired build upon the magnificent legacy of this truly awesome genius.

SEE ALSO: Nikola Tesla’s Greatest Achievements

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