Re: more newbie questions

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "davep by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <davep-at-quik-dot-com>


>Why did Tesla make a coil in the first place?

         To see what would happen.
         Experiments with currents of High Potential and
         High Frequency, by Tesla.  Describes his evolutionary
         coils.  (Cautionary note: we know more of the
         underlying physics than he did: we 'stand on the
         shoulders of giants'.)

>I wonder how he figured out how to do all of this stuff in

>the 1800's,

         One step at a time.  cf above, Its available in reprint.
         Also, others had invented the transformer, he improved
         the usual ones (a lot) the evolved them for HF
         generation.

>he must have been really freaking smart.

         Indeed.

>What was it that he was trying to accomplish?

         To some extent, fooling around.  To some extent to
         provide better electrical service.  And to do so
         in a patentable manner, to make money.  (In my view:
         neither of the last two can be done this way.  details
         get off the list charter.  Other lists exist to chat
         about Tesla, of varying degrees of rigour.  this list
         is sort of limited to operation and development of
         coils, rather than too much of the history.)

>Other than just the fun of making one, is there any pracitical

>purpose?
         Learning.

         Beyond that, opinions differ.


>I was wandering if I could make a capacitor using 1 gallon glass

>pickle jars.

         Yes, but whether it would be a useful value is a seperate
         problem.  Tesla was partial to champagne bottles.

>Since my wife is pregnant, I have a lot of them laying around and I have 
>been trying to find a use for them. If I can use them, how

>do you figure out the capacitance?

>Why do I have to use a neon sign transformer?

         Others will work.  Neon sign transformers have a nice
         combination of properties:
                 useful voltage
                 useful current
                 Current limited by design.  (some remove the limits)

>How come you can't use a transformer from something else?
         There are few other transformers with similar voltage

         & current ratings.  Some Oil Burner Ignition Transformers
         (OBITs) are popular.


>Also, I noticed that in Spencer's, that they sell something that

>likes like a Telsa coil with a glass globe covering the whole

>thing. I am sure that people know what I am talking about.

         Commonly called a plasma globe or eye of the storm.

>So, is this a Tesla coil?
         It uses a Tesla Coil (or similar) to power it.

>My background:

>majored in psycology, ba in 1994.
         Psychology.


>then decided to do something for real, so I decided to get into the 
>computer field. Actually, I had been doing computers since 1983/84. My 
>first computer was a TI-49a. I thought that was the best thing that there 
>ever was. Anyway, I have been a network admin for several years and the 
>current company that I am working for sells pagers and cell phones, so I 
>have to do component level repairs. We use a frequency generator to tune 
>pager oscillators to the correct frequency. I have my 
>MCSE,CCNA,CNA,NET+,A+ and a bunch of other junk certifications. I noticed 
>that most people in the computer field know little about electronics, 
>myself included.
         More market for the certifications mentioned...

         8)>>

-- 
         best
         dwp

...the net of a million lies...
         Vernor Vinge
There are Many Web Sites which Say Many Things.
         -me