We can build them and see them send energy through objects and light up a light bulb in thin air, but do we know the physics behind it all?
So has anyone explained how a tesla coil worked yet?
- Thread starter Klippymitch
- Start date
Sure! Not to pre-empt orcot's wiki article but EVERYONE with just a basic knowledge of electricity knows exactly how they work!! Nothing mysterious about them (except to the undereducated).
So what's the physics behind the Tesla coil?
I'll be waiting for your answer.
And thanks for calling me undereducated. You dick.
It's simple physics. I don't understand it at all.
If it's so simple then why did I find this in the wikipedia article?
" However, even more than 100 years later after the first use of Tesla Coils, there are many aspects of Tesla Coil discharges and the energy transfer process that are still not completely understood."
The physics is simple electrical principles. A high-voltage transformer consisting of two or more coils operated in conjunction with an LC tank circuit. As opposed to common transformer applications they use high-frequency switching to acheive very high voltages. That's it in a nutshell and there's STILL nothing mysterious about it.
I didn't personally call YOU undereducated, just anyone who thinks the devices are mysterious. And your final comment - which was completely uncalled for - just got you an infraction. Enjoy it. :bugeye:
Those are the words of the Wiki article writer - NOT those of an electrical engineer or physicist.
That is the build up of the device not how the device itself works.
I know there is nothing mysterious about a Tesla coil, But the physics of why it works has yet to be explained fully. Unless you can find additional resources or even explain it yourself.
You did call me uneducated(stupid) and if not you did not then you were talking to no one. I know you think linear so you don't have the capability to have those type of thoughts. You know thoughts with deeper meanings. You even told me in a thread just yesterday how you should post EVERYTHING and leave nothing to questioning.
Everything you know is what others have already thought up. You don't have the capability to think creatively. I already seen too many of your posts so I know this is fact.
Everything you know comes from books.
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I saw it mentioned in a video on youtube as well. It wasn't just a person saying this it was a guy explaining the Tesla coil to a crowd. It looked to be a pretty respectable place. It could of been an ?University?
So Ive heard the same statement already in two places.
Your saying they are both wrong?
Thanks for the infraction Airplane face.
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No, that's much more than just how it's constructed. Do you not know what the term "transformer principles" mean?? I believe that the problem here is simply that you lack the basic knowledge of electrical/electronic principles. For example, do you even know what a tank circuit (L/C) is? Without that and knowing how transformers work, particualry at high-frequences, I can see why you don't understand the overall operation of the device.
Another misunderstanding on your part: confusing "undereducated" (which is what I actually said) with "stupid." The former simply means one has not yet studied and learned enough. The latter is someone who is generally taken to be incapabile of learning. BIG, BIG difference. And I left nothing to question for anyone who understands the principles I listed. (I suppose I was giving you too much credit.)
Sorry to burst your fragile bubble here but creativity is NOT what is under discussion at this time. We're talking about existing devices and principles that have been long understood.
That's pretty much true - coupled with experience. Where do you get YOUR knowledge from? Thin air?
Yes, they are both incorrect - or just incomplete in their explanations. Many people shy away from giving full technical details (as opposed to a fairly simple show-and-tell) because they may not fully understand the principles themselves OR because their typical audience would find that part of the demonstration fairly boring.
You're welcome - always glad to accommodate someone when they as for something. I assumed you asked an honest question in the beginning and I gave you honest answers. There's no need to drop to a childish level and start calling names. That's very immature and completely unnecessary in any discussion.
Klippymitch,
Although yourself and Read-Only are participating in debate on this thread, there are people outside of the discussion that read the threads that might ask the same questions or have viewpoints contrary to science.
Read-Only's statement of:
Is not directed at you but at people that believe there is magical things going on because they don't understand the science behind the coils and it's not so much an insult as a statement that with a bit of education the "magic" is realised to have science behind it.
I know it's possible that you might have read it as an insult perhaps because of your first language or perhaps you just read the context wrong.
All in all it's really not necessary to become aggressive towards a poster for a misunderstanding, the last thing we need on this forum is yet another poster to adopt a flame-posting stance because of a misinterpretation. There is enough flame-posters that do it with little or no reason.
Read-Only has pointed out that people shy away from full details, after all I could say a bit and be completely wrong due to it being my own interpretation over a textbook industry standard explanation you might find in a School Physics book. Perhaps my explanation would make me look fallible and undermine any other fields that I have participated in, perhaps it might have a few peers call me 'stupid'. (Which is hardly an encouragement for debate or tidying up loose ends or misinterpretations) So I like many others will choose to add very little in regards to what you seek. On top of that I know my interpretation is not 100%, that would require myself to go and do some research the same research you should really be doing if you are seeking answers for certain questions, since after all my interpretation would just be a "middleman".
Although yourself and Read-Only are participating in debate on this thread, there are people outside of the discussion that read the threads that might ask the same questions or have viewpoints contrary to science.
Read-Only's statement of:
Read-Only said:
Is not directed at you but at people that believe there is magical things going on because they don't understand the science behind the coils and it's not so much an insult as a statement that with a bit of education the "magic" is realised to have science behind it.
I know it's possible that you might have read it as an insult perhaps because of your first language or perhaps you just read the context wrong.
All in all it's really not necessary to become aggressive towards a poster for a misunderstanding, the last thing we need on this forum is yet another poster to adopt a flame-posting stance because of a misinterpretation. There is enough flame-posters that do it with little or no reason.
Read-Only has pointed out that people shy away from full details, after all I could say a bit and be completely wrong due to it being my own interpretation over a textbook industry standard explanation you might find in a School Physics book. Perhaps my explanation would make me look fallible and undermine any other fields that I have participated in, perhaps it might have a few peers call me 'stupid'. (Which is hardly an encouragement for debate or tidying up loose ends or misinterpretations) So I like many others will choose to add very little in regards to what you seek. On top of that I know my interpretation is not 100%, that would require myself to go and do some research the same research you should really be doing if you are seeking answers for certain questions, since after all my interpretation would just be a "middleman".
Sometimes... It's called imagination and creativity Einstein was a huge supporter of this. I also use a system of questioning. Plus I never take anything as true unless I myself cannot find anything that contradicts that of which is being said as fact. If I cannot prove it wrong and it can be proven to be true then I will take it as a fact and incorporate it into my thinking process.
And you never once even mentioned impedance. When you have a Dc voltage pass through a coil you get an electromagnet. But when you pass AC current through the same coil you get an electromagnet that is switching on and off really fast and the effect of what you get you get is impedance.
What happens is it sends an electric magnetic energy through the air. Now I theorize that because Tesla coils used such high voltages and on/off frequency ratio that it pushes the electric magnetic energy through the air as if it was a wave and it spreads until the air around it manages to absorb the energy and is later grounded via air to ground. Air doesn't ground electricity very good so eventually the waves of electromagnetic energy accelerates the particles in the air to a point in which a static electric lighting bolt is shot out in mid-air releasing the build up of energy that air could could not ground quick enough. The reason for this is because the air insulating properties have reached it's limits in the capability of storing electrical energy so it must release the energy by other other means via mechanical (sound).
This is much more of a type of answer that I was looking for. And no I didn't look it up in a book. I just had to understand the effects of break up and break down of electricity passed through a coil.
All you told me was how to build the the thing not how it worked.
The only reason why I was asking the question was to see if what I thought up was right or wrong.
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I called you an Airplane face not because you are an airplane face but just as an experiment to test how strict the system of moderation of this forum was. If I got another refraction for that it would prove that the system was very strict. But since I didn't I now have a better gauge of how moderation of the forum works.
No, I told you specifically how it worked - the principles of transformer action, much as you described above. I wasn't about to go into all the details about transformers because that would have taken pages.
And your description is only partly correct and partly in error. First of, it's nor called "electric magnetic energy", rather electromagnetic - and that's NOT what is in play in a Tesla coil. It primarily uses electricity to do it's job. The voltage is boosted and then usually boosted again (and possibly a third time) through coils staged in series.
Your description of the discharge is totally wrong. It does build up a charge but not on the "particles" of air initially but on the contact elements (the ends of the final output coil). When the potential (voltage) becomes high enough, it THEN ionizes the molecules of the air which breaks down the air's dielectric (resistance) property (no "particles" involved) and that establishes a pathway for the electrical discharge. Just exactly the same as with lightning. First some 'feelers' as it begins the ionization process, then a stepped leader and finally the main discharge. The last two happen very quickly.
Actually, you were on the right path (congratulations!) with just some small misunderstandings of the detailed physics involved.
You didn't get another INfraction (not REfraction) simply because I chose not to. I'm not the least bit interested in playing silly games OR in acting childish myself. My interests lie in things scientific - not petty flame wars or calling names. That's for little kids and small minds.
There is a difference between "Moderating" and "Censorship". As a Moderator I just try to keep the peace and stop certain posters from getting too obnoxious, some posters push the boundaries too far and upset a lot of people thats when us moderators have to step up and deal with them and usually have to thick skin the repercussions.
We could go about censoring (in essence of the internet and family values, certain sites would require us to do so before even allowing sciforums to appear through their net nanny filters.) we don't really do it here because obviously the way a person conducts themselves says an awful lot about who they are, so if you want answers to questions by people that "know" treat people with courtesy otherwise it will probably spiral into a slanging match and cause a mod lock on a thread.
We could go about censoring (in essence of the internet and family values, certain sites would require us to do so before even allowing sciforums to appear through their net nanny filters.) we don't really do it here because obviously the way a person conducts themselves says an awful lot about who they are, so if you want answers to questions by people that "know" treat people with courtesy otherwise it will probably spiral into a slanging match and cause a mod lock on a thread.
So Electromagnetic energy causes Ionization of the of the air molecules around it. I was thinking that was caused by the lightning bolt strikes that was put out by the Tesla coil.
Hmm..
Thanks man.