Hi TaylorI have entered our state Science fair equivalent 3 years running achieving 2nd, 1st and 1st. (admittedly it was a few years ago that I was in school).
I wouldn't make a Tesla coil.There is a lot of construction, effort and experimentation to achieve a result and they are impressive. It's a great project but is engineering rather than "science".
You won't get to any experimentation for a long time into the project.Even today it is highly unlikely for you as a complete beginner making his first coil to find an area of tesla coiling that hasn't been looked at before. Hence, I don't think that is they way to go for you, at least for a science fair project. In my day it was downright impossible to work out if something had been published before. Even if you do it may be almost unrecognisable mathematically or in obscure journal with a level of electrical/engineering jargon as to make it unintelligible to you or your teacher. However, I wouldn't fuss about complete originality but build on your own original thought process. Make a hypothesis. Eg (as in one of mine) What factors affect the length of a spark? Get your own experimental data on effects of voltage electrode size/shape/polarity, temperature, gas composition, pressure etc. Take readings, produce graphs. Read references. See how your results compare with what is published. Seek out and explain discrepancies (this is where the prizes are in science from your level up to Nobel level).
Keep every statement referenced.Use your NST as a basis would be a start. Keep it extra safe with a permanent series resistor to limit current to a safe few mA only. Still regard it as lethal equipment with key lockout if taken to school or displayed.
Once you have done well with this project you parents are much more likely to fund other projects like expanding up to a Tesla coil (without the time constraints).
They will also be impressed by your safety knowledge and practice. Good luck Peter www.tesladownunder.com
-----Original Message----- From: Taylor Skidmore <balt11t@xxxxxxxxx> My name is Taylor Skidmore and recently I decided that I wanted to make a Tesla coil. After spending hours reading over the internet, I decided that I was ready to craft my own, but I was wondering if you could simply look over my design and put in any comments you might have. I did make this with TeslaMap, as my experience in electronics did not allow me to attempt to make my own calculations, even though I did try. If there is something wrong, could you please help me find the mistakes?
Thanks, Taylor Skidmore
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