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Re: The simple problem with Tesla coiling now... Xfmrs
Original poster: "Jonathan Peakall" <jpeakall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
All,
As with everything, the answer is education, education, education.
I remember a long while back on this list there were many debates about
helping noobies do the sparks from the fingers trick. Some folks refused to
help. Others figured that the noobies were going to do it anyway, so showing
them how to do it safely was the only course of action.
I agree with the latter. People are going to try things they hear about, and
if the information is scanty, they will do it without being aware of the
"proper" way to do it. Thats scares me more than anything else.
When I was a kid, my dad found me trying to get the materials together to
make dynamite. He was horrified, but his response was to show me how to make
ammonium picrate explosives, much more stable. I still have all my fingers.
When I started getting interested in drinking beer with my buddies, his
response was to allow me to do it in the basement, where he could intervene
if things got out of hand. His thinking was better there wehre he could keep
and eye on us than in the park or bushes doing Lord knows what and the cops
doing the intervening.
Anyway, stressing safety, showing how and why to do it right are the only
defense. An informed choice is always better than one made in ignorance.
Jonathan
www.madlabs.info
> For all my rambling, I don't have any solutions.
> There's no way to put the Internet genie back in the
> bottle. Self-censorship? No way! If I figure out
> something cool, I'm going to put it on the site for my
> fellow hobbyists to read about. Likewise, I
> frequently prowl my favorite coiling sites to see what
> others are up to. I'd be disappointed if I knew they
> were holding back.
>
> So--Terry is right to be concerned, but I don't know
> what to do about it. I guess it's up to the
> old-schoolers to do double-duty as teachers and
> mentors, and to try to develop a safety culture both
> on our sites and on this list. Beyond that, we can
> cross our fingers and hope we stay out of the
> headlines (and the obits!). What else is there to do?
>
> Greg
>
> > >From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > >To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
> > >Subject: The simple problem with Tesla coiling
> > now... Re: Xfmrs
> > >Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2007 14:41:56 -0700
> > >
> > >Original poster: Terrell Fritz
> > <terrellfone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > >
> > >Hi Jim,
> > >
> > >At 05:02 PM 3/2/2007, you wrote:
> > >>Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > >>......................
> > >>
> > >>I've always thought that most people who work with
> > high
> > >>voltage/high energy/other inherently dangerous
> > activities really
> > >>only appreciate the danger after one of those
> > "near death"
> > >>experiences where you go "Wow.. that was a close
> > one". I only wish
> > >>I could find a way to contrive such an experience
> > for new engineers
> > >>that would be safe, but scary.
> > >>
> > >>When I started fooling with HV, an elderly HV guy
> > (elderly is a
> > >>good sign, if you think about it; and elderly to
> > me back in my
> > >>early 20s might not seem so today in my
> > 40s....<grin>) said that
> > >>everyone should start with a decent sized Van
> > deGraaff
> > >>generator. High enough voltage so that corona is
> > omnipresent and
> > >>you get a feel for design issues and that the
> > practical effect of a
> > >>HV field can extend quite a ways. Low enough
> > energy so that the
> > >>inevitable mistake hurts but doesn't kill you. A
> > low powered tesla
> > >>coil is probably in the same category. You can
> > make some small
> > >>mistakes and all that happens is something catches
> > fire, the
> > >>insulation burns off, etc.
> > >>
> > >>After you've done some small amount of doing, then
> > it's time to
> > >>make that honest self assessment.. Is this
> > something I really
> > >>should be doing? But heck, people do dangerous
> > things with no
> > >>experience all the time. Most people survive
> > through life.. partly
> > >>by luck, partly by self knowledge, and HV
> > experimenting is no
> > >>different. If you are excessively bold, you wind
> > up being a Darwin
> > >>award holder.
> > >>
> > >>Where it gets a bit stickier (and is a totally
> > different subject)
> > >>is when other people's safety starts to enter the
> > picture (public
> > >>shows, your kids wandering around your gear) or
> > where there's
> > >>significant consequential risk if you "have a bad
> > day" (gosh, sorry
> > >>we inadvertently burned down the school). That's
> > where I think I'd
> > >>start to draw the line and require experience and
> > a second set of
> > >>eyes. (And, I confess that I've become
> > substantially more
> > >>conservative as I've gotten older...maybe it's
> > those near death
> > >>experiences? maybe it's just experience and
> > knowledge.. maybe
> > >>that's the difference between knowledge and
> > wisdom?)
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>Jim
> > >
> > >I started "HV" with ignition coils from the junk
> > yard in the fifth
> > >grade. Got shocked all the time ;-)) Then got into
> > the mail order
> > >sources on Tesla coil plans. They never worked...
> > Then went to
> > >"school"... Then worked on 375kV power line
> > equipment... Then
> > >worked in the high energy power supply business for
> > another 18
> > >years... Then "retired" ;-)) Played with lots of
> > vacuum plasma
> > >things and lasers in there to...
> > >
> > >So after a lot of "skool" I know "how to do it" now
> > ;-))
> > >
> > >So I studied Tesla coil arcs, and stepped further
> > back with each study...
> > >I studied the EMP dangers, and stopped doing public
> > coil demos... I
> > >studied the dangers of my modern circuits, and
> > stopped publicly posting them...
> > >
> > >The "simple problem with Tesla coiling" NOW is, It
> > is VERY dangerous!!!
> > >Unlike the "good old days" when nobody got a coil
> > to work for the
> > >first few years... Now a days, the information is
> > there to make a
> > >gigantically powerful coil right off in an
> > afternoon with two old
> > >microwaves and a pair of pliers... Worse yet, is
> > that the new super
> > >high power coils are "much easier" to make than
> > older designs...
> > >
> > >It really is "NOT fun games" any more... If a
> > young kid pulls a MOT
> > >instead of a ford coil, the 2kV at 2 amps will blow
> > his dead guts
> > >all over the house!!! The totally screwed up coil
> > "plans" that
> > >could not shock your cat 20 years ago, have been
> > "replaced" by coils
> > >that can send kitty "into orbit" now...
> > >
> > >There are a "few" "safety gates" still in place,
> > but they are "fragile"...
> > >
> > >I "very deeply fear" that newcomers to our sport
> > might "grasp" the
> > >newer technologies "right off" and simply kill
> > themselves...
> > >
> > >I am not sure "how"... But we are at the brink of
> > needing to take
> > >safety "a great step further" now...
> > >
> > >Cheers,
> > >
> > > Terry
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
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