How Does a Tesla Coil Work? A Historical Deep Dive
video description
Date: 2022-12-27
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 20
Griffin
Some points of interest for your consideration:
11: 10 ionization of air
Rather than employing the term free electrons to describe the discharge emanating from the capacitive torus of such a setup, it is truly the action and strain of the connecting electric field lines which in due cause a discharge in the surrounding air. Granted that the modern day Tesla Coil, one of high impedance, high loss, and little use for radio telecommunications, possesses a donut shaped top load, this gives a nonuniform potential gradient surrounding the torus. The sides of this shape pose to increase the electric field gradient and number of lines of force per square centimeter, causing the dielectric strain of the surrounding air to breakdown, as the quantity of electric lines of force increase with respect to terminal potential. Hence, a discharge occurs. For this reason, Tesla speaks of employing spherical top capacities, as a sphere provides the most uniform field line distribution, preventing stray discharges to some extent.
11: 25 Wardenclyffe to electrify the globe
Despite the lack of a functional setup in the end at Long Island, it is to say without doubt in retrospect, that Tesla seemed to be mainly concerned with toying with experimentation, rather than simply constructing a functional setup. After returning from Colorado Springs, where a respectful amount of data was collected on the effective transmission of telluric communication, something seemed to have went askew, as his latter patent on Wardenclyffe would stray away from an efficient coil setup. His three coil magnifying transmitter arrangement developed at Colorado Springs had maximized transmission efficiency, by constraint coil geometry of stout form. The opposite of which is seen in the Wardenclyffe patent. For this reason, many believe that the modern day Tesla Coil of elongated proportions is in fact the finalized and perfected transmission apparatus which Tesla had developed. The latter of which is falsehood, whereby Colorado Springs appears to be the correct avenue of conducted research to approach.
reply
Some points of interest for your consideration:
11: 10 ionization of air
Rather than employing the term free electrons to describe the discharge emanating from the capacitive torus of such a setup, it is truly the action and strain of the connecting electric field lines which in due cause a discharge in the surrounding air. Granted that the modern day Tesla Coil, one of high impedance, high loss, and little use for radio telecommunications, possesses a donut shaped top load, this gives a nonuniform potential gradient surrounding the torus. The sides of this shape pose to increase the electric field gradient and number of lines of force per square centimeter, causing the dielectric strain of the surrounding air to breakdown, as the quantity of electric lines of force increase with respect to terminal potential. Hence, a discharge occurs. For this reason, Tesla speaks of employing spherical top capacities, as a sphere provides the most uniform field line distribution, preventing stray discharges to some extent.
11: 25 Wardenclyffe to electrify the globe
Despite the lack of a functional setup in the end at Long Island, it is to say without doubt in retrospect, that Tesla seemed to be mainly concerned with toying with experimentation, rather than simply constructing a functional setup. After returning from Colorado Springs, where a respectful amount of data was collected on the effective transmission of telluric communication, something seemed to have went askew, as his latter patent on Wardenclyffe would stray away from an efficient coil setup. His three coil magnifying transmitter arrangement developed at Colorado Springs had maximized transmission efficiency, by constraint coil geometry of stout form. The opposite of which is seen in the Wardenclyffe patent. For this reason, many believe that the modern day Tesla Coil of elongated proportions is in fact the finalized and perfected transmission apparatus which Tesla had developed. The latter of which is falsehood, whereby Colorado Springs appears to be the correct avenue of conducted research to approach.
reply
Zachrey
Another way to explain the Leyden jar and coil circuit (aka a tank circuit) is to think in terms of energy storage. Electrical energy in the form of an electric field is present in the fully charged capacitor. When a coil with a large number of turns is connected to the capacitor, one would expect an instantaneous large blast of current and a spark like with a short piece of wire. But what actually happens is that the current rises in the coil much more slowly because of Faraday's law of induction. As the electrical energy of the capacitor is being transferred to the magnetic field of the coil, a back EMF is induced in the coil that opposes the change in coil current. Thus the coils slows down the transfer of electrostatic energy to magnetic energy. At some point the coil current reaches a maximum and and then the magnetic field starts to collapse inducing a coil voltage in the opposite direction and charging the capacitor back up again but in the opposite direction. Once the magnetic energy in the coil is fully discharged into the capacitor's electric field, the current starts flowing in the opposite direction as the capacitor discharges itself back into the inductor again. Finally, the after coil has charged up with magnetic energy and discharged it again to the capacitor, the capacitor is back to it's original polarity and voltage sans a certain amount of energy lost to electromagnetic field emission and heat due to resistance and other losses.
reply
Another way to explain the Leyden jar and coil circuit (aka a tank circuit) is to think in terms of energy storage. Electrical energy in the form of an electric field is present in the fully charged capacitor. When a coil with a large number of turns is connected to the capacitor, one would expect an instantaneous large blast of current and a spark like with a short piece of wire. But what actually happens is that the current rises in the coil much more slowly because of Faraday's law of induction. As the electrical energy of the capacitor is being transferred to the magnetic field of the coil, a back EMF is induced in the coil that opposes the change in coil current. Thus the coils slows down the transfer of electrostatic energy to magnetic energy. At some point the coil current reaches a maximum and and then the magnetic field starts to collapse inducing a coil voltage in the opposite direction and charging the capacitor back up again but in the opposite direction. Once the magnetic energy in the coil is fully discharged into the capacitor's electric field, the current starts flowing in the opposite direction as the capacitor discharges itself back into the inductor again. Finally, the after coil has charged up with magnetic energy and discharged it again to the capacitor, the capacitor is back to it's original polarity and voltage sans a certain amount of energy lost to electromagnetic field emission and heat due to resistance and other losses.
reply
Mahoney
Perhaps you should look at the Radio Controlled Submarine that Tesla Demonstrated using radio transmission, Marconi's patent was overturned in favor of Tesla. Tesla was big on using Resonant LC Circuits and Mechanical Resonance.
Your videos are a Breath of Fresh Air and it would be great if they were referenced in our grade and high schools. The sooner the better, young kids should be exposed as early as possible to Science and Mathematics, fresh young minds are willing and able to absorb such material, learning should not just be given in a linear input procession of information, e. g, As quickly as possible a Map of the mathematical Universe should be presented, a road map of the possible paths in the future math journey. Fresh Young minds are wide receivers of information! When I was young I liked to hang around with older kids and listen to grown-ups discuss things, they knew more. My father had a saying, The Walls Have Ears! Referring to me.
reply
Perhaps you should look at the Radio Controlled Submarine that Tesla Demonstrated using radio transmission, Marconi's patent was overturned in favor of Tesla. Tesla was big on using Resonant LC Circuits and Mechanical Resonance.
Your videos are a Breath of Fresh Air and it would be great if they were referenced in our grade and high schools. The sooner the better, young kids should be exposed as early as possible to Science and Mathematics, fresh young minds are willing and able to absorb such material, learning should not just be given in a linear input procession of information, e. g, As quickly as possible a Map of the mathematical Universe should be presented, a road map of the possible paths in the future math journey. Fresh Young minds are wide receivers of information! When I was young I liked to hang around with older kids and listen to grown-ups discuss things, they knew more. My father had a saying, The Walls Have Ears! Referring to me.
reply
Charlie
Whoa whoa whoa the torus on the top of the Tesla coil is meant to STOP discharges from arcing off so that it can be brought to much higher voltages, Not encourage the arcs. If one just wanted to encourage arcs you could just stick the pointy wire end of the secondary coil up into the air, like a lightning rod. The torus serves the same purpose of his lightning protector patent. As well as the half circles on the top of the magnifying transmitter Patent.
A Tesla coil/magnifying transmitter is NEVER supposed to arc off the top. One of the first things my E&M teacher from getting my physics degree told us when he first started talking about Tesla to us. This is what everyone gets wrong. And Tesla explicitly says this in the patents too. Anyone who shows you a Tesla coil with it just sparking off at the top is just trying to bombastically impress you, not actually put the transmitter to utility.
reply
Whoa whoa whoa the torus on the top of the Tesla coil is meant to STOP discharges from arcing off so that it can be brought to much higher voltages, Not encourage the arcs. If one just wanted to encourage arcs you could just stick the pointy wire end of the secondary coil up into the air, like a lightning rod. The torus serves the same purpose of his lightning protector patent. As well as the half circles on the top of the magnifying transmitter Patent.
A Tesla coil/magnifying transmitter is NEVER supposed to arc off the top. One of the first things my E&M teacher from getting my physics degree told us when he first started talking about Tesla to us. This is what everyone gets wrong. And Tesla explicitly says this in the patents too. Anyone who shows you a Tesla coil with it just sparking off at the top is just trying to bombastically impress you, not actually put the transmitter to utility.
reply
Zachrey
It is important to note in the Tesla coil schematic shown in the video that ONLY the capacitor and the primary coil of the air-core Tesla coil is involved in generating radio frequency, RF, energy that excites the RF secondary of the Tesla coil. The only job of the secondary of the iron-core transformer is to charge up the capacitor to a voltage high enough to jump the spark gap which then discharges the electrostatic energy in the capacitor into the few turns of very heavy wire of the primary coil to create a very intense magnetic pulse which then charges the capacitor back up with the opposite polarity as the magnetic field collapses back into the primary of the Tesla coil, etc. The size of the capacitor and the size of the inductor determine the frequency of the sinusoidal oscillating current in the tank circuit.
reply
It is important to note in the Tesla coil schematic shown in the video that ONLY the capacitor and the primary coil of the air-core Tesla coil is involved in generating radio frequency, RF, energy that excites the RF secondary of the Tesla coil. The only job of the secondary of the iron-core transformer is to charge up the capacitor to a voltage high enough to jump the spark gap which then discharges the electrostatic energy in the capacitor into the few turns of very heavy wire of the primary coil to create a very intense magnetic pulse which then charges the capacitor back up with the opposite polarity as the magnetic field collapses back into the primary of the Tesla coil, etc. The size of the capacitor and the size of the inductor determine the frequency of the sinusoidal oscillating current in the tank circuit.
reply
flagmichael
There are a couple of by the ways in the description of operation of the Tesla coil.
Unlike most air core transformers a TC has the majority of the secondary uncoupled from the primary; typically the primary is about a fifth or so the length of the secondary and is generally loosely coupled. A variation of the Tesla coil, known as an Oudin coil, is an autotransformer with the same working principles.
Most of the extreme voltage rise comes from the effect we see in resonant antennas: peak currents at the feedpoint and peak voltages at the open end(s, but in Tesla coils the goal is not to radiate energy but to cause the standing waves to pump as much of the energy as possible into the end of the coil. The voltage rise is almost entirely outside the coupled section.
reply
There are a couple of by the ways in the description of operation of the Tesla coil.
Unlike most air core transformers a TC has the majority of the secondary uncoupled from the primary; typically the primary is about a fifth or so the length of the secondary and is generally loosely coupled. A variation of the Tesla coil, known as an Oudin coil, is an autotransformer with the same working principles.
Most of the extreme voltage rise comes from the effect we see in resonant antennas: peak currents at the feedpoint and peak voltages at the open end(s, but in Tesla coils the goal is not to radiate energy but to cause the standing waves to pump as much of the energy as possible into the end of the coil. The voltage rise is almost entirely outside the coupled section.
reply
Mark
If only Dr. Frankenstein had that machine he wouldn't have. had to wait for lightning storms. Which brings us to the Jacob's ladder, a prop in every Sci Fi mad scientist movie of the 1930s and 1940s. This gets us back to the electric field strength to pull electrons away from nuclei into the conduction band. The spark you see isn't the lightning, that's invisible. It's the trail of ionized air. This brings us to the realization. that chemical energy is a form of electrical energy which only increased my lifelong fascination with chemistry. So in our. Universe the geometric stability of the electron configuration of a noble gas is at a lower energy state than electrical neutrality. Were it not so chemical reactions wouldn't happen.
reply
If only Dr. Frankenstein had that machine he wouldn't have. had to wait for lightning storms. Which brings us to the Jacob's ladder, a prop in every Sci Fi mad scientist movie of the 1930s and 1940s. This gets us back to the electric field strength to pull electrons away from nuclei into the conduction band. The spark you see isn't the lightning, that's invisible. It's the trail of ionized air. This brings us to the realization. that chemical energy is a form of electrical energy which only increased my lifelong fascination with chemistry. So in our. Universe the geometric stability of the electron configuration of a noble gas is at a lower energy state than electrical neutrality. Were it not so chemical reactions wouldn't happen.
reply
George
Excellent video! There is an important detail of Tesla coils which should be mentioned. The primary circuit's frequency is tuned to the self-resonant frequency of the secondary coil. This has the effect of inducing a much higher voltage across the secondary coil than the secondary to primary turns ratio would suggest.
The secondary can be modeled as a series R-L-C circuit where L is the coil inductance, R is the coil resistance due to the wire and skin effect, and C is the combined distributed and load capacitance. At resonance, this circuit presents a very low impedance, meaning it takes a large amount of current to drive it. The high current flowing through the inductive component (L) induces a very high voltage across it.
reply
Excellent video! There is an important detail of Tesla coils which should be mentioned. The primary circuit's frequency is tuned to the self-resonant frequency of the secondary coil. This has the effect of inducing a much higher voltage across the secondary coil than the secondary to primary turns ratio would suggest.
The secondary can be modeled as a series R-L-C circuit where L is the coil inductance, R is the coil resistance due to the wire and skin effect, and C is the combined distributed and load capacitance. At resonance, this circuit presents a very low impedance, meaning it takes a large amount of current to drive it. The high current flowing through the inductive component (L) induces a very high voltage across it.
reply
BBQDad463
Thank you for this video and for all your videos. Keep on rockin'!
It has always been my belief that the letter to be transmitted by Marconi was S, and that the letter as well as the date and time of transmission had been predetermined and agreed upon by Marconi and his assistant in America.
So.
I plan to transmit the letter S at a precise date and time.
I will be ready and will watch closely at the precise date and time, oh man who signs my paycheck.
Did you receive the letter S at the preordained date and time?
Yes, I did, exactly as you said I should, at the precise date and time, oh man who signs my paycheck.
Or does the historical record truly say otherwise?
reply
Thank you for this video and for all your videos. Keep on rockin'!
It has always been my belief that the letter to be transmitted by Marconi was S, and that the letter as well as the date and time of transmission had been predetermined and agreed upon by Marconi and his assistant in America.
So.
I plan to transmit the letter S at a precise date and time.
I will be ready and will watch closely at the precise date and time, oh man who signs my paycheck.
Did you receive the letter S at the preordained date and time?
Yes, I did, exactly as you said I should, at the precise date and time, oh man who signs my paycheck.
Or does the historical record truly say otherwise?
reply
Davide
I appreciated the fact that every time a name was to be given, it wasn't the name I supposed: D Oersted, Ruhmkorff. neither one I guessed right! Thanks to this I have info to search more and again, to have a better picture. Thanks!
Addendum: the downside is, also this informative video failed to point out HOW the high voltage in the topload is reached. It is NOT by merely induction. It's because of the loose coupling over the secondary, the secondary itself being a single wire transmission line with a lenght long enough to have transmission line properties AKA resonant rise in the 1/4 wavelenght. The question How does a Tesla coil Work can't be answered without the loose coupling thing.
reply
I appreciated the fact that every time a name was to be given, it wasn't the name I supposed: D Oersted, Ruhmkorff. neither one I guessed right! Thanks to this I have info to search more and again, to have a better picture. Thanks!
Addendum: the downside is, also this informative video failed to point out HOW the high voltage in the topload is reached. It is NOT by merely induction. It's because of the loose coupling over the secondary, the secondary itself being a single wire transmission line with a lenght long enough to have transmission line properties AKA resonant rise in the 1/4 wavelenght. The question How does a Tesla coil Work can't be answered without the loose coupling thing.
reply
Макс
The last winding of a Tesla transformer has very little to do with how a conventional transformer functions. It is the so-called long line, ie. wire, the length of which is comparable to the wavelength of the supply voltage. In particular, the Tesla transformer winding is a so-called quarter-wave vibrator, which has a current antinode and a voltage node at its lower end, and a voltage antinode and a current node at its upper end. This is a purely radio engineering device, more related to antennas than to transformers, and attempts to calculate it like a conventional transformer have never led and will not lead to success.
reply
The last winding of a Tesla transformer has very little to do with how a conventional transformer functions. It is the so-called long line, ie. wire, the length of which is comparable to the wavelength of the supply voltage. In particular, the Tesla transformer winding is a so-called quarter-wave vibrator, which has a current antinode and a voltage node at its lower end, and a voltage antinode and a current node at its upper end. This is a purely radio engineering device, more related to antennas than to transformers, and attempts to calculate it like a conventional transformer have never led and will not lead to success.
reply
Walter
Not really that much to it - I remember Tesla Coil plans from a Mechanix Illustrated issue in 1954 that my fraternity brothers and I built and used to entertain guests at fraternity parties - Made some interesting modifications to a few ladies' hairdos, and got a few screams and laughs. Simple circuit with what I remember as a one tube Armstrong oscillator running at around 18 - 20 kHz.
reply
Not really that much to it - I remember Tesla Coil plans from a Mechanix Illustrated issue in 1954 that my fraternity brothers and I built and used to entertain guests at fraternity parties - Made some interesting modifications to a few ladies' hairdos, and got a few screams and laughs. Simple circuit with what I remember as a one tube Armstrong oscillator running at around 18 - 20 kHz.
reply
ProfessorBeautiful
We! I just finished your book The Lightning Tamers. It earned a spot on my favorite books bookshelf. Rewarding in so many different ways.
I'd been wishing to learn more about Tesla coils, just lightly touched on in the book. and here it is. Curiosity satisfied and how!
Everybody, go and get Kathy's book. Read it and give it to Kids of all ages.
reply
We! I just finished your book The Lightning Tamers. It earned a spot on my favorite books bookshelf. Rewarding in so many different ways.
I'd been wishing to learn more about Tesla coils, just lightly touched on in the book. and here it is. Curiosity satisfied and how!
Everybody, go and get Kathy's book. Read it and give it to Kids of all ages.
reply
Vanger
The best explanation ever, I understood it! :)
Simply combining a few experimental results \ machines we end up with this scheme and it even seems simple enough.
Everyone is trying to explain it with the theory and the laws, only to make it more complicated to comprehend.
Kathy one love You're making physics great again!
reply
The best explanation ever, I understood it! :)
Simply combining a few experimental results \ machines we end up with this scheme and it even seems simple enough.
Everyone is trying to explain it with the theory and the laws, only to make it more complicated to comprehend.
Kathy one love You're making physics great again!
reply
Robert
In Jr. High, our 9th grade science teacher had a monster Tesla coil. Primary was 5 turns of 1/2 copper tubing. Secondary was 5, 000 turns of #10 copper wire. This was hooked up to an oil capacitor bank able to put out 10KV. Yes, a 10MV spark, but a very low current. I walked up to it, put my hand into it.
Fun!
reply
In Jr. High, our 9th grade science teacher had a monster Tesla coil. Primary was 5 turns of 1/2 copper tubing. Secondary was 5, 000 turns of #10 copper wire. This was hooked up to an oil capacitor bank able to put out 10KV. Yes, a 10MV spark, but a very low current. I walked up to it, put my hand into it.
Fun!
reply
Oliver
if you use resonance. If you run the circuit through a differential equation. There is a thing where the oscillation causes the wave to get bigger and bigger with just the right input frequency. This is an extra design feature tesla intended to use the coil to create massive changing voltage fields.
reply
if you use resonance. If you run the circuit through a differential equation. There is a thing where the oscillation causes the wave to get bigger and bigger with just the right input frequency. This is an extra design feature tesla intended to use the coil to create massive changing voltage fields.
reply
AJMjazz
Your videos are excellent, Kathy. You provide enough theory, math, and history to make all of it logical and easy to grasp. Long time electronic tech and ham operator here, this has provided me with hours of refresher info and entertainments. Kudos!
reply
Your videos are excellent, Kathy. You provide enough theory, math, and history to make all of it logical and easy to grasp. Long time electronic tech and ham operator here, this has provided me with hours of refresher info and entertainments. Kudos!
reply
Bob
. and the lovely sparky things create lots of stinky Ozone which has a bad habit of eating up organic based (think rubber) insulating materials here at ground level. Tesla also dreamed of world communications but, strangely, it was not a priority.
reply
. and the lovely sparky things create lots of stinky Ozone which has a bad habit of eating up organic based (think rubber) insulating materials here at ground level. Tesla also dreamed of world communications but, strangely, it was not a priority.
reply
Sunny
Very interesting, I never knew about the tank circuit. I heard about it a while back but forgot to be honest. I just kinda know enough to be dangerous. But, now I understand how the Telsa coil really works. Thanks for the great explanation!
reply
Very interesting, I never knew about the tank circuit. I heard about it a while back but forgot to be honest. I just kinda know enough to be dangerous. But, now I understand how the Telsa coil really works. Thanks for the great explanation!
reply
Dan
The best magneto electric machine ever constructed.
And the word magneto is still very much with us, to describe the device used in small internal combustion engines to produce a voltage sufficiently high to cross the gap of a spark plug.
reply
The best magneto electric machine ever constructed.
And the word magneto is still very much with us, to describe the device used in small internal combustion engines to produce a voltage sufficiently high to cross the gap of a spark plug.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
