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Re: Hazardous radiation produced by a Tesla Coil?



Jeff,

Don't think you'll see to much of a problem here - I don't think that the
current density is high enough to produce substantial UV. Some have been
concerned that the spark energy might initiate X-ray radiation from
certain objects in the vicinity, such as TV tubes or other evacuated
components, but all attempts to detect anything so far have come up with
zip.

RFI can be a problem, but it is at a very low (relatively) level and not
really at microwave frequencies. By far the most dangerous thing is the
voltage itself, in particular if there is 60Hz superimposed on the output
(ie from secondary to primary arcs). I would worry about this more.. There
may be plenty of ozone and some NOx from the gap too, but if it's vented
away it should be OK.

Alex



Tesla List wrote:

> Original Poster: "Jeff Corr" <corr-at-enid-dot-com>
>
> >> Out of curiousity, has anyone got any information on the hazardous
> >> radiation released by a Tesla Coil, such as type, quantity, and how
> >> dangerous it actually is to us....
> >> Just don't wanna die of cancer at 40...
>
> >There's a lot of UV radiation generated in the spark gap.  I guess you
> >COULD get skin cancer, but I doubt it...
>
> Ok the spark gap aside - its shielded - what about the sparks from the
> coil themselves.