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The Capacitors

The capacitors have finally arrived.  UPS decided that shipping them from Ontario -> My apartment in BC -> Ontario -> University of Victoria was a good idea. However, they have finally shown up!  Aren’t they beautiful? You will doubtless notice the little baggy of resistors.  These have a ridiculously high resistance and voltage tolerances.  They’re…

The Transformer

The first step in a Tesla coil is the transformer.  It is what generates the initial voltage increase from a piddling 120V that is produced by an outlet to the powerful kilo volt range.  In the good old days of 10 years ago you could just waltz down to a neon sign shop and purchase…

The Top Load

The top load is what turns the secondary coil into an LC circuit.  The idea is that it acts like a capacitor with the ground.  Charge builds up on it’s surface until the potential grows so large that a lighting bolt breaks out. The reason people shape it as a torus is to force the…