Re: Science fair help...

["J. B. Weazle McCreath" <weazle-at-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-xxxxxxxxxx>)]

At 06:34 AM 17/11/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Original poster: "Michael Deegan" <mdeegan-at-mediaone-dot-net> 
>
>Hidily do, 
>
>Many of you have probably seen my posts in the last few days.  I'm a 8th
>grader in Illinois.    i decided to do something involving tesla coils
>for my science fair project.

snip

>For my purpose I put "How much electricity can be transmitted without
wires?" in a rather hasty way (I just wanted to do some coiling).

snip

>Tesla coils can light up a flourescent lightbulb right?  What should I do
>to measure the amount? 
>  
>Michael Deegan
>

Hi Michael,

First of all, congratulations on building a Tesla coil!!  I'm sure it
will be a hit at the science fair, as everyone likes to see sparks and
hear the snappy sound of discharges.

As to how to measure the amount of power, you could do it by comparing
the brightness of the bulb being "excited" by the coil to one which is
actually connected to a 120 volt wall outlet.  It's not exact, but it
would give you a relative indication.  Also, the wattage of any given
fluorescent bulb is generally marked right on it and again should give
a relative indication of power.

Taking "real" measurements around a Tesla coil is rather difficult with
regular, inexpensive meters, due to the strong field of the coil getting
picked up by the leads and giving un-accurate readings.  Have fun and be
sure to observe safety precautions, particularly when you have a crowd
around your coil oooing and ahhing!


73, Weazle, VE3EAR/VE3WZL

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