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Re: Tesla Coil Operation - Myths




>But according to everything I've read, his spark at the Springs began to
>grow exponentially with the standing waves to the 135' mark before it
>blew the generators. Hardly sounds like a milliwatt of energy here...
>
>Bob V


There are plenty of references to 135' sparks made by people other than
Tesla, however I have never seen any mention of sparks anywhere near that
long in Tesla's own Colorado Springs notes.  There are so many crazy myths
about Tesla that it really helps to read his own writings.  You might also
check out Richard Hull's excellent analysis of the Colorado Springs notes
where he specifically deals with some of these technical issues.  Tesla's
Colorado Springs magnifier was just not capable of arcs that long.  That
said, Tesla did get some very impressive arcs, however he pulled a lot of
power to do so.  

As far as blowing the generator goes, that is not particularly surprising
since his system was sending masses of HV RF back down the line to the
generators.  I don't have the notes right here, but I believe he was
experimenting pulling arcs from his transmission line to ground when this
happened (someone fee free to correct me).  That's guaranteed to create
some major transients.  Anyone who has run a Tesla coil knows that even a
small one can send some nasty HV RF junk into nearbye wiring.  Mine blew a
pole pig last year, and I have seen light switches internally arc and
explode in the vicinity of Tesla coils.  You can imagine what one the size
of Tesla's at Colorado Springs could do.

Zap!


Charles Brush
http://www.foundrygroup-dot-com/cbrush/fun