Electrical Wizardry at Home Some weird effects that you can obtain with a Tesla coil and some of your apparatus By E.R. begin with, if you have an oscilla- tion’ transformer the secondary will make a suitable primary for a ‘Tesla or Oudin Coil. ‘To construct a Tesla coil that will give a 10 to 12-in. spark, procure a tube 4 in, in diameter and 16 in, long. This may be made of two tubes 8 in. long and joined together as shown in Fig. 2. Some cereals come in tubular containers which will answer very well for this purpose. The pieces A and B are of wood; shellac is used to join the parts together. Avoid ‘Thomas the use of nails in this construction. After applying two coats of shellac to the secondary tube, wind it closely within 34 in. of either end with double cotton- covered No. 25 wire. Then give two coats of shellac to the windings, being sure the first coat is absolutely dry be- fore applying the second. ‘The base and uprights should be made of well seasoned wood which should also bbe shellacked. Make the dimensions to suit the individual requirements, Fasten four glass push-pins to the base as shown nes nes ‘Details in the construction of @ Teda or Ondin coil and diagram of the hookup for the experiments shown in the lower part of tho illustration. ‘Thoee experi- meats as well as X-ray photographs may be made by the use of this coil 155156 in Fig. 1. Thos serve as insulators. In Fig. 3 is shown how the above de- seribed ‘Tesla coil with a few alterations can be converted into an Oudia coil. ‘The three small blocks A are used to support the secondary. ‘The hook-up for a Tesla coil is shown in Fig. 4, and the abbreviations used are as follows: R. 8. G., rotary spark gap; C and C!, condensers; 8. G., safety gap. Various experiments are shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The two wires in Fig. 6 are connected with the binding posts of the secondary and are left to project verti- cally in the air. Long streamers wave about, producing a weird effect. ‘The experiment in Fig. 6 produces cone of light. ‘Two wire hoops, ono 12 in. in diameter and the other 3 in, in diam- eter, are connected with the secondary, and’ the lead wires are so bent that the hoops are soparated 5 or 6 in. ‘When a gap is made as shown in Fig. 7, fa spark 10 to 12 in, is obtained. - Of course all these experiments should be made in the dark. If two metal disks ebout 1 in, in diam- eter are provided and one attached to each of the connection leads, a brilliant flow of light will be produced from their ‘edges. For another experiment, suspend ‘two metal rods from the ceiling or other support so that they will hang about 2 in, apart, Connect these to the leads, Sparks will start at the bottom and run to the top, making a ladder of light. When the coil is converted into an Oudin coll the bottom binding post is connected with the lower turn of the primary; otherwise the connections are the same as for the ‘Tesla coil, 2s shown in Fig. 4, A brass ball 2 in, in diameter, Fig. 8 should be screwed on the top binding post of the secondary in place of the thumbnut. One of these may be obtained from an iron bed. An interesting field for high frequency experimenting is in connection with the X-rays. The bulb, Fig. 9, is connected with the socondary leads of the Tesla coll at A and Bon the bulb. The wire C is the vacuum regulator, and is oper- ated by bending it over near A so a spark will jump while the tube is running. Good X-ray photographs of the hand or other objects may be made with this apparatus, To take an X-ray photo- Popular Science Monthly graph, load a plate holder with one plate only, then expose it, holding your hand or other object against the side of the plate holder nearest the plate. The X-rays penetrate the light-proof slide with ease. The time of exposure can only be determined by trial. A good printing negative ean be made by holding the plate holder 5 in. from a 6-in, tube and exposing it for 2 minutes. An Electric Torch Made of Bichro- mate Solution in a Bottle NE of the most novel of the many dlectric torches recently invented, consists merely of a wide-mouthed bottle having rods of zine and carbon inserted through arubber cork, ‘These rods pro- ject down into tho bottle for about one- third of its depth. On top of the cork a emall dlcetrie lamp is mounted, similar to those used in ordinary electric torches. Connections are made between the lamp and the zine and carbon rods. A mixture of water, bichromate of potash, and sulphuric acid is put into the bottle, and stands ata level of about 1 in, below the end of the zine and earbon rods when the bottle is upright. When the bottle is turned upside-down, it Decomes what ts known 2s @ biehromate coll, 2 well-known type of cell for pro- ducing small quantities of electricity for electric bells and similar deviees. ‘The electric current produced when the solu- tion surrounds the zine and carbon rods is strong enough to light up the lamp, and the apparatus becomes an electric toreh, ‘The cork of the bottle must, of course, be made periectly water-tight. Square bottles with large round mouths, such as are used for pickles and similar products, are very suitable for these torehes, as they ean be laid down on their sides when light is required. Lacing Belts Through Eyeleted Holes in the Leather ‘The lite of a belt may be lengthened considerably, if instead of the customary slits in the ‘belt, eyelets obtained from old shoes are substituted through which to pass the thong in lacing, These will Prevent the thong from tearing out under the strain when drawn tight.Popular Science Monthly INDEX Volume 92—January-June, 1918 kemaoris) ——p te seg a NE eg uan e = ‘The Alistross 3S Ths Richest Fond in the World 686 Reno * ERE 2 Snes * PON Fal ipa rac The Tappoon Portable’ Fowd Cate BS ty Sauter u Hib word ins Rome Build Bt a ee a eer eae Ae i SARE rad Pics si ‘Brush-Bs oe bree aa Hl ie ae i eo poaecee eas 338 "Ferman Kay Be Hie Own Soi Chow BS ‘ste Coonlorabte by Tie Pad rot, Run-Poot Chicken Hoan 314 i Grind Sail 18 Publie Cristy A Real Etate Dealer's sige SA, sd. ‘Neeertph Pale May Be aa Eye Feswtte Fescl’Dovelosad « New Battoclane AGRICULTURAL. SCIENCE el ia ca eit ae tereer es SS ea ner Pia ee anit BL Gaba ee SORTER erie coisa 3 Pearcy ESR eis BR Tate Re hat aay aca iachey Sitar Fonets SoFhey Cas Sink lio eed isa 3Q ess Fes ig Pion f Lacan Wagan Plowing by Hiei 38 Mees nt Lok Like Supa Lawtee ‘This i SeiLouding Wagon Matos Road Gini: Mise Renn Gate “Re Dove of'That 2 fee Ener ; 7 RCapoatanes Weh-ceet Male aR! Copis Shout ional’ % AAMAS ane "ater hea iivieater 2 ASTRONOMY ‘he Prenck Hunter rd even the Arwen Haeiter $97 eres a eo aes These moe Save the Cosi ana Kees Growing Potaiccs in’ Bas "7 eet