Re: shocking questions

To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: shocking questions
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 1997 20:01:16 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net
Subject: 
        Re: shocking questions
  Date: 
        Fri, 28 Mar 1997 20:02:57 -0500
  From: 
        "Robert W. Stephens" <rwstephens-at-headwaters-dot-com>
    To: 
        Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>


> Date:          Mon, 24 Mar 1997 20:27:48 -0600
> To:            tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
> Subject:       shocking questions
> From:          Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>

> Subject: 
>         shocking questions
>   Date: 
>         Mon, 24 Mar 1997 00:53:15 -0500 (EST)
>   From: 
>         Noetic1-at-aol-dot-com
>     To: 
>         tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> 
> 
> Ok..
> 
> My sons and I have a pretty standard setup:
> 
> 15kv/60 ma neon
> approx 15 turns 1/4" copper tubing
> 6" diameter secondary, wound 22.5" 22 Gauge wire on a 24" form
> 6 doorknob caps, in series/parallel, 4000 pf/15 kv
> Static Gap a la Richard Quick, copper sections gapped at .028,
> and a healthy ground, two five foot copper pipes, buried 8 feet apart
> and the secondary grounded with a big zinc strip directly from the 
> secondary base to the ground. Other ground is safety gap/center tap. No
> other
> 
> wires to ground. 
> 
> The problem is, we are getting a substantial shock from the sparks
> pulled off the secondary. Kind of takes some of the fun out of it.
> 
> Does anyone have an idea why this is occuring? Basic wiring 
> diagram is out of the nic.funet site, nothing strange. I KNOW 
> we have a substantial ground for the secondary..why the shock? 
> 
> appreciate any ideas..
> 
> Chris Dunagan
> and 
> Evan (13) Andrew (11)

Chris, Evan and Andrew,

You are getting a shock because you are approaching the coil while it 
is turned on!  Although the RF frequency component of the high 
voltage output will not shock you, the low frequency pulses at which 
this RF envelope occur (caused by the gap firing around the 60 Hz mains
frequency) are within the most sensitive frequency window of the human
nervous system.

If you desire to place a handheld metal object into streamers 
without any shock, build a vacuum tube Tesla coil.  These coils 
produce either a soft start high voltage envelope (tube oscillator 
operated directly off the supply transformer AC), or a pure 
continuous wave envelope (when driven from a full-wave filtered DC HV 
plate supply).

Attempting to *connect* with the output of any Tesla coil can be life 
threatening if the coil has *any* tendancy at all to make corona 
between the secondary coil or its HV ouput terminal, and any part of 
the lethal 60 Hz bearing ac primary circuit.

If you are connected to the secondary through your hand via a 
streamer at the same instant that a conductive corona/streamer also 
goes from the secondary to the primary circuit, YOU WILL BECOME WORM 
FOOD!  : (

Always think before you reach towards a high voltage source, and then
think
again.

If it is absolutely necessary to attempt such contact experiments, stand
on a 
clean, dry plastic milk crate box or two as a safety 
precaution!!!!!!!!!!!  This will save your life at least in the event 
of a *primary connection*. 

rwstephens