Hot Fear Of Lightning Posts

Master the Power: How to Make Fluorescent Tubes Glow with Your Bare Hands

I'm sure most everyone has some kind of fluorescent light source in their home; those long white tubes that emit a bright white light when turned on, or maybe a few of the CFL power-saver bulbs. These bulbs actually require very little "power" (i.e. a high voltage:almost no current ratio) to emit light. In fact, static electricity is enough to make them flicker. Inside these tubes is a gas, and when electricity flows through that gas, it gets "excited" and produces light.

How To: Electron Spirographs with a Cathode Ray Tube

In this article, I'll be showing you how to make a cool visual representation of sound using an old cathode ray tube (CRT) television, a stereo, and a sound source. You'll also need a pair of wire cutters, and a few screwdrivers. To properly understand this project, it's a good idea to learn a little bit about how CRT TVs work. Check out this article on how they work.

How to Make a Jacob's Ladder: Chained Lightning

In this article, I'll show you how to create a simple yet accurate demonstration of the "rising ionized gas" principle. In other words, a transformer, two metal prongs and lots of evil laughter. Remember those large "towers" in the background of Frankenstein movies with a "lightning bolt" rising upwards every few seconds? That's called a Jacob's Ladder; one of the coolest awe-inspiring demonstrations of high voltage. Here's a video of the final product: Materials and Tools

News: Butane Combustion High Voltage Capacitor Launcher

Here's a little gadget I made based on the concept of a potato launcher, a stungun, and a dart gun. The gun uses an explosive gas (butane) to launch a charged high voltage capacitor at a target. The gas is ignited by a small spark, created by a pulse transformer. The trigger automatically fills the combustion chamber with the correct amount of gas, then ignites it with the pulse transformer. The result: a long range stun dart gun.

How to Make Propane Bubbles: Fire You Can Hold

You must ONLY conduct this experiment if you are experienced in using combustibles and understand the risk. Fire is very dangerous and can seriously burn you. Seems harmless at first, but believe me, these are bubbles turned evil. When ignited, the bubbles pop almost instantly, and all the propane is released in a huge fireball.

News: Making Sound Sculptures with a Speaker and Cornstarch

Posted below is an interesting video on the effects of low frequency square waveforms on cornstarch. To make, simply mix cornstarch and water, then place on a large speaker hooked up to an amplifier and a signal generator (generating around 20-30 hertz). An old stereo works great, as long as it has an aux-in. There is lots of free signal generating software at arms length, like this one. I found adding a little olive oil into the cornstarch mix makes it easier to handle, and contributes to th...

Lightning on Demand: Building the World's Largest Tesla Coils

Electrical engineer Greg Leyh and company are currently creating a pair of 118-foot Tesla coils! The largest coil built to date is an 18-story tower constructed back in 1903 by Tesla himself, but Leyh has decided to not only recreate the huge coil, but double it in size. The project goes by the name of "Lightning on Demand" and is currently being constructed on an 81-acre plot in the Nevada desert. Once it's finished, the pair of coils will output 10 million volt acres 100 yards long—the size...

Understanding Electricity: Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla In my opinion, one of the most neglected inventors of all time. The names Edison and Marconi come to mind as familiar, but Tesla? Most think of a car. Few know that Tesla is responsible for alternating current, florescent lights, radar, remote control, generators that preform efficiently, the spark plug, and many others. The U.S Supreme Court declared in 1943 that Tesla, not Marconi, was the true inventor of the radio.

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