RE: Early versions of Tesla's coil

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

Original poster: "John H. Couture by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <couturejh-at-mgte-dot-com>


RMC -

It is a simple matter to test weather the device is a Tesla coil or an
induction coil. The Tesla coil uses dampened waves and the induction coil
uses pulses. All you need is a scope. If you have a Leak Detector that works
you may want to make this test.

John Couture

------------------------------------


-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2003 4:55 PM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Early versions of Tesla's coil


Original poster: "RMC by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<RMC-at-richardcraven.plus-dot-com>

  > That induction coil diagram has been confusing Tesla coilers for many
years.
  > If you note carefully the buzzer contact is normally closed at the start
and
  > short circuits both the TC coil and the capacitor when it is closed. The
  > capacitor can not be charged under these conditions. The coil, however is
  > being charged with electrical energy.

<snip>

I feel that the difference between this being a TC or an induction coil lies
partly with the pull-in or magnetization current required to cause the
change-over contacts to switch, which itself is a function of the contact
design (spring compliance, pull-in distance)

My argument assumes that pull-in occurs early on in the choke's charging
current life-cycle and that the largest percentage of the "charging cycle"
results in charge being stored in the electric field of the capacitor.

Your analysis assumes the opposite - that the current flowing in the large
choke stores magnetic field energy, which field is then allowed to collapse
resulting in a large back emf which itself appears across the capacitor.

I suspect that, without reading Tesla's (orsomeone else's) contemporary
anlaysis of the exact device, we will be arguing against each other without
resolution LOL!

  > taken a Leak Detector apart to check and see if it is a true Tesla coil.
I
  > do know they give a severe shock like a charged coil inductive kick and
  > unlike a TC where the hi voltage, hi frequency currents can travel on the
  > surface of the skin.

Well, I have two identical leak detectors which certainly are true TCs (I
will get some photographs posted somewhere later).

By the way, I thought that skin effect resulted in significant penetration
into resistive human bodies at typical TC frequencies (50kHz to 500kHz) so
that assertations stating that currents flow harmlessly over the outside
layers of dead skin are now known to be wrong.

Cheers

RMC, England