Tesla coil
Project abstract:
We need a project for the Maker Faire that will catch attention and is interesting to design/build. The project must also satisfy all constraints set out by Mr. Sinde and Mr. Cowhey. We need to plan, design, model, and test a solid state Tesla coil that has a set voltage low enough that it can under no circumstances cause harm to anyone or anything, but still has enough power that it can create impressive streamer discharges. Our idea is to simply create an interesting project that we can both be proud of and actually do in the time allotted.
Physics connection
Tesla coils were initially invented as an AC circuit experiment, giving this project a direct connection to the circuits/ electricity physics principle. The coil itself uses alternating current to create step-up voltage transformers- something that cannot be done with direct current. Normally transformers like this would use soft iron/ rare earth metals to help channel the magnetic field, but Tesla coils are so extreme that any metal core would quickly melt. So instead of a normal metal core it uses an air core, which also simplifies it significantly. The coil uses a special resonant transformer to achieve even greater voltages, adding on to the many direct connections to physics circuits. The coil we are going to make also uses a rather cool circuit to rapidly switch the coil on and off at just the right moments to push the resonant transformer. Once there is enough voltage step-up the coil creates a very large magnetic field around it, and since it is AC it then induces a current in certain things such as an incandescent bulb. There is a bit more going on, but that is a rather basic rundown on the mechanics of it.
Project summary
This project has easily been the most difficult project I’ve ever undertaken, not only by the sheer scope of what needed to be done but also the complex physics that goes into each and every piece. For the first month of what was technically time to work on our maker faire projects not much got done, the 3d model of the project was completed within the first week and the Tesla Coil was impossible to simulate in TinkerCAD for a variety of reasons. Soon the parts began to arrive and I slowly soldered it all together as more and more arrived. I also had to order many of the parts on my own time later on as they weren’t in the schematic but were necessary, such as a heat sink for the MOSFET or spare capacitors. Once the initial circuit was completed I set to work 3D modeling the holders for the primary and secondary coil
Preparations and documentation
Project proposal:https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRoRzt_2viFQGeGPgXFWJe4__mEogyq5boC2TKdb3Ewqrxp1FWeLhjO0qJgIR4HDawYZ2TdzTrryURc/pub?embedded=true
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