My Jacobs Ladder

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Power off, you can see the stacked Franceformers.

You can see the arcs marching up the electrodes, note the 'dots' of white where the arc paused for a brief moment. The bottle of argon is for filling the bi-polar coil's acrylic chamber which is out of the camera view in front of the Tesla coil behind the Jacob's ladder.

As the shutter opened the arc was half way up and then rose to the top and began again at the bottom and then the shutter closed. 2 second exposures, I believe, should have been 1/4 or 1/2 second - next time.

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Photo 1

Power off, you can see the stacked Franceformers.

A nice toy and safely enclosed in a recycled stereo cabinet which also prevents air movement (and fingers) from affecting its operation. The head, Mr. Ed, was found at a local swap-meet in a custom carrying case and was originally intended for an ophthalmology class. I added red leds in the eyes and the sunglasses.

Specifications

• Power - Two 15kV, 30mA Franceformers.
• Cabinet dimensions - 36" tall, 19" wide, 16" deep. Hinged glass front door & top.
• Electrodes - Stainless steel, 0.75" wide, 0.125" thick, 31" tall.  Mounted on teflon blocks.
• Electrode spacing - 0.25" at bottom, 3" at top.

 

5-17-11

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