Re: RF Spectrum

To: tesla-at-grendel.objinc-dot-com
Subject: Re: RF Spectrum
From: mrbarton-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-com (Mark Barton)
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 00:50:35 -0800
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You wrote: 
>

>	I just want to clear up an issue here.  So any advice is helpfull.
>
>	Now on the tesla coil, my very basic understanding is that the coil
>is really nothing more than an 'Antenna' wrapped around a pole.  And as an
>Antenna it gives off an RF frequency based upon its capacitance.
>

Actually, that is not quite right.  A Tesla coil is a 1/4 wave helical 
resonator.  It has a natural resonant frequency which is inversely 
proportional to the total length of wire used, and is approximately equal to:

    F = 0.25 * c / wire_length      where c = speed of light

The coil will also react to odd harmonics of F:  3F, 5F, 7F... at rapidly 
decreasing amplitudes.  To get a real good gut understanding of how Tesla 
coil secondaries work, read about organ pipes which are open at the top.  
They are the acoustic analog.

Zap,
Mark