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Fucian's questions



Hi Fucian,

	I put a bunch of your question together here...

>how powerful are ignition coils?ive powered one with just a relay and a motor 
>cap. in series with a transformer.it gave me a firery 1inch+-----what would 
>volts and curent be?it wont charge a capacitor at all--why?

Ignition coils typically take 12 volts at maybe 5 amps which would put them
at about 60 watts.  However, there are a lot of variables there.  the
voltage is probably around 25kV and the current is based on the inductance
of the secondary and the resistance.  Probably many amps but only for a
brief spark in the uS range.  It since it is pulsed, the capacitor will
discharge between pulses.  you would need a high voltage diode or rectifier
to keep the charge on the cap.  In that way you can charge a cap to 25 kV.
We warned that a shock from the charged cap is the equivalent of all the
pulses from the coil combined into one easily lethal shock!!  People have
been killed by ignition coils although it is rare.  However, capacitors can
be far more deadly.


>ive been reading how bizarre and cool these things are and now im hearing 
>they are as dangerous as a bomb!i thought the skin affect passes harmlessly 
>over the skin.now im hearing it burns out nerves!ive heard about nikolai 
>tesla being charged and he wasnt  killed.can i raise the freqency or lower 
>the current to s safe level in any way?

The currents go right through the center of you traveling in your nerves
and blood vessels :-((  Although the nerves don't feel the currents they
are very real and can cause great harm if you get too much.  The skin depth
in people is about 1 meter so that does not help.  Some people have figured
out how to get zapped by Tesla coils in a somewhat safe way but this is
best left to the experts.  There is a lot that could go wrong.  Far better
not to touch the output arcs at all.  We always talk about safety here
because Tesla coils can be VERY dangerous.  However, if you are careful and
take the time to learn how to run them, they can be used very safely.

>is there any danger in a 220 watt tesla coil?will it kill me?

There are many many dangers.  I hope it does not kill you!!  Be sure to
learn how to run it safely and you will not get killed.

>hey im a new coiler and havnt even built an actual coil.i a 3by3 incher 
>though!it put out 1.5 inch sparks.it was powered by a 1250volt3.5ma he-ne 
>laser supply.hopefully you got the hints that i dont know what im doing.i 
>just orderd a couple of 7.5kv30ma transformers and im building a 3 by 18 inch 
>secondary.can you help me by telling me the dangers such as electricution and 
>things never to do and how loud is this?

They are fairly load.  In a small room they can make your ears hurt.  You
may want to get some ear plugs from the hardware store which are very
inexpensive and work very well.  There are many safety pages around. here
are a few:

http://www.pupman-dot-com/safety.htm

http://www.peakpeak-dot-com/~terryf/tesla/safety/Safety.html

We all started out much as you by working with ignition coils and such.  So
hang in there and you will be able to get a great coil working too without
getting hurt.

Cheers,

	Terry