My
10" Tesla Coil and Lichtenberg Figures
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* Go HERE if you want to find out more
about Nikola Tesla, the man
* Go HERE if you want to find out how
to build your own Tesla Coil
* Go HERE if you want to learn how
Lichtenberg Figures are created
* Go HERE if you want
to get a Lichtenberg Figure of your very own |
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Power arcs to the conduit ground in the ceiling fan. Discharges to a solid
ground are much brighter than streamers since they carry significantly higher
peak current.
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A 25 watt incandescent lamp is lit from the current flowing through
the streamers. Peak current in power arcs to ground is typically in the
range of 10-20 amps, but even the lower average current going to free-air
streamers easily lights the bulb.
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At increased power levels, you can also see streamers issuing from
the exterior of the lamp... but the glass remains unpunctured.
The streamers are capacitively coupled THROUGH the glass and into the
surrounding air!
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A "breakout bump" has been applied to the surface of the toroid to
help "steer" streamers so that they are directed perpendicular to the camera..
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A closer view of the primary, strikerail, secondary, and the toroid.
The secondary has a 1/16" conformal coating of clear epoxy.
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A bit of blue corona can be seen coming from the tip of the fan's pull
chain. A breakout bump again is used to direct the discharges.
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A series of 18" long colored gas tubes is lit by the current flowing
through the streamers to protective ground wires in the ceiling.
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The coil is really cooking with no breakout bump. Snapping streamers
come within about 2 feet of the operator... .
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With no "breakout bump" the streamers go out in all directions. The
room is just not tall enough or wide enough...
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A Lichtenberg Figure - Plexiglas was bombarded with high-speed electrons
from an Linear Accelerator (LINAC). Charge builds up internally until
dielectric breakdown occurs - the discharge only takes 20-60 billionths of
a second, creating "Captured Lightning®"! Actual Size of this specimen is 4" x 6" x
1". Go HERE to find out how they are made. |
This 2" x 2" sample shows a very bushy, dendritic discharge network. The discharge
is a type of fractal, and the self-similar pattern extends all the way
down to the molecular level of the polymer! The discharge process is similar
to how natural lightning discharges excess charge within the top of a cloud.
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This magnificent 3"x 3" x 2" specimen was irradiated on one side, turned 180 degrees
and irradiated again. This created two regions of excess charge. When the
lower region was discharged, it also caused internal breakdown to the top
region. A very unique and beautiful piece! In June, 2004 we were able to successfully create similar figures.
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This huge 12" x 12" x 1" Figure is probably one of the largest and most
beautiful Lichtenberg Figures in existence. The discharge pattern
demonstrates self-similar fractal properties, and the fine dendritic
discharges virtually fill the entire area.
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The birth of a big Lichtenberg Figure!
The amount of charge held within a 12" x 12" figure can potentially be
quite dangerous. When the figure is manually discharged, the result is
a blinding flash and and a very loud bang, similar to a high voltage
capacitor
discharge. The internal potential of this figure is estimated to be ~2
million volts. The above image captures the creation of the figure to
the left.
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Here are a pair of 2" diameter cylindrical Lichtenbergs that were created
by a 10 MEV pulsed electron beam accelerator. The yellow tinge of solarization
is still present 24 months after irradiation. This gorgeous pair was
provided by Tony DeAngelis.
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A
gorgeous example of Lichtenberg Figures that were created by irradiating
cubes on three sides and then discharging them. The result are feathery Lichtenberg
Figures along three planes coming together as a "corner cube" inside the
plastic. We have also more recently been able to irradiate cubes on all six sides, leaving an internal cubic lightning pattern!
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Cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges sometimes exhibit fractal patterns
similar to Lichtenberg Figures. Sometimes called anvil crawlers or
spider lightning, a spreading
sequence of these finger-like discharges may span tens of miles,
literally crawling across the sky and lasting for more than a second!
The resemblance between these majectic discharges and those captured
within Lichtenberg Figures is more than superficial - it's fundamental
to how electrical insulators (solid, liquid or gas) break down under high electrical stress.
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More Arcs 'n Sparks pictures, including the longest man made
spark discharge (over 325 feet!), MPEG's of three-phase 345 kV arcs, a
crane tangling with
a 46 kV feeder (and losing!), an MPEG of an arcing substation and
exploding power transformer, switching problems on a 500 kV
substation switch that's creates the world's biggest Jacob's Ladder,
and a closeup of the million+ volt birth of a Lichtenberg Figure.
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