Tesla Coils to Spiritual Insights

[Visitor]

As an electronics technician, I have always been very safety conscious with anything related to electricity.
I have felt the sting of (240 VAC 50 Hz) three times in my life, all before 1980. An experience I wish to never feel again.
However, Tesla coils of high frequencies, of above 2,000 pulses per second, were to be harmless.
For a year (1986-87) I wondered if that was true. Eventually, I had to find out, but I was not going to just jump into the fire, so to speak.

First of all, if the human neuron frequency response theory was wrong, I could end up feeling 750,000 volts with a lethal 50 hz frequency. (The new large coil produced an arc length of about 750 mm (30 inches)).
Though the RSG broke this 50 Hz up into 2,400 pieces, it was still in the background.
The Tesla coil circuit, the coil (inductance) and low capacitance, created its own resonant frequency as well. But I was not too concerned with that, because it was in the lower radio frequencies.
Very high frequencies, such as these (radio), carry electrical energy on a conductor as opposed to through the conductor.
This is called the 'skin effect'. In this regard, the electricity would not pass through my body, but on the body surface.
The Tesla coil current was not an issue either. Though I was drawing about 4 amps from the 240 VAC supply, by the time that voltage got stepped up to 750,000 volts, the current dropped down to about 0.0013 amps. Not much at all.

Even though, there was not much to be concerned, there was that 50 hz in the background that bothered me.
As much as I hate to say this now, I decided to test this first on a tadpole.
However I did take all safety precautions for the tadpole in mind. The main one was to minimize the voltage level as much as possible.
I did this by ensuring that most of the voltage got used before it reached the tadpole. An arc, of maximum distance, was set up between the Tesla coil terminal and an electrode that was placed in a glass container. At the opposite end of the container was the electrode to earth.
I adjusted and tested everything first without the tadpole. Then I added the tadpole and turned on the Tesla coil.
The coil arced across to, and through the water. The tadpole was swimming around as if nothing was happening in its environment.
I was very pleased that the tadpole did not feel anything. I returned it to the creek from where I caught it.



Even though, this proved that tadpoles were immune to Tesla coil frequencies, I still had my doubts about subjecting myself to the same test.
Nevertheless, I decided to have the arc touch a handheld (insulated) electrode. Instead of direct bodily contact.
I just completed making the electrode when a friend visited and requested a demonstration of the Tesla coil.
During the demonstration I decided to test the hand electrode. I plugged an earth lead into the electrode, and established an arc to the pointed end.
I was drawing out the arc as far as I could. I found a distance that would make and break contact with the electrode. It was at maximum arc length.
Suddenly, within a second, I experienced the following:

• The arc to the electrode became a strong looking connection to the electrode.
• My hand felt lighter all of a sudden.
• I glanced down to see the earth lead falling to the ground, and an arc following it for at least 6 inches (150 mm).
• I then felt a sharp prick at the surface of my hand, where the arc seemed to have come from. I jolted backwards from the Tesla coil.

My visitor saw the whole episode and called out, "Are you okay?" I said yes. Then he asked, "Did you feel that?" I said yes and no.
I was not concerned about me at that moment, but what occupied my mind was where did that extra 6 inches of arc come from?
While I was searching for answers, the pin prick sensation from my hand was bothering me.
I took a closer look at my hand and saw a tiny black dot. The size of a full-stop . I then realized what that was and why it caused an irritating itch. The arc, that came out of my hand, burnt the skin at that very point.



And yes, I felt no electrical current what so ever.

But where did that extra length of arc come from? It was at least 150,000 volts.
The only conclusion was it came from my own body.
This voltage seemed far to high for normal static bodily discharges. Unless it has to do with the electrostatic nature of the very matter the human body, and everything physical, is made from - atoms (so to speak).

This experience, has brought about the spiritual insight, in me, that all matter (living or not) is made from the same stuff – pure energy.
Again, nothing new here for the physicist. But at that time, for me, that knowledge coupled with direct experience, brought about a conviction that no textbook could give me.

[MuadDib]

Deadly spiritual experience, now I understood Tesla why working with one hand in pocket...

Like lightning can be ignited far below critical breakdown voltage for air (by cosmic rays maybe), it seems your body became to be additional resonator or so and opened longer channel for a moment...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_coil says: "The unique combination of a rising high-voltage radio frequency envelope and repetitive pulsing seem to be ideally suited to creating long, branching discharges that are considerably longer than would be otherwise expected by output voltage considerations alone."

[Visitor]

Hello MuadDib.

Thank you for this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_coil

It provides a lot of information I had not yet learnt about from my experimentation of many years ago.
I was about to post some more of my story with a coil that is a mini version of Tesla's Colorado Springs coil used for power transfer experiments.
After reading that section in which you cited from the above link.

Originally Posted by MuadDib

...."The unique combination of a rising high-voltage radio frequency envelope and repetitive pulsing seem to be ideally suited to creating long, branching discharges that are considerably longer than would be otherwise expected by output voltage considerations alone."[/i]

(Located at link: Tesla Coil > Practical aspects of design > arc discharges)

It explains exactly what had happened for me during those experiments.

About the discharge from my hand, you may be right.

Originally Posted by MuadDip

... it seems your body became to be additional resonator or so and opened longer channel for a moment..

While I was drawing the arc discharge towards myself, my body may have acted as a parasitic-capacitor. Resonant frequencies may have built up in my body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitic_capacitance

But I still have trouble understanding how any body energy build-up, of about 150,000 volts, did not leak either through my shoes or through/around the probe's insulator, while the earth-lead was connected.
My understanding is that those insulators were rated far below 150 kV.
Once the earth-lead open-circuited, further insulation (air-gap) presented itself. Why did that body energy 'see' the gap between my hand and the earth-lead as a 'path of least resistance'?

My only plausible thoughts seem to point towards a phenomenon related to a flame. This is another insight I planned to share shortly.
If you have any further information that will help me, please do not hesitate to post it, or PM me.

MuadDib, thank you for helping me to further understand my experiment results.

[Visitor]

Hello MuadDip.

Originally Posted by MuadDib

Deadly spiritual experience, now I understood Tesla why working with one hand in pocket...

In 1986, on my Tesla coil debut event, I shared my experience with Peter, my best friend of that time. He was a communications engineer. I noticed when I was about to switch-on the coil, he stood on one leg. I asked him for the reason. This is his explanation.

Imagine if the Tesla coil completely short-circuited 1,000,000 volts into the ground, and it took a twenty foot (6 m) radius to dissipate it. With my feet one foot apart, the potential difference from one leg to the next would be 50,000 volts. I am sure that voltage would rather pass through my water-based body than continue through the dry earth.

So we both stood with one leg raised as I switched-on the current. It must have looked funny.

[Visitor]

In 1991, I was back in Sydney. This time, I was alone, lost everything to a fire, and starting life all over again.
About the only things I still had from the Tesla coil experiments, was the RSG, and my note books.
For a long time now, I wanted to build a one-tenth scale version of Tesla's experimental coil of Colorado Springs.
To get information on this coil, I had to purchase a copy of Tesla's diary of that time. It cost me the earth, so to speak, but it was worth it.
I studied every page slowly, and checked everybit of his calculations with my calculator.
From this study, I realized the mental power and physical staminar of this man. He was phenomenal.
His mathematics showed no breakdown of steps, just parameters to an equation and the answer.
I know he had an assistant with him, but what they achieved in a single day was mind boggling to me. Now I am a tall strong person, but to do what these two have done, would require eighteen hours of hard work per day.

Later, while I was working full-time, and building my new Tesla coil till late at night, and getting hardly any sleep, I realized why Tesla had the energy to do what he had done. He loved the work with all his being.
I too was experiencing the same thing. This was a most powerful spiritual insight for me. That loving an activity provided me the extra energy to do the work. It was no longer a task, but an adventurous creation.
I did not need much sleep. When I did go to bed, I was pleased with my work, and I fell into a deep sleep within one minute. Upon awakening, I often found myself in the exact position I fell asleep in.

To give you an idea of what Tesla's coil, of Colorado Springs, looked like, here is a link to a famous image. http://www.teslasociety.com/nikolapic.jpg

In Tesla's diary, he mentions that the photographs that show him sitting inside the active primary coil are double exposures. That is, one with him sitting, and another (overlapping) with just the coil in operation.

Here is the framework for my 1/10th scale version. You will notice, across the middle is a series of tongue-and-groove type joints. They are sliding joints for adjusting the primary coil diameter. I incorporated this design for fine tuning if needed. The primary coil former (the walls) was made from thin wood veneer.
This coil former was about 5 feet (1500 mm) in diameter.

[Visitor]

A: Shows how I wound the secondary coil onto the veneer wall. I used cut matchsticks as pacers.
Each row is slightly moved to allow about 4 mm (one matchstick width plus wire diameter) for a single turn of wire. It was a fiddly job.
The primary coil (at bottom) has not yet been laid in.

B: Here, you can see a perspex bracket with many plastic bolts to secure a wire connection to the primary coil. This is the start and finish of the primary winding.
On top of the bracket is a green and yellow wire for the secondary's earth connection.

C: This view is from the opposite end. On the bottom of the former is the primary coil. It only consisted of two turns of eight strands of wire, in parallel and it is flat against the veneer.
The primary coil is broken and soldered at this point, to allow any future adjustments of coil diameter.
The wooden spacer, between the two coil halves, signifies the coil's maximum diameter – leaving me about an inch to play with.

The secondary coil looks complete, but it is not. I have no loose photos of the completed Tesla coil. The finished secondary had a final turn, suspended above the coil former.
The wire was attached to 48 plastic pillars equal-distantly placed around the coil's circumference. They were made from knitting needles.
When I was at the haberdashery, purchasing a handful of knitting needles, the lady asked why I wanted so many of them. As I looked at her, I could not be bothered explaining it, so I lied, and said, "For a knitting class". She looked at me from over her glasses, saying "oh". I don't think she believed me.

D: Shows the coil almost complete. The coil in the center, that looks like a secondary coil, is simply called an Extra Coil. I designed it with a central hole so as to slide the coil up and down a plastic central pillar, for fine tuning.

[Visitor]

Unfortunately, this is my only photos I have left of this coil – near completion.
The image on the right shows a thin toroid terminal. It actually has a plug at its base. It plugs into the pillar below. This is so I can simply swap one terminal type for another one.
I had an aluminium spheroid terminal, it was slightly elongated, like this letter – O. It took hours annealing two aluminium pots to a shape without any flat bottoms. But I have no photo of it.

[Visitor]

[Visitor]

Transcript (plus some editing to clarify):

At first the discharges were small, about 150-200 mm. I feared the circuit was overloaded and kept shutting it down quickly, and having to recheck everything again. My concern was that I kept seeing corona on the top turn of the primary coil – something I never seen before. (Corona was on top of secondary coil, not primary coil. Confusion between primary and secondary locations due to both on same former). It was a leakage I did not want to see.

The water in and around the Leyden jars lit up as well.

I noticed if I let the TC run for awhile the discharges start to grow in length. It is weird to see it double in size over several seconds of operation – now about 500 mm (500,000 volts). (or 0.5 MV).

Had to shut the circuit down. It started to overload (and runaway). The arcs were many feet long – 6-8 feet and still grew. (That is about 1.8 – 2.4 MV) Something wrong here. It arced to the secondary coil and capacitors. I think one of the caps (capacitors) is shorted out. It arced to the walls and started to reach towards my position. It scared me because it showed no limit and it was self-destroying or shorting out. All insulation now compromised. I think I saw something that I do not recall reading about.

This coil became seriously electrically damaged. That is, I would have to rewire the coils to regain some insulation quality. The capacitor's glass shorted out and had lost its dielectric quality. Surprisingly, the neon transformer survived. But my nerves were still in psychological shock from the experience for several days.

Soon afterwards, I had to relocate premises. During the removal, the large coil got bent in the middle and damaged the winding on the large former. To the scrap heap it went.

Any insights? It is easy to become scared of something that presents itself as both powerful and mysterious (lack of understanding).
This fear is not new for me. It is similar to taking a leap into the unknown, and then on the last second turning around like a cat and grabbing onto something secure and known.
Is this a lack of faith? I do not think so, just a lack of knowledge. When it comes to physics, it is not prudent to just rely on faith while handling anything of potential danger.

MaudDip steered me to a link (posts #32 and 33) that explains what I experienced.

In 1991, that knowledge was not something I found written in any books. The only reference I know of at that time, that talked about a 'leader' projecting before an arc was in book about the physics of lightning. I did not make the connection between that and the runaway arc of the Tesla coil.

So, I have not tapped into free-energy.

On this note:
If we looked at the point charge of Earth in space, I am fairly sure it would be very high.
I do recall Tesla mentioning (in a round about way) in one of his articles, on transmitting earth energies, something about creating potential differences for earth energy to transfer across from one point to another.
I can easily imagine, in that transfer of energy, some of it being tapped. If so, a lot of the energy being transferred would eventual return to earth (itself). In this strange way, it could be seen as free energy.
But entropy points to 'nothing is for free". Entropy is something we may never arrest, and could quite easily be our demise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_entropy

Spiritual Insight: There is a source of energy that is totally independent of itself. It is limitless and free. It cannot be claimed be anybody, or be taxed of charged. This energy has healing qualities, it can manifest into other things, it is accessible to all human beings at will, and it inspires life to thrive. It is called Unconditional Love.

[Sammy]

I really liked your paper mapping idea! Very cool, but what I liked most about it was your description. Lightning to rivers to veins/arteries. Much like the double slit experiment. It shows mass is energy, and is able to act accordingly too.

Also about how you were saying everything is all chaotic and things don't match up, and how you think it should be that way. I too agree, my reasoning is that if everything meshed together and worked "perfect". We would be back in a singularity, going everywhere but in reality nowhere. It's kinda like the family in "The Shinning" they could go everywhere in the lodge, but really they weren't going anywhere.