Electrical Wizardry at Home 



Some weird effects that you can obtain with 

 a Tesla coil and some of your apparatus 



By E. R. Thomas 



TO begin with, if you have an oscilla- 

 tion transformer the secondary 

 will make a suitable primary for a 

 Tesla or Oudin Coil. 



To construct a Tesla coil that will . 

 give a 10 to 12-in. spark, procure a tube 

 4 in. in diameter and 16 in. long. This 

 may be made of two tubes 8 in. long and 

 joined together as shown in Fig. 2. Some 

 cereals come in tubular containers which 

 will answer very well for this purpose. 

 The pieces A and B are of wood; shellac 

 is used to join the parts together. Avoid 



the use of nails in this construction. 



After applying two coats of shellac to 

 the secondary tube, wind it closely within 

 ^ in. of either end with double cotton- 

 covered No. 25 wire. Then give two 

 coats of shellac to the windings, being 

 sure the first coat is absolutely dry be- 

 fore applying the second. 



The base and uprights should be made 

 of well seasoned wood which should also 

 be shellacked. Make the dimensions to 

 suit the individual requirements. Fasten 

 four glass push-pins to the base as shown 



KWIRE-^ 



flG.S 



fl&.6 



FIG.7 



FIG. 9 



Details in the construction of a Tesla or Oudin coil and diagram of the hook-up 

 for the experiments shown in the lower part of the illustration. These experi- 

 ments as well as X-ray photographs may be made by the use of this coil 



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