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Re: Non-tech Question

Hi Ted,

So why do we like to build Tesla coils??

Like any complex hobby, it is a true challenge.  Unlike many hobbies, all
the answers are not out there.  There are many unknowns and mysteries about
Tesla coils that give it a pure "unknown science" edge.  Recently, we have
gained enough knowledge to get just about everyone's coil to work, so
people no longer have to worry too much about it being a total failure
(that really is a BIG help!).  However, there is still a tremendous amount
of real thought and skill one must put into a coil.  There are no real
plans (as the many people who have asked for them have found ;-))  You just
have to learn about what you are trying to do and find the stuff to build
one.  You really do have to know more or less what you are doing and be
truly creative.  You can't build a coil by "painting by the numbers"...

Tesla coiling can easily justify all those "necessary" tools you have been
collecting over the years, as well as giving you a reason to buy a lot
more!! ;-))  Drills, saws, oscilloscopes, meters, wire, motors and all
kinds of other "fun to tinker with" things can be involved.  There is
always a "next thing" to work on so it really never ends.  You now have a
reason to go to Sears, HAM fests, and odd electronics places with your
checkbook...

The sparks themselves do have that certain excitement.  You never really
know how it is going to go...  Will you get super long sparks, is the
toroid the right size, will the caps blowup, will the thing catch on fire,
will the computer get fried, will you get electrocuted, will the rotary gap
crash and destroy your two weeks of work you put into it, is that perfect
GREAT streamer going towards the gas can for the lawn mower "bad"?...  Lots
of fun stuff to get the adrenalin going ;-)) 

Then there is the fun of everyone around you knowing that your are someone
"special"! 08-|`  Unlike a having a big train set, building pretty wood
things, painting pictures, having odd fish in a big aquarium, and other
well known hobbies, you can be guaranteed that your neighbors and friends
have not quite seen this hobby before!!  As the years pass, they may forget
about your weird fish, they may forget what color your hair is, or they
even forget what your name is, but they will never forget about your
electrical thing burning the tree down and your explaining to the cops that
this accident is perfectly explained by second order differential equations
and lumped circuit analysis.  ;-))  

There is also the fun of knowing that if you screw up, no one will know!
(providing you don't get killed!).  Your train can break, your fish can
die, your oak table may stay sticky for ten years, your 'paint by the
numbers' picture may have purple trees...  everyone will know you goofed
up!!  But if your coil puts out three foot arcs instead of six foot arcs,
they will never be the wiser! ;-))

I guess "I" don't see the hunted house side of it much, but I do love the
measurement and testing challenges.  Casually hooking 500KV to an expensive
oscilloscope and laptop computer does hone ones skills for such things!
Also, finding new things that have not been known before is pretty hard
these days.  But you will find that there are many unexplored areas of
Tesla coiling that are easily within reach of the average person to explore
for the first time.

Tesla coiling is also a "true" hobby for all but a precious few of us
(those poor guys! ;-)).  When we are coiling, we do not need to worry about
anything else.  Tesla coiling is totally unrelated to the rest of the
world.  Politics, world problems, one's job, and other such "important"
things are truly meaningless in this hobby.  The next president, the stock
market, gun control, new tires on the car,...  Simply mean zero to our
hobby.  If all those other "things" bother you, Tesla coiling is a perfect
"escape"!

Then there is the fun of this list and being able to help others out.  If
you like helping people learn this IS the place!  There is always someone
who needs help figuring out a basic concept or needing help that even a
"newbi" can provide.  And, if one is in a pinch, you can ask some of the
world's leading masters at the art for help and get an answer in hours...

So Ted, you may not see all the beauty in Tesla coiling 25 seconds after
8:00 AM on a Monday morning, but give it time! ;-)

Cheers,

	Terry


At 08:00:25 AM 05/15/2000 -0500, you wrote: 

>To All Coilers... 
>
>Ever since I stood in the total darkness of the Hangman's House of Horrors 
>last October, playing my theremin to scare folks as they walked by and had 
>an idea of building a coil for this upcoming October, I have learned much 
>from all the list contributors. 
>
>My modest 6 inch coil is well on the way to completion. The concept for the 
>use of the coil with appropriate safety measures provided by respected list 
>members, has been accepted by the management of the haunted house. I hope 
>that it works and is as successful in its intended purpose...to make the 
>patrons "wet their pants" as Dr Resonance so aptly put it. 
>
>But ever since I began to understand what a Tesla Coil did and having seen 
>a reasonably sized one in operation last May and learning what was involved 
>in building one, there has been one question that has gone unanswered. 
>
>I do not mean to start a war or an unending thread. 
>
>That would be my last intention. I owe much to all the posting people whose 
>knowledge far exceeds mine in matters Tesla. 
>
>But I really want to know why... 
>If it were not for the Hangman's House I do not think I would ever really 
>want to build a coil. 
>But there are those of you who not only start with a coil capable of 6 inch 
>streamers and keep building more and more until 10 footers or more are 
>attainable. As a challenge, I recognize that. 
>People build cars to go faster. Athletes are always trying to better a 
>record. 
>
>But, what real purpose does a coil have other than to scare someone or 
>worse, injure or kill or merely light fluorescent tubes? 
>
>Once someone has achieved that 10 foot arc...what becomes of the coil once 
>it's power has been shared with all either in person or on the web? 
>
>This may sound like blasphemy. But this posting is truly a desire to 
>understand something of the philosophy of the coiler that so far has 
>escaped me. 
>
>The truth is out there and I want to believe...someone once said. 
>Help me to understand. And I will thank you all. 
>
>Ted Rosenberg 
>
>