TheTeslaHighFrequencyCoil 10500429

PLATE IV . Moto r-d ri ven Interrupter .
PLA TE V . Th e E le c t ro lyt i c Rec ti fier .

P L A TE II . T ra ns fo r m er fo r 12
”
Appa ra t us .
”
12 C oil .
THE TESLA H IG H
F R E Q U E NC Y C O IL
I TS C O N S TR U C TI O N A N D US E S
BY 0 ,
FQ
G EO R G E F HALL ER
AND
EL M ER T I L ING C U NNINGHA M
5 6 ILLU S TRA TI ONS
NE W YORK
D . VAN N O S T R A ND CO M P A NY
23 M URRA Y A ND 1 9 10 27 WARREN Sr s
'
.
C opyr i gh t, 1 9 1 0, by
D VAN N S
. O TRA D C MPANY
N O
P LATE 1
. C ompl
e te 12
”
A ppa ra tus . F r ont i spi ec e
.
INTR O D U C TI ON
presenting this b ook on the Tesla coil to the public the

IN
authors hope that they have filled a long felt vacancy in the
practical library of science No attempt has been made to
.
g ive a mathematical explanatio n of the oscillation transformer ,
and other parts of the hi gh frequency apparatus for the

-
,
simple reason that the theory is too complex and when ,
obtained of no practical use Neither have the authors

.
tried to lead the amateur who is just learning how to string

,
bells and connect batteries from the elements of the galvanic

,
cell up to the working of a high potential alternating cur

-
,
rent but have merely m ade an e ff ort to place in the hands of

,
advanced amateurs in electrical science a practical working

manual on the construction of high frequency coils now so
-
,
useful in scientific investigation .
T he attention of the authors was first called to the T esla

coil when they were fortunate enough to be given the use of
“
1 the ”
st ndard coil described in the last chapter of this
7 a
book A systematic line of experiments was carried on with

.
V
} it in order to study the efiec ts of a change in the constants
,
k of the various circuits A ll the mechanical and electrical

3 .
35 deta ils of construction were carefully worked out and the ,
authors finally decided to design and construct a larger coil .
T he coil as first constructed was a decided failure due to

, , ,
vi I ntroducti on
too small a condenser capacity For about five months they

.
further experimented on the deta ils of construction and

finally arrived at the 1 2 coil described in this book T his
”
.
coil they feel assured is as emc ient as can be made It is

.
especially desi gned to give a high frequency discharge of

-
great volume T his latter fact ma kes it useful for wireless

.
tele graphy .
In conclusion they have to thank M r G 0 M itchell for

. . .
many suggestions and for the kindly interest he has taken in

this work T hey feel that without his help the writing of
.
this little book would have been impossible .

C O NTENTS
C HAPTE R
I . AL S URVEY
G E NE R
II .T HE T RANS FO RME R
I II .T HE C ONDE NS E R
IV .T HE O S C ILLATI ON T RANS FO RME R

V THE INTE RRU PTE R
.
VI .T HE C ONS TR U CTI ON O R THE B OX E S
V II. A S S E MBLI NG
V III T H E ORY OF TH E C on
. .
IX . U S E S OF THE C on .
X. D IME NS I ONS O P 7 S TANDARD C O IL

’
A PPE ND IX
L I S T O F P L AT E S
ACING
F
PAGE
C omplete Apparatu s
12
’
F ronti s pi ece
T a nsfo m e fo
r r r Appa at us
r 12
’
r
O s illat io n T a n fo me a nd G lass fo C o nd e nse

c r s r r r r of 1 2
’
C o il
M oto d i n I nt rupte
r- r ve er r
Th e E l t olyt i Rec t ifie

ec r c r
D i h a ge f o m th e
sc r r C o il 12
’
Th e 7 S ta nda d A ppa atus

’
r r
Li st f
o F i gu res
H igh -tens io n B ush ing

O sc i llato rs a nd S tand ards
W i ri ng D iagram
Waves o n W ire s
P r ima ry a nd Co re of T rans fo r me r of 7
’
C o il
B o b b i n of T
S ec o nda ry ra nsfo r me r of 7
’
C oil
P late a nd F a me of C o nd e ns
r er
O illat io n T ansfo me of 7
sc r r r
’
A ppa ratus
B ox f 7
or A pp ’
a a t u r s
W 1r1ug D iagra m
llat s nd S ta nd a d s fo 7 Appa atus
O sc i or a r r
”
r
O ill t ion T ansfo me of S mall C o il

sc a r r r
C o mplet d T an fo me of S mall C o il
e r s r r
P ima y S pa k ga p
r r r -
W i ring D iag ra m
W iring D iagra m
TH E T E S LA C O IL
C HAPT ER I
GE NER AL S U R V EY
BY far the largest and most interesting branch of science

is electrici ty for Maxwell has proven mathematically and
, ,
Hertz verified experimenta lly that light is an elec tromagnetic

,
disturbance in the ether and thus added that subject to the

,
realm of electricity Amongst the various phenomena of

.
electricity those of the high tension current are the most

,
-
interesting and instructive With such a current al l the

.
wonders of the Geissler and C rookes tubes may be seen .
With it waves for wireless messages may be sent out into

space and a great number of other experiments carried out
, .
It is the purpose of this book to S how how a satisfactory

apparatus for producing these currents may be constructed ,
and also to describe a few of the uses for such a coil .
T he apparatus as described in this book is most commonly

, ,
kn own as the T esla High Frequency C oil and consists in

-
, ,
general of four parts : I T he S tep Up Transformer "2 T he

, .
-
.
Interrupter " 3 Th e C ondenser " 4 T he O scillation Trans

. .
former Each of these will be fully considered in subsequent

.
chapters .
Before entering upon the description of the Tesla high

frequency apparat us however it would be well to make a
, ,
few general remarks which are of the greatest importance .

C HAPT ER II
THE TRANSFO RM ER
TH E transformer sometimes called a converter is

merely an induction coil that is connected directly to the
.
alternating current mains without the use of an interrupter

-
, ,
,
and is used to raise or lower the voltage In a transformer.
the number of watts in the primary equals approximately

the number of watts i n the secondary .
In the case of any step up transformer the ratio of the

-
,
number of volts in the primary to those set up in the sec

ondary is nearly the same as the number of turns of wire
in the primary to the number in the secondary " but the

amperes decrease in the inverse ratio .
T he transformer used in the coil described in this book is

of the common induction coil type oil immersed step up
-
,
-
,
-
transformer It takes the alternating current from the mains

.
at 1 1 0 volts or 55 volts and steps it up to about

, volts .
The efficient working of a transformer depends large ly

upon the desi gn of the core T he iron used must be of high
.
permeabi lity and should have little retentivity A straight .
core is always best to use "for on the fall of the current from
,
its maximum value to zero the magnetic flux fall s from its
,
maximum value not to zero but to a value which depends

, ,
4
The Transformer 5
on the residual magnetism T he residual magnetism in an

.
open circuit is much less than in a closed magnetic circuit ,
so that when the current suddenly becomes zero the mag ,
netic flux drops lower in an open circuit than in a closed one .
As the electromotive force in the secondary is proportional

to the fall in the magnetic field it is greater with a straight
,
core than with a closed circuit of iron .
T he coil designer is obliged to determi ne the length of

the iron core from the experience of others as the mathe ,
ma tic s for calculating it is too complex although simple and

,
useful in the case of closed circui t transformers If the core .
is made too long the primary magnetizing current will be

too large while if made too short the secondary coils would
,
have to be made of too large a diameter to be efficient T here .
is therefore a certain length which will give the best results

, , .
In the case of this transformer the length of the core was

determined after having gained all possible information
from certain eminent men who had made a li fe study of these
matters " in fact all the dimensions of the transformer for
,
this special use were determined in this way .
T h e iron core is made up of p ieces of No 2 0 or 2 2 B

. S . .
gauge iron wi re 1 8 long T he wire is first cut nearly to

”
.
size wi th a pair of p liers and when assembled the ends of

, , ,
the bundle are sawed off square with a hack saw An ordi .
”
nary piece of iron pipe a little less than 1 8 long and having
, ,
an internal diameter slightly less than 2 is tightly filled

with these wires When putting the wires in stand the pipe
.
,
on end on a smooth surface and force in each wire until

,
6 The Tesl a c o
il
it hits this surface When the bundle is finished the upper

.
,
end is sawed off with a hack saw to exactly

'
T he tube containing the iron wires is now placed in a coke

or coal fire and left there unti l the fire burns itself out thus ,
insuri ng slow cooling T his heating and subsequent slow

.
cooling so softens the iron wires that their retentivi ty is re

duc ed to a minimum When cool the w i res are taken ou t
.
,
and sandpa pered to remove any superfluous oxide T hey are .
then one by one dipped into boiling water wiped dry and
, , , ,
while still warm are coated with thin shellac varnish When .
the shellac is dry they are again packed as tightly as possible , ,
in the p i pe to hold them in the desired shape T hen while

, .
,
still packed closely together they are forced slowly out of

,
the pipe "starting at the end thus released they are tightly ,
bound with a narrow cotton bandage which can be obtained ,
from any surgical supply house T he bandage should be

.
between one and two inches wide but no more When the , .
entire core is wrapped with this cloth the cloth should be ,
heavi ly shellacked Th e ends of the core are now filed flat

.
and smooth "after this it is put in a warm place to dry thor

oughly when i t will be ready for th e primary winding T he
, .
use of the insulating varnish on the iron wires is to arrest

eddy currents as much as possible thus preventing the iron ,
wire from becoming heated and energy wasted which would ,
lower the transformers e fficiently .
T he primary is wound in two sections of two layers each ,
one above the other No 1 2 B . S gauge double cotton

. . .
,
covered copp er wire is used About 2 } pounds will be

.
The Transformer 7
required The primary may be wound by hand , by erecting

.
” ”
two wooden supports 1 7 apart and having a 2 hole ,
bored in each to receive the iron core T hen by turning

, .
,
the core by hand the wire may be wound fairly well But .
as it is rather di ffi cult to wind the wire tightly in this way ,
i t would be more satisfactory to wind it in a lathe if the ,
amateur has access to one T o mount it cut a half inch

.
,
-
piece from the end of the pipe in which the core was formed ,
and slip it over the extreme end of the core Ma ke the .
ring fit as ti ghtly as possible by placing between it and the

core a few strips of tin or other thin sheet metal Now clamp -
.
it firmly i n the chuck The other end of the core should also
.
be fitted with a half inch piece of pipe and supported at this

-
place in the steady rest T he one piece of pipe is used to

.
prevent any o f the wires from being forced in unequally at

the points where the chuck cla mps it and the other to a fford ,
a smooth bearing surface for the steady rest If there is .
any tendency for the core to slip out of the chuck the ta il ,
stock with the centre removed may be pressed up against it

, , .
About 1 ft fro m the end of the copper wire take a couple

.
of turns of ta p e around it At this point bind the wire to

.
”
the iron core about 1 from its end by taking several turns
, ,
of tape around it . P roceed now to wind the wire tightly and

”
closely to wi thin 1 of the other end Here the winding of .
the primary is stopped for a short time in order to give the

wire a good coat of shellac After the shellac has dried
. .
,
another coating is given it and then the second layer is

,
wound on while the wire is still wet When the winding .

8 The Tesl a C oil
has come to wi thin about S ix turns of the starting point a ,
piece of tape doubled back on itself is laid on the first l ayer ,

with its ends projecting beyond the unwound portion of th e
second layer The looped end of the tape must be on the
.
outer S ide of the winding . S ee Fig . 1 .
D i ag ra m s s ho w i n
g m a nn e r o
ff
ac t a n m g Las t t u m
'
.
F IG 1 .
— ME TH O D OF F AS TE NI NG P RIMARY TE RMINALS -
C OMPLETE D
P RIMARY .
T he winding of the second layer is finished over the piece

o f ta p e the last turn b eing b rought through the loop in the
,
tape The loop is drawn tight b y pulling on the other pro

.
j e c t i n g ends In this.way the last turn is kept from slipping

o ff. By using this method or fastening it is unnecessary to
use any bobbin heads for the primary " this is a decided
advantage as with a removable primary bobbins are always
, , ,
getting loose Th e wire is cut off about 2 from this ending

.
'
10 The Tesl a C oil
this comes another disc and a 1 ring, followed by a disc

”
and a gi ring T hen put on two more discs and the remain
.
ing ring T his is followed by the remaining disc and 1

.
”
ring Be sure that each ring is carefully glued in place

. .
Before putting on the discs small holes should be drilled in

,
them through which to carry the wires The completed

, .
bobbin for the secondary is seen in Fig 2 The discs num . .
bered 2 3 6 7 have the holes for the connecting wires

, , , .
drilled on their inner edge while the others have them drilled
,
abo ut from their outer edge O btain a wooden rod upon

.
which the secondary bobbin will fit tightly It should be .
”
1 8 5 long .
If the coil builder i s skilled in winding wire in the lathe ,

the winding may be done there much more ra p idly than by
hand "but for an amateur w ho has had but little experience
,
with lathe winding or for one who does not possess a lathe ,
,
the following method is given In winding in the lathe , .
great care must be taken that the wire is not snapped off when
the end of the layer is reached and while the paper is being
,
wrapped on before the next layer is wound .
For the hand winder the wooden rod on which the second
, ,
ary bobbin fits tightly is drilled in at both ends for about

,
”
4
”
with a little less than a 1 hole P ieces o f 1
”
iron are
. then
driven into these holes to serve as an axle T hey should
, .
”
fit tightly so as to turn with the cylinder About 6 should
, .
project at one end which is bent into a handle 1 } at the

, . 7
other end is su fficient for a bearing .
”
T h e standards are made of 2 oak fastened 1 9 1 apart ”
, ,
The Transformer II
12 The Tesl a C oil
’
to a basebo ard 2 long A piece of oak i square and 2
.
t” ”
long is fastened with two screws to the top of each standard,

”
to serve as a cap A i hole is then bored with its centre
.
on the joint T his allows the cylinder to be taken out of

.
its bearings when necessary Tw o iron washers are slipped

.
over the shaft at the short end to act as a thrust bearing ,
and two washers with an open steel wire spring between

, ,
-
them are put on the other end T his will give the friction
, .
required to enable the amateur to stop the winding at any

time and still be sure that the cylinder will not rota te and so
,
loosen the turns of wire T he dimensions of the winder are

.
seen in Fig 3 . .
A s the wire must be wound under some tension , and as

it is tiresome to give the required tension by letting the wire
run through the hand the holder shown in Fig 4 was
, .
devised .
It consists of an axle which fits the spool tightly and which ,
is 4 longer than the spool T here i s a thread cut on one

”
.
end of this axle for about It is then mounted in two

wooden standards fastened to a baseboard Iron washers .
are put between the spool and the standards for the spool
to bear on A n open spring made of piano wire is S lipped
.
up on the threaded end of the shaft outside of the standards

, .
A washer and a nut are now put on to give the required

tension to the spring A lock nut is put on to keep this
.
nut from t urning .
C are must be taken to detect any breaks that may Occur

in the wire When winding the wire it quite frequently
.
The Transformer IS
14 The Tesl a C oi l
happens that a littl e k ink will cause a break " but because
it is covered by the cotton insulation it will be wound on the ,
bobbin unknown to the coil builder To detect these breaks

, .
immediately the authors used the following method A ring

, .
is cut out of a piece of sheet brass or copper It is 1 wide

”
.
and 3 in diameter This is fastened by several flat headed

”
.
-
brass screws to one side of the spool on which the wire is
FIG .
4 . W IR E -S POOL H OLDE R .
bought If the wire has been bought from a reliabl e dealer

.
,
the inner end will be found projecting outside of the reel .
T his wir e is soldered to the ring on the outside of the spool .
A strip of sheet copper or brass which is of such a length

,
that i t will bear on the ring is fastened to the upper end of

,
the standard on the side on which the ring is From here

, .
a wire is led to one pole of a dry cell .

The Tra nsformer 15
O n the winder a strip of sheet metal is fastened to of one
the standards It is best to fasten i t to the one farthest up

.
from the handle It is bent so that i t presses firmly on the

.
projecting axle which has been polished to make good elec

,
tric al contact A wire is then led from the brush on the

.
standard to a binding po st on the base board A telephone .
receiver is now connected in series with the binding post and -
the other pole of the cell A watch case receiver with a

.
-
,
head attachment is the best to use If the amateur has only

,
.
the Bell receiver an attachment to hold it to his head can

,
easily be arranged .
If the amateur prefers he may use a sensitive galva

nome ter .
Everything is now ready for the winding of the secondary .
To begin pass about 1 of the wire through the hole in the

’
,
bobbin heads numbered 2 3 from the side on which bobbin

, ,
head 2 is T he insulation should be scraped 05 of the end

.
of the w ire for about and then this bare part should be
tightly wrapped on the axle between the washer and the
wooden cylinder It will now be seen that there is a complete
.
circuit through all the wire on the spool T he dia p hragm .
in the telephone receiver is drawn down or if a galvanometer

is used the needl e will be deflected If the wire should
, .
break the diaphragm will return to i ts normal position and

,
a click will be heard or in the case of the galvanometer the

,
needle will return to the zero position When this happens .
the break should b e located and the wire soldered Acid .
should not be used in sold ering as a little left on the wire

,
will corrode it and spoil the electrical connection Rosin .
is the best thing to use as a flux .
The first layer in the section be tw een the bobbin heads

1 , 2 is wound from 2 to 1 , and after it is wound it is given
,
a good coating of shellac Before winding the next layer

.
,
a little over a turn of paper i s taken around the previous

one The edge of the paper can be held down with a little
.
shellac Paraffine wax must not be used to increase the in

.
su l ation as the transformer when finished is immersed in

,
a fli ne oil which acts as a partial solvent to paraffine wax

p ar , ,
thus spol ing its insulating properties All the layers after
.
”
the fi rst should start about i from the inner face of the discs
and stop the same distance from them Be sure to shellac .
each layer after it is wound and then take a turn of paper

around it Continue winding until 6 1 layers are in place
. .
T he last layer should be wrapped over with a narrow cotton

bandage which is thoroughly shellacked to keep it in place
About two feet of wire should be left projecting from the
secti on for making the various connections T his wire is .
then brought through the hole in disc 1 , and its end is

connected to the axle .
U nwind the other wire from the axle and after polishing ,
the uninsulated part wi th a piece Of emery cloth twist it ,
around the end of the wire from the spool which has also ,
been polished and then solder the connection Wrap the

, .
bare part of the wire with some silk thread , so as to thoroughly

insulate it .
T he section be tween the bobbin heads 3 4 is n ow wound , , .

F IG .
5 F RAM E FOR SE COND ARY OF T RANS FORME R .
oug hl y dry and in the meantime construct the frame for the
,
secondary Working drawings are given in Fig 5 T h e

. . .
” ” ”
base is made of a piece of 1 x 9 p ine z o i long T h e corners .
and edges are rounded to give it a better a ppearance T hree .
” ”
su pports of 1 x 7 p ine high are erected at the points
, ,
FI G . 6 . SE CTION OF C OMPLE TE D T R ANS FORM E R .

The Transformer 19
shown in the figure At the top of each a half round hol e

.
-
in diameter is cut Into these fits the tube on which

.
the secondary is wound T h e distance between the supports

.
is
T h e tw o terminals from the middle coils of the secondary
’
are now soldered together and the connection wra pp ed with

,
sil k thread to insulate it T he other two terminals are left

.
alone at present as their conn ections are described in a later

chapter.
T h e reason for using a cotton cloth instead of tape in the

construction of the transformer is that Oil almost immedi
ately spoils all the adhesive qualities of the type
.
C HAPTER III
TH E CO ND ENS ER
A CONDE NS ER is an apparatus for accumul ating a large

quantity of electrici ty on a small surface The form may .
vary considerably but in all cases it consists essentially of

,
tw o conductors separated by a non conductor or dielectric

-
,
and its action depends entirely upon induction .
T he thinner the dielectric and the greater its specific

inductive capacity the greater is the cap acity o f the c on
,
denser A thin dielectric however cannot withstand a high

.
, ,
potential Besides the thickness the dielectric strength de

.
,
pends on the character of the material .
The condenser used in this apparatus is especially designed

for long continued use on high voltages T he dielectric .
used is glass and the plates are made of sheet brass When .
finished the condenser is immersed in pure parafli n e oil .
For the dielectric 9 5 sheets of glass l thick and 1 0 x 1 2

”
,
” '
in size shoul d b e Obtained T hese sheets may be had cut

,
'
to size for about nine or ten cents apiece In purchasing .
them each sheet should be examined carefully to see if there

are any air bubbles If any are found in a sheet of glass
.
it should be rejected .
T h e brass used is number 3 2 or 34 Forty six sheets .

-
20
The C ondenser 21
8 x 1 0 are required In one of the co m ers of the shorter

” ”
.
” ”
side is a tongue 2 wide and I i long A 1 lip is bent across
”
.
”
the top of this tongue If the brass can be had in rolls 8
.
wide a little more should be obta i ned and the tongues cut
,
” ”
out of i t They should be cut 3 x
. The extra 1 is for
soldering them to the plates R osin not acid , should be used
.
,
as a flux T hese tongues should always be soldered in the

.
position shown in the figure .
”
As a rule 1 2 i s the only width that can be obtained in
most places When this width is used the tongues are cut
.
right on the S heets .
T he condenser occupies the part that has been constructed

for it in the oscillation transformer box T he frame in .
which the condenser is built up is made out of well dried

” ”
pine The base is made of a piece of 5 x 1 1 pine 1 1 1
.
” 1
,
long The S ides are cut out of 5 x 1 2 material

.
”
long .
” ” ”
T he ends are also cut from % x 1 2 wood and are 1 1 long .
T he sides and ends should be planed up smoo th on both

”
sides so as to make them a little less than 5 thick Th e
, .
completed frame is seen in Fig 7 . .
P lace the condenser frame on a table or some other flat

surface with one of the ends down Before putting any of
, .
the glass sheets in the frame they should be carefully wiped

,
clean so as to remove any dust or moisture C ommence .
by putting two glass sheets in the frame so that they reach

the bo ttom of the frame P lace a brass sheet on top of these
.
”
glass plates so that there is a 1 margin of glass all around the
sheet , except were the tongue comes out If the lip on the .
tongue has been bent carefully it will just fit up against the

sheets of glass Without displacing the brass lay two sheet s
.
of glass on top of it A brass sheet is next put in but in this

.
,
case the tongue comes ou t on the reverse side T here should .
be a 1 margin around the brass as in the previous case After .
the brass come two more sheets of glass T his process is .
-
l it Pr a m: for Co n de ns e r
B S ha p f b r a s s s h f
‘
. e o e a
D t t d Im e s s h o w 8 1 2 : f
o e o
tongue w he n s o l de ne d on.
F IG — CONDE NS E R F RAME AND B RAS S CONDE NS E R S HE E T

.
7 . .
kept up until the 46 sheets of brass have been put in place .
T hree sheets of glass are placed on top of the last brass plate .
If the glass and the bra ss u sed are the size called for in thi s
book the last sheet wi l l j ust go in tightly In forcing in the .
last few sheets it is a good idea to lay a cloth between the last
two to ta ke up any excess pressure which would otherwise
, ,
crack the glass .

The C ondenser 23
S et the condenser upright when finished and solder a

, ,
p iece of NO 1 6 bare copper wire ab out 3 long to each of

.
’
the lips in turn down the one side and the same is done on
, ,
the other side .
Tw o leather straps should be fasten ed to the sides of the

frame to lift it by w hen lowering into the oscillation trans
former box T he object for building the condenser in a
.
se parate frame instead o f in the division in the oscillation

,
transformer box is to facilitate moving should the condenser

,
ever require rebuilding due to the rupturing of the glass

,
sheets .
When the condenser is placed in the b ox the end which

,
has the three glass sheets should be placed against the parti
tion that is nearest the oscillation transformer T his is to
, ,
.
prevent the spark from the oscillation transformer breakin g

through into the condenser, instead of following its air path.
C HAP T ER IV
THE O SC ILLAT I O N T RANS F O RME R
IT is this part of the apparatus so simple in constructi on

, ,
in which the most care as regards insulation must be ta ken .
T he success o f the whole a pp aratus depends on the care

with which this part is constructed T he least fault such
.
,
as two wires touching or many other small similar mistake s

, ,
may cause a short circuit and require its reconstructio n .
It is not wise to hurry the work as it will be necessary to

,
reconstru ct it if careless.
T he end supports are made o ut of any suitable piece o f

wood T he two sup ports for the secondary are 8 in diam
.
”
” ”
eter and from i to 1 in thickness Eight equidistant points
, .
are marked off on the peri p hery and slots deep and 5 ”
wide cut at these points S ee Fig 8 T hese slots are for

. . .
the fibre strips on which the secondary is wound to fit into

, , .
” ”
T hese strips are 1 7 long and i square and are cut from th e
f
best vulcanized fibre obtainable eight being required In

, .
each end of the strips a hole is drilled and countersunk to

receive a small brass screw which is to fasten them to th e
,
”
end pieces A wooden rod about 1 in diameter is now
.
obta ined and a shoulder turned on each end T he diameter .
”
of the shoulder is i and its length jus t equals the width of
s
24
bent or warp ed they S hould be straightened before being

fa stened in place A good way to straighten them is to lay
.
them between tw o boards placing some heavy weight on

,
th e top board and leave them thus over night

, .
About 4 or 5 ounces of NO 2 8 B 81 S gauge double cotton

. . .
covered copper wire is required for the secondary T here .
are several equally good ways in which the wire can be wound
on the frame . Tw o of these methods will be described as ,
the authors have found them both satisfactory .
T h e first method is intended fo r those that have a lathe

at their disposal A cylinder of wood 4 in diameter and
.
”
”
18 long is first turned ou t and on it are screwed the eight
,
strips Of fibre so that their ends are in line and that they
, ,
strike one another If the amateur has a couple Of clamps

.
made Of strips of S heet iron with a bolt through the ends i t ,
will greatly help matters by clamping them around the strips ,
about 6 apart and moving them as needed A light cut is

"
,
.
first ta k en O ff the strips and then they are polished with a

,
file and sandpaper A NO 1 8 thread is now cut starting

. .
,
about 1 from the end o f the strips to within an inch of the

"
other end It S hould be cut just as deep as possible In

. .
order to make a clean cut the tool must be very sharp and
several light cuts should be taken instead Of on e When the .
strips are mounted on the frame again it will be seen that

there is a continuous groove in which the wires will lie wi th
out touching one another .
T he secondary frame is now supported between centres
in the lathe so that i t just turns easily Around one end .

The O sci ll ati on Transformer 27
of one of the strips wrap about 1 of NO 2 8 wire T his is’

. .
to be used for connections S ta rting at this point wind the

.
wire tightly on the frame always keeping the wire in the

,
groove cut for it About 1 extra should be left at the end

.
’
for making the connections When finished a heavy coat

.
,
of shellac is given to the wires where they rest on the fibre

strips When this is dry all the wire is heavily shellac ked
. .
A soft brush should be used so as not to displace any of

the wires T he secondary should now be placed in a warm
.
place to dry .
T he following method can be used in case a lathe is not

ava ilable A spool of silk thread and some silk are re
.
quired T here must be enough silk to make two turns

.
around the secondary frame It is wrapped on tightly and

.
,
smoothly and shellacked in place It might be mentioned

, .
here that shellac dissolved in wood alcohol should not

be used T h e wire is then wound on starting about 1
.
,
"
from the end up to within an inch of the o ther end A .
silk thread is wound on at th e same time between the

turns to keep them apart When it is all wound the wire
, .
is heavily shellacked and the frame put in a warm place to

thoroughly dry .
” ”
Get two pieces of 52 x 1 2 pine 1 2 long and find the centre
Of each by the intersection of their diagonals With these .
points as centres describe two circles with radII 4 5 and 55

” ”
,
on each board D ivide the circles having the radius 55

.
”
into 3 6 equal parts T hese points can be located with a

.
protractor or mariner s compass there being one every

’
,
28 The Tesl a C oil
At each of these points drill a 5 hole In each com er of these

”
.
boards cut out a piece 1 x See Fig 1 1

"
. .
” ”
At a planing mill buy eighteen 5 dowels 3 6 long These
'
, .
may be had for one cent apiece Each one should be cut.
”
in two which will give you thirty six 5 rods 1 8 long
,
” -
, .
”
Fasten one of the 1 2 end pieces to each of the ends of the
A 431 .
FIG . 11 . E ND S U PPORT FOR P RIMARY .
completed secondary frame by four flat headed brass screws

,
-
.
See that the circular end pieces of the secondary just fit on

the smaller circles drawn on the boards T he 5 rods are .
now driven into place thus forming a circular cage on which

,
the primary is wound .
For the primary get an 8 piece of No 3 6 copper r ibbon

’
.
”
5 wide. Wrap the end of the ribbon once around the end
The O scill ati on Tra nsformer 29
of the dowel shown in Fig 1 2 and solder it in place

. .
A piece of coppe r wire should also be soldered on here .
S ta rting from here ta ke two and a half turns around
F IG . 1 2.RI MARY OF O SC IL
P
LATION TRANS FOR ME R .
the secondary frame T his will bring you to the end of

.
the dowel diametrically opposite the dowel from which

yo u started Wrap
. the ribbon once around this dowel
and solder it in place A piece Of wire should also be
.
FI G . 13.COMPLE TE D S E C
O ND A R Y O P O S CILLATION
T RANS FORM E R .
soldered on T he turns of the ribbon should be equally

.
”
spaced Get four pieces of 1 x 1 pine 1 8 5 long and
.
” ”
fasten them as braces from the one end of the frame to

the other the pieces fitting in the co rners that were cut
,
out for them .

The Tesl a C oil
FIG . 1 4.B U S H I NG S FOR

S U PPORT OF O S CILLATOR
S TANDAR D S .
FI G . 15
.
— H ARD R U BB E R B LOC K ON OS CILLATI ON T RANS F ORME R .
The Osci ll ati on Transformer 3 1
”
Turn tw o bushings out of a piece of 5 brass or copper rod .
”
T hey are S hown in Fig 1 4
. T h e len gth over all is 5 and
.
the shoulder is 5 thick

”
. A g hole is drilled down the
"
centre and the shoulder is drilled and S lightly countersunk

,
at two opposite points to receive tw o small brass screws .
” ”
Tw o pieces of vulcanized fibre or ebonite 5 x 1 2 long with ,
” ”
a 5 hole drilled 5 from the end are fastened to the middle
,
of the top S ide of the primary frame T he bushin gs just

.
made are fitted into the holes and screwed in place T he .
wires from the secondary are soldered onto these bushings .
When this is done the oscillation transformer is finished and

all that needs to be done is to connect it up properly T he
.
completed oscillation transformer is seen in plate III.

C HAPT ER V
THE INT ERR UPTER
LE T us now consider that important part of the apparatus ,
the primary spark gap T he function of this as previously

-
.
,
stated is to provide a path of high resistance until the con

,
denser is charged to its full capacity T hen it suddenly

.
breaks down and allows the current to surge back and forth
,
across it until the current is damped out by resistance and

,
other factors in the circui t After the oscillations have

.
ceased the ideal spark gap should return to its maximum

,
-
disruptive strength before the condenser can be charged by

the next cycle from the secondary of the transformer .
In practice this is far from being the case T he air .
between the discharging balls becomes heated and o ff ers ,
a comparatively low resistance path for the current T his

-
.
results in an are being formed which prevents the condenser

,
from performing its function T he mechanical problem

.
which confronts the designer is to find some way to get rid

of this heated air and thus prevent the arc being formed .
T h e Object of this chapter is to S how several ways of par

tial l y accomplishing this result but in no case perfectly
, .
T h e simplest form of spark gap for the primary of the

-
oscillation transformer one which has given fair res ults

,
3 2
34 The Tesl a C oil
1 to fit the brass rod on which it is screwed The shield .
’
is to safeguard the operator s hand from sliding O ff the
fibre handle and coming into contact with the transformer
current which would probably be fatal C onnection can
,
.
be made t o the brass standard near the bottom by drilling
P l an S i am
k
~
s
FIG . 1 6. S IMPLE P RIMARY AI R -

GAP .
a small hole through them and then drilling and tapping

,
another hole at right angles to the first for a thumb screw

,
to bind the wire .
A set screw at the top of the sta ndards to clamp the rods
in place after they have been adjusted will be a convenience
to the Operator See Fig 1 6
. . .
TheI nterrupter 35
TH E AIR - BLAS T T T
I N E RR UP E R
In order to make the air gap more efli c ien t, getting rid
-
of much of the heated gases between the spark terminals a ,
mechanical means can be used of forcing in cold air thus .
driving ou t the heated gases and keeping the resistance

much higher To effi ciently accomplish this a piece of 5
.
”
hard glass tubing is drawn out into a nozzle having an

3 ”
Opening 1 3 in diameter T his is mounted on a brass stand
.
ard and is connected by means of a rubber tube to a foot

bellows such as is used in the laboratory to Operate a blast
lamp or any other suitable supply of compressed air A .
good blast of air will e ff ectually wipe out any are that tends
to form thereby increasing the disruptive length of the bright
,
oscillation transformer discharge The operator will find

.
,
however that it is a tedious task to pump a foot bellows

, ,
occupying so much of his time as to handicap him in per

forming experiments with the high frequency discharge and
-
,
he will soon decide that the best policy is to construct either

a magnetic wipe out or a motor driven interrupter
- -
.
THE MA GNE TIC INTE RRU P TE R
T he magnetic blow out is well suited for those who have a

-
source of direct current at their disposal " either the I I O —

VO l t
lighting circuit or a suitable battery current For those who .
have only the alternating current and who wish to use the
magnetic wipe out the writers have added to this chapter
-
a simpl e h ome made el ec trolytic recti fie r of thei r ow n d es i gn

-
3 6 The Tesl a C oi l
which will give a current suitable for magnetizing the magnet

of this interrupter .
Tw o standards of the same fo rm as those used in the simple

”
interrupter but 6 in length and having spark balls 5 instead
,
”
of 5 in diameter are mo unted on a hard rubber base 1 0 x

” "
,
Th e fibre handl es and shields are also necessary for this in

terru p ter
. TW O electromagnet bobbins 55 long and having
”
”
an iron core 5 in diameter with fibre heads 3 in diameter "
”
are procured An iron yoke made from 1 x 5 iron 7 long
.
” ”
”
has 2 holes drilled in it in the middle 1 5 from both ends and ,
the bobbins are fastened to it by a screw in the core Tw o .
” —
polar pieces of 5 square iron filed into an egg S haped point
,
are screwed to the upper ends of the core T he bobbins .
are wound full of NO 1 4 B 81 S gauge cotton covered magnet

. . .
-
wire if they are to be operated on a battery current of from

,
eight to ten volts such as a plunge battery If a direct cur .
rent O i 1 1 0 volts is available NO 24 should be used If the . .
rectifier described at the end of this chapter is used NO 2 2 .
wire should be used as the voltage Of the rectified cur rent on -
1 1 0 volts alternating is about 9 0 volts T h e magnets must .
be thoroughly saturated in order to give the best results .
After the magnets are finished they should be fastened to

the hard rubber base at right angles to the rods carrying
,
the spark balls by two screws through the iron yoke T he

, .
balls of the spark gap should be between the projections

-
of the magnet A sheet of mica is bent around the pO

. l ar
projections of the magnets in order to prevent the spark
from jumping to the cores of the ma gnets Fig 1 7 . . .
The I nterr npter 37
T he ends of the coils are S O connected that the current

will traverse them in opposite directions T h e outer ter .
m inal s are brought ou t to suitable binding posts and the -
interrupter is finished .
FI G . 17 . M AG NE TIC TE RRU PTE R

IN .
T he principle of this piece of apparatus is based on Davy s ’
experiment in which he found that the electric arc is extin

gu ish e d upon the approach o f a magnet .
TH E MO T O R - D R I V E N INTE RR U P TE R
T his interrupter is the one the writers used in their earlier

”
experiments with the 7 standard coil described in the latter
part Of this book It consists essentially of a fan motor
.
run on the alternating current at 1 1 0 volts driving a brass ,
disc having a number Of projections bolted aro und its

face and a brass oscillator so moun ted that the distance
,
separating it from the projections on the disc can be varied

at will T he motor may be of any suitable desi gn that the
.
builder may possess A small battery motor running on

.
d irect current can be pressed i n to service if the amateur does

3 8 The Tesl a Coi l
not care to go to the expense of purchasing a fan motor or

has not the facilities for building one T h e directions for
.
building a suitable induction motor are given at the end of

this chapter.
M r ub “?
10
F IG . 18 . M OTOR TE RR UPTE R
IN F AN .
To make the disc for this interru p ter turn out of 5 sheet "
brass a circular piece 1 0 in dia meter If no lathe is avail

”
.
able it may be procured at a model maker s quite reasonably ’

.
” ”
L ay O ff on its face two concentric circl e s 8 and 9 5 in diam
,
eter respectively D ivide the inner Of these into thirty

.
equal divisions and draw radial lines from the centre of the
disc through each of the points marked O ff thus dividing ,
The I nterrnpter 39
the outer circle into the same number of equal divisions .
Drill a hole through each of the points laid O ff on both

—
circles and tap them to fit a standard 4 3 6 machine screw .
1 ”
A number of brass angle pieces made by bending 1 6 bras s “
M t -
a am l
FIG . 19 . B RAS S GLE P I E CE

AN .
into the form S hown in the figure are procured Tw o hole s .
are drilled and tapped in each one to fit a standard 4 3 6 —
flat headed machine screw T hese pieces are screwed to

-
.
the brass disc wit 5 screws "

.
A 5 hole is drilled in the cen tre of the disc and th ree 1 3

” 3 "
holes are drilled on a circle having a radius of 5 Next

tu rn out a circular block of hard rubber 2 in diameter and

the same shape as in Fig 20 T he brass disc is screwed
. .
”
to it with three brass wood screws 5 long and the whol e
is fastened to the shaft of the motor so as to b e well
insulated from it To make electrical contact with the brass
.
F IG . 20 . H ARD R U BB E R B LOC K
.
plate a brush to bear on the back near the centre is cut out
1 ”
of a piece of 5 5 sheet spring brass T his piece S hould b e
.
”
10
”
long and 5 wide It is mounted on a piece of hard
.
rubber with a suitable binding post so as to press against

-
,
the back of the disc .
For the other side of the spark gap a standard mounted

-
on hard rubber similar to the one described for the simple

”
spark gap is used ,but instead Of being 4 long it is 6 in length
-
”
The I nterru pter 43
A S MA LL SE LF S TA R TING
-
S INGLE P H A S E
-
IND U CTION
MOT OR
To build a motor to run on the single phase alternating

,
-
current Of 1 1 0 volts suitable for running a fan interrupter

, ,
is perha p s very d ifli c ul t T h e builder will require more

.
tools and a much greater knowledge of machi n e shop p rac

tice to construct an efli c ien t motor than to build all of the
parts of T esla apparatus combined For those w ho ha v e .
had but lit tle experience in motor construction the writers ,
suggest that the amateur purchase an alternating current fan -
motor or a suitable direct current battery motor T he

-
.
following description of the building of this motor is given

in order that this book may be complete in itself and so that
the coil builder will ha v e all the necessary data to build the
complete a pp aratus without reference to other works .
T he first step in the construction is to make the n ecessary

patterns for the base and yokes T here are two castings .
required T he base supporting the p unc hin gs for the stator

.
is cast directly on the standard which supports the motor .
T h e drawing Fig 2 3 will give the required dimensions

,
.
,
.
It is assumed that the amateur pattern maker is aware -
that an iron casting is smaller than the p attern from which

the mould was made therefore shri n kage must be allowed for
,
in the p atte rn in order to be sure that the casting will be large

enough O ne eighth of an inch to the foot is about the p roper
.
amoun t .
Turn out a c ircular piece 5 in di ameter ”

an d 1
”
in thick
44 The Tesl a C oil
”
ness T hen a rod 1 in diameter and 6 long swelling into
.
, ,
a graceful enlargement at the lower end is turned out and,
fastened with glue and nails to the centre of the circul ar disc .
n
c or e
P
r fn t i die .
F IG
. 23.
— P ATTE RNS OF Y O KE .
”
A piece of wood is cut out of 1 stock to the form shown in
”
the figure T he radius of curvature of the arc must be 2 5
.
so that the stator will fit it accurately T his piece is glued

.
and nailed to the top of the upright T h e whole pattern is

.
The I nterrupter
FI G
. 24 . SE CTI ON OF C OMP LE TE D M OT OR
.
46 The Tesl a C oil
gi ven two coats Of best shellac varnish containing sufli c ien t ,
lampblack to make it jet black T his completes the pattern

.
for the base In order to provide a su p port for the bearing

.
Of the rotor shaft we must make a pattern for a yoke .
T O make this pattern we turn ou t Of 1 5 stock a circular

”
disc 55 in diameter and of the same form as in the drawing .
Tw o castings are made from this pattern one to fit each end ,
of the stator T hey not only serv e to furn ish bearings for
.
the rotor but also to enclose the entire motor and thus keep
,
o u t moisture and dust .
k — ’
zz
F IG . 2 5. R OTOR D IS C .
After the patterns are shellacked they S hould be sent to a

foundry where the castings can be Obtained quite reasonably
It requires one casting of the base and two of the yoke or
jou rnal When the castings are Obtained they should be
.
chi pped and all the roughness filed o fl .

.
The rotor consis ts of a number of iron discs 2 5 in di am ete r

”
The I nterrnpter 47
”
and having twelve 5 holes drilled around the edge and a
9 ”
55
hole in the centre T hey should be
. made of iron about
5 53 5
1 ” in thickness about forty o f them making a pile 1
"
"
-
high T hese discs can be made by the coil builder with the
.
help of a lathe and drill pres s or they can be Obtained already

,
stamped ou t from any of the large dealers in electrical sup

plies A sufli c ient n umber of them are mounted on a shaft
.
,
”
turned down from a 5 rod o f cold rolled steel to the size
”
shown in the figure to make a pile 2 5 in height As the
, .
motor will not have a very heavy load thrown on it i t will ,
not be necessary to key them to the shaft A good driving .
fit is sufli c ient to keep them from turning They can be .
clamped in position by the nut shown in the figure The .
”
conductors consist of twelve 5 copper rods 2 5 long O ne
”
.
of these rods should be driven in each of the holes around
”
the edge of the discs and S hould project 5 beyond them on
both sides To short circuit them two heavy rings made
.
-
,
”
by bending two pieces of 5 co pper rod into a circle having
”
an outside diameter of 1 5 are soldered to the ends of the
rods U se sufii c ien t solder in making these connections
.
in order to prevent heating at the connections by the induced

current in the rotor T his comp letes the rotor
. .
T he next thing to consider is the stator p unc h ings In .
this case they will not be p unched out but will be cut ou t ,
on either a shaper or milling machine or cut o u t by hand ,
after as much metal has been removed as is possible by

drilling T he diameter Of these discs i s given in the draw
.
ing on Fig 2 7 TO make them cut roughly out o f T 357,

. .
,
” 4
iron about 1 00 pieces 6 in diameter with a pair of sn ip s

, .
A 5 hole is drilled in the centre o f them and the whole num b e r

”
are clamped on a mandrel between two nuts and turn e d

”
down in a lathe to Next four 5 holes are d ril l ed as in
the figure and a fibre tube 5 in ex
,
”
ternal diameter and 5 ”
”
internal diameter is driven in each hole A 5 stud 3 5 in .
”
.
length , ”
with hexagonal nuts and 5 iron washers binds th e ,
discs together After tightening up the nuts the bolts ca n

.
be slightly riveted to guard against possible loosening T h e .
whole is clamped in a chuck and the centre is bored out to

25
”
in diameter Next the slots are cut as in the figure ,
.
either on a milling machine or shaper or by the use of a hack

saw and file A large bulk o f the metal can be removed by
.
drilling .
When the stator is complete it is mounted on the pedesta l

with four cap screws which screw into the bottom edge .
Th e two ends are fastened to the stator with four 5 fil l iste r

”
screws 1 long T he holes for these screws are drilled mid

”
.
way between the nuts binding the stator discs together In .
order that the heads fit up agai nst the stator four holes should
be drilled to allow the nuts to p roject into the heads .
Th e rotor is next wra p ped with paper until it just fits

into the stator and the heads are bolted on in the way they
are to be permanently It is w ell to mark them so that they
.
can always be put back in the same p lace T hen the space .
betw een the shaft and the jou rn al is filled with the best
grade Of Babbit metal obtainable Cardboard washers .
slipped over the shaft prevent the babbit from running out .
The I nterrnpm 51
T henext thing to do is to wind the stator coils T he W ire .
used is No 2 2 T he coils are wound in a wooden frame of

. .
the size shown in Fig 2 8 After the coils are wound they . .
are wrapped with tape shellacked and allowed to dry by , ,
thoroughly baking Before the coils can be put into place ,

.
means must be provided for making the motor self starting -

.
T his is accomplished by means of a short circuited copper -
m "
“1 0
52 3N
m
ata
D C C
.
a
.
m
-
.
sta tor
A bou t 6 5
c pp
o er
c il
o sh ow i n g
feet f No
o
w i r e i s ne ed ed
.
m
22 B
e
fo r ea h
.
c
S g u ano
s ta to r c ilo .
F r a me on w hi ch s ta t or c
oi l s a r e w o u nd .
FI G . 28 . F RAME F OR S TATO R C oILs .
“ ”
conductor lying in the grooves marked A in the drawing
Of the stator p unc hings, Fig 2 9 T his conductor consists . .
of a piece of NO 1 4 bare cop p er wire bent into th e form of

.
a rectangle , so as to fit arou n d the one half of the p olar

projections of the stator T he tw o ends are soldered .
together A glance at the figure will make this clear

. .
T he coils are next sli p ped into place over these short
circuited conductors T h e terminals of the s tator coils are
.
so connected as to induce opposite poles in adjacent polar

pieces The six coils are in series the end terminals being
.
,
brought out to suitable binding posts fastened to the en d

-
pieces and suitably insulated from it A coating Of black .
paint completes the motor .
Although the induction motor is a constant speed motor -
at varying loads we can secure some S light speed regul ation

, ,
S ho r t fe d conduc to r
C ir c v l
o N W
f o l ‘l Ba re Co
'
ppe irre ,
s ho w i n G lu t e o f w r e
z
g
a
b e fo m al t ppi n info S loi s
FI G . 29 SE LF S TARTING
-
DE V ICE.
which is a great advantage in operating the coil by inter ,
posing a liquid resistance in series with the motor T his .
resistance consists essentially o f any suitable glass jar such ,
as is used in a Dan iell or Gravity cell having two metal ,
plates suspended in an electrolyte so that the distance b e

,
tween them can be varied at will C opper sulphate is gen

.
erall y used as the electrolyte .

The I nterru pier 53
L T L T
AN E E C R O Y IC C U RRE N T RE CTI FIE R
It was only at the last moment that the authors decided
to make public the results of their experiments on an electro
lytic current rectifier which has proven highly satisfactory
, .
Its advantages are that it is easily and cheaply built it re ,
quires only slight attention its efli ci ency is very high and
,
‘
,
the current which a small set will rectify is very large .
TO a great many it may seem out o f place in putting in

this description of a rectifier which is entirely foreign to
,
the Tesla apparatus T he reasons for so doing however

.
,
appeared to the authors at least su ffi ciently great for if

, , ,
the amateur constructs the magnetic wipe Out he will need -
a source of direct curren t at about 8 0 or 9 0 volts pressure ,
since this current can hardly be obtained from the lighting

circuits which are generally alternating or from batteries .
T hen having this source of direct current he will be able

to substitute a D C motor for the induction motor d e
. .
scribed in this chapter .
T he greater number Of rectifiers now on the market use

the method of choking ou t the one half o f the alternating
current wave and it is to this fact that their l ow efli c ie ncy
is due T h e high efli c iency of the a p paratus devised b y the
.
authors depends on what might be called the alternate p ath

connection or method " that is there are tw o paths for the
,
current to traverse one of enormous resistance and one o f

,
very low resistance .
T he idea o f this form o f recti fier came to the authors in

54 The Tesl a C oil
the following way T hey were experimenting on so m e

.
cathode tubes o f peculiar construction using a 1 2 induct ion

,
”
coil T he current from the secondary Of this coil is osc il

.
l atory in character of course

,
It was Observed that th e d is
.
charge through the tube was very unsteady especial ly w h e n

,
the interrupt ions were not very rapid A line of exp e r i

.
ments was carried out to determine the cause of this u nus u al

'
e ffect with the result that the resistance was found to b e

,
enormously greater for currents in the one direction throu gh

the tube than in the op p osite direction due entirely to th e
,
diff erence in the forms Of the tw o electrodes .
After discovering this fact they wondered if some electro

lytic cell might not be made which would possess the sam e
properties and could be used to rectify the ordinary alte r
nati n g currents From a previous study Of the eff ects o f
.
various electrodes on the electrolysis of certain solutions w e

arrived at several cells w hich exhibited these prope rties to
a marked extent .
It was found that an aluminium electrode was the essen

tial thing in eve ry cell together with some acid salt ca pab le
,
Of forming an oxide with aluminium T he other el ec trod e

.
might be any conductor un affected by the solu tion .
Some of the cond ucto rs sui table for the o th er el ec tr od e

The I nterr u pter 55
By merely putting one of these cells in the circuit the one ,
half of the alte rnating current wave may be choked ou t .
But this method gives an efli c iency of less than T hus

the authors w ere led to devise the alternate path met hod -
.
Before describing this method however we will take up

, ,
in detail the properties of a single cell After a current is

.
passed for a few minutes through one of the cells a coating ,
Of ox i de is formed on the aluminium electrode which is p rac

tically a non conductor While this does not prevent the
-
.
difl ere nce o f potential from being maintained across the cell ,
it does prevent the ions from giving u p their charge and in

this way it acts li ke a polarized copp er plate in a single gal
vanic cell T his condition of enormous resis tance exists
.
when the aluminium is the anode When on the reversal .
o f the current the aluminium becomes the cathode there is
merely the resistance of the electrolyte encountered Any .
cell possessing this property is called asymmetric .
As stated before a S ingle cell by being merely put in the

,
circuit would choke ou t the one half of the alternating wave ,
but as this give s an intermitt ent current the following is ,
the method devised by the authors T hree cells are needed

.
in all Tw o Of these consist of one electrode of aluminium

.
and one Of iron with a solution Of sodium acid carbonate

, .
The third has two aluminium plate s and one iron plate
b etw een them . The same solution is used .
On l ooking at Fig 3 0 it will be seen that when E is positive

.
the curren t can flow from either plate 2 or 3 across the elec
trolyte to plates 1 or 4 T he path from 3 to 4 is O f enormous

.
resistance , as the aluminium is the anode but the pa th fro m ,
1 to 2 is O f low resistance and hence the current ta ke s th i s
path When H becomes positive the current can flow fr o m

.
6 to 7 or from 5 to 4 It takes the path from 6 to 7 as th i s

.
is of low resistance In this w ay both waves of the al tem a t

.
ing current are used and the only loss is due to the res is ta n ce
Of the electrolyte .
T hus the direct current from this set has a sine wave fo rm ,
in which all the negative values in the alternating have b ee n

made positive .
T he following are plans for a rectifier suitable for u se

directly on the I I o volt alternating current light mains T h e
- - -
.
rectifying cells have glass containin g jars T he jars are all .
”
7
”
x 6 x 4
”
inside measurements T h e aluminium
. pl a tes
”
are cut o ut Of 5 sheet and are all the same size and sh a pe .
”
T he alumi n i um
”
T hey are 5 x 7 and four are required .
should be comparatively pure to prevent deterioration of

the plates due t o local action If the plates are to a ny
.
extent impure the cells may fail to work and if they do ,
rectify it will be at a very low efficiency T he i ron pla tes .
”
are cut from 5 sheet Tw o o f them are the same size as
.
the aluminium p late and the third is 8 x T hi s larger

”
plate is to be used in the middle cell T he necessi ty for .
making it larger is that it goes between tw o alum ini um

plate s and the extra length is required to fasten the bind ,
ing post to T h e p lates are h eld three eighths of an i n c h

-
.
”
apart in the following manner : O ut of some 5 sheet v ul
c an i te or hard rubber ( fibre must not be used as i t sw ell s in
The Tesl a C oi l
Me l hod o
ffor ming l
c c c frodc s
F i a n na s h ow i n
g P os i t i on o
f fl u c e ll s a n d e le c l f o des
W i flfl “t o c Pa .. I ro n A, A'U mim
‘
u m .
FI G 3 0. RE CTIFIE R P LATE S A ND W IRING D IAGRAM .

The I nterrnpter 59
tw o aluminium electrodes in the middl e T he connections

.
are shown in the figure .
With this electrolyte the aluminium plates will form in a

few minutes it being merely necessary to short c i rcuit the
,
D C taps with a resistance and allowing the rectifier to

. .
ta ke a full load current .
T h e e ffi ciency Of the apparatus will be somewhat increased

by using a cooling worm as the electrolyte when cool has
,
the greatest current density .
It will be necessary to renew the electrolyte at intervals

'
depending on the use the set is given

C HA P T E R VI
TH E CO NS T R U C T I O N O F TH E BO X ES
TH E next thing to consider in the building of a T esla coil

is the boxes which contain the transformer and high tension -
coil O ne b ox for transformer condenser and high tension

.
, ,
-
coil might be used but for a coil Of this S ize the weight would
,
be Objectionable Tw o sep arate boxes give the ideal result

. .
T hey have the advantage of not being too bulky to handle ,
and the transformer in this form can be used separately if so ,
desired A single b ox however has the advantage of taking

.
, ,
u p less room and o f havi ng all the high potential connections

-
insid e where th ey a re safe except those which lead to the

,
interrupter which is plac ed on top of the b ox .
O a k makes th e mo st sub sta n ti al b ox but it is harder to

,
make tight ow i ng to the fact tha t the shellac varnish w hich

,
is used for filling up the p ores in the wood does not sink
into oa k w ith the same readi ness as i t does in a softer w ood .
P ine is the best material to use a s the joints w ill require

considerable filling up to make them im pervious to paraffi ne
Oil w hich will soak through almost anything in time S ugar
, .
pine may be readily stained and looks very neat when var
n i s hc d .
For the sides and ends Of the transformer b ox it requires

60
The C onstructi on of the Box es 61
a piece of straight grained pine free from knots 1 5 x 1 0

-
,
”
6 long . Th e bottom should be made Of a p iece of 1 5 x 1 4 ”
” ” ”
26 long and the top of a piece Of I x I I 2 long C ut the
, ,
’
.
pieces to the size shown in Fig 3 1 and plane the edges true
.
, .
”
The end pieces must be mortised into the sides 1 from the
end These tongues and grooves may be cut with a saw
.
and chisel if a rabbeting plane is not at hand After the sides .
S I D E VIEW END VIEW
FI G .
3 .
1 T RANS FORM E R B ox .
and ends are finished the tongues and grooves are given a
heavy coat of shellac which has been dissolved in grain alco
,
hol and while still wet are put together

, S ix long brass .
screws with round heads are to be used in each board to hold

the sides A brass washer 5 in diameter should be placed
.
”
on the screw to prevent the head from S inking into the wood .
Next the edges should be gone over with a plane if nec es

'
sary so that the bottom board will fit flus h in all place s The .
”
bottom board is to be I wider than the width of the box so ,
”
that it laps over 5 on each side When the bottom board
.
is cut to size the edges are rounded O H with a plane to give

,
a finish and then it is fastened to the b ox with long fla t

,
headed brass screws placed every four inches along the sides
,
and ends A coating of shellac is given to the edges Of the

.
b ox jus t before putting the bottom on to help make it tight

, .
T he screws must be forced in until they are flush with the

wood .
Next the inside should be given five or six coats of shellac ,
paying especial care to get it i n to the joints and allowing ,
each coat to dry before app lying the next .
A small brass cock in the end near the bottom is a conven

ienc e in emptying the b ox of its Oil but the labor Of putting
,
it in so that the b ox will not leak is such that a siphon is

quick enough for an occasional emptying Of the O il .
T he b ox for the high frequency coil and condenser must

-
have the same care taken in its construction as in the case

o f the transformer b ox T h e dimensions are given in th e
.
working drawings in Fig 3 2 A partition is put in be tw een

. .
the condenser and oscillation transformer but several holes ,

'
should be bored in it near the bottom to allow of the fre e

circulation of the Oil T his b ox must also have several
.
coats Of shellac as the insulating Oil used will leak through

,
in S pite of all the precaution taken .
After the boxes are finished they should be stained or

varnished to suit the taste of the builder Walnut stai n .
looks well , and as it is dark it covers up a multitude of faults

The C onstructi on f
o the Boxes 63
in the wood working If the boxes are well made a good

.
oiling followed by several coats of shellac makes a very good

finish.
V i ew covcn Renow n
C OVER
— 36 £
S I DE VIEW END vuew
FIG . 2
3 . H IG H TE NS ION
- B ox .
E verything is now ready for the assembling of the parts ,
which will be taken up in the next chapter .

C HA P TE R VII
A SS E M BL I NG
IT is not wise to hurry when assembling the apparatus ,
for if the high tension wires are not properly insulated

-
brush di scharge e fiec ts will be noticed on operating In

-
.
nine cases out Of ten poor insula tion will result in p u n c

turing his condenser and probably burning out his trans
former Care should be taken to follow these directions
. .
First mount the transformer in its box After lowering .
t h e transformer into its b ox bring its four primary lead s to
four heavy binding posts on the end of the b ox The two

-
.
i nner terminals Of the tw o sections are brought to two

adjacent binding posts and the tw o outer ones to the other
-
,
t w o in such a manner that connecting elec trically the tw o

,
middle binding posts puts the sections in series and short

-
circuiting the two outer pai rs throws the sections in parallel .
See the diagram T his is accomplished by means of a

.
piece of flat brass with slots filed in it so that it just fits

across tw o binding posts or by a short piece of brass rod
-
,
which fits in the holes Of the binding posts -

.
T h e secondary terminals ar e soldered directly to t w o brass

” ”
rods 5 in diameter and 3 long which extend through th e
,
opposite end Of the b ox for 1 5 T hese rods are insul ate d

64
brass set screw Another hole is drilled at right angl es to

'
the first about 5 from the end of the rod to meet the fi rs t
”
hole T hi s makes an effi cien t binding post to hold the con

.
-
ductor .
T hi s finishes the connections on the transfo rmer , w hic h

can now be placed in the position which it is to occupy T h e .
box is fill ed with enough pure paraffi ne oil to cover the trans
former T his Oil should be of the best quality obtainable ,
.
free from moisture and impuri ties such as is used for ins u ,
lating purposes It should be allowed to soak into all th e

.
sections for 2 4 hours before using T he primary terminal s .
are connected to a source Of alternating current by means

o f a suitable switch and fuse capable o f carrying 3 0 amperes .
T he next step is putting in th e conn ections and terminal s

in the high tension b ox
-
.
4
FIG .
34 H IGH TE NS I ON B U S H I NG
-
.
brass rods similar to those used in the transforme r

T hree
box with the same form Of bushings are driven through holes
, ,
in the end Of the high tension b ox next to one end of the

-
”
oscillation transformer T hese holes should be about 6
.
”
from the bottom and 3 apart T he brass rod s proj ec t .
A ssembl i ng 67
5 w i th i n the b ox
. T h e bushings and rods can be made o il
tight by giving them a good coating Of L e P age s glue before ’
driving them into place .
A 5 strip Of wood is glued on in the lower inside end of the

”
b ox below these rods to prevent the end Of the oscillation

,
transformer from coming in contact with them .
FI G
.
35 . OS CILLATORS AND S TANDARD S
.
Th e condenser is first lowered into place in the box and a

wire is run from one terminal to the neares t outer brass rod ,
to which it is soldered T he wire should be enclosed in a

.
glass tube suitably bent and should follow the lower edge of
the box .A wire is run from the other termi nal of the con
68 The Tesl a Coi l
denser in a similar manner to the other outer brass rod I t .
follows the other lower edge Of the b ox A tap wire is l ed .
from this conductor at a point Opposite to where one termi nal

o f the primary band Of th e oscillation tr ansformer is to be .
A wire is al so soldered to the middl e brass rod The oscilla .
tion transformer is now lowered into place The tap wire .
from the condenser lead is soldered to one end Of the primary

band and the wire from the middle brass rod to the other end
of the band . T hese leads should be run in glass tubes and
a s directly as possible T hey S hould also be kept under th e
.
o il . T h e connections are S hown in Fig 3 6 . .
FI G .
3 6 . W IRI NG D IAGRA M .
After all connections have been securely soldered the box

is filled with oil so that the entire apparatus is completely
,
immersed .
T he oscillators and standards can now be constructed .
” ”
Tw o fibre or hard rubber bushings 2 5 in diameter and 1 5
” ”
in length and having a flange 5 thick and 3 in diameter
,
turned on one end are set in tw o holes cut in the cover

,
directly above the holes in the brass bushings on the oscil

”
lation transformer A 5 hol e is drilled through the centre
.
A ssembl i ng 69
”
of each bushing Tw o 5 brass rods 1 0 long are enclosed
.
"
” ”
in fibre tubes 5 in outside diameter and 9 5 long T he .
tubes should fit the rods tightly The ends of the brass.
rods project from the fibre and can be slightly tapered to fit

the bushings on the oscillation transformer .
T he oscillators consist Of tw o brass balls 1 in diameter

3 ” ”
screwed on the end of two 5 5 brass rods 1 2 long which ,
”
are to slide easily in tw o holes drilled 5 from the top of the
s tandards through both the fibre and the rod A set screw .
at the top of each sta ndard will be Of convenience in clamping

the rods in any desired position .
In order that the discharge gap may be adjusted while

the coil is in operation tw o vulcanite handles 5 in diameter
”
are screwed on the ends of the rods carrying the oscillators , ,
”
for about 1 5
Slide the standards through the bushings in the cover
until the rods make good contact with the bushings on the
oscillation transformer This completes the connections in
.
the second b ox It S hould now be placed in its final

.
position at the high tension en d O f the transformer leav

-
,
’
ing a space Of about 1 5 for the interrupter betw een the
two boxes .
T he particular form of interru p ter which has already been

buil t is connected to the bindi ng posts of the high tension
- -
'
coil as in the wiring diagram T hese leads and those from

.
the transformer to the high tension b ox S hould be of No

-
.
1 2 B 81 S gauge hard cop p er wire and enclosed in the b eavi

. .
est glass tubing ob tainable T hey should be as s traight and

.
as short as is consistent with safety in operating the pri

mary spark gap
-
.
A suitable panel switchboard with the necessary fuses

, ,
transformer and interrupter switches makes a desirable

,
acquisition to the apparatus but it is not essential T his

, .
matter is left to the taste of the individual worker .
When the connections have all been made and the O il

has driven out all the air that it can open the interrupter
,
”
gap about 1 and cautiously close the transformer switch .
If no excessive load is ta ken by the transformer as manifested

by the 30 amp ere fuses or an alternating current ammeter -
in series if one is obtai nable the spark ga p can be slowly

, ,
-
closed until the condenser discha rges across it T h en i f .

,
the directions have been carefully followed in buil ding the

apparatus , a heavy bluish white snapp ing discharge O f over
, ,
”
12 in length will pass between the oscillators u p on the ,
further adjustment of the interrupter gap .
When the transformer is used on 55 volts the primary

sections Should be connected in parallel and for 1 1 0 volts
in series If the sections on the p rimary were connected in
.
parallel on 1 1 0 volts the vol tage output Of the secondary

,
would be about double what it ought to and hence the con

,
denser may puncture .
I f by a ny chance a discharge should fail to take p lace the ,
fault may be due to several things In most cases it will

.
‘
be due to the fact that the sections on the primary or secondary

o f the transformer are connected in oppositio n T O deter .
mi ne wh eth er the transfo rmer is working satisfactorily or

A ssembl i ng 7 1
not, disconnect it from the rest of the apparatus and see if

an arc di scharge of at least 6 or 8 inches can be drawn out
b e tw een tw o electrodes T his arc is generally of a yellow

.
color and easily extinguished by any draught O f air If .
you do not obtain a 6 or 8 inch a rc test the sections to see if

they are connected in the right manner and if they are and ,
no are still results which is highly improbable then some

, ,
error has been made in the construction .
If the fault does not lie in the transformer it is most likely ,
that it lies in the condenser " To test this connect the trans
forme r up with the cond en se r and See if a conden ser d is
charge determined by its bluish white color can be Obtained
, ,
in the primary s park gap If there is none Obtained your

-
.
,
condenser is most likely short circuited or even punctured

-
,
which can only be remedied by its reconstruction .
T he next place to look for trouble is in the oscillation

transformer R ing out by means O f a magneto the primary
.
and secondary circuits to see that there are no o pen circuits ,
and then see if there is any S hort circuit between the primary
and secondary If these parts are all right the fault may be
.
due to poor insulation in having the turns of the secondary

,
touching T h e remedy is Obvious

. .
Finally look and see that all the electrical connections are
as they should be then the apparatus cannot fail to discharge
,
”
over a I 5 air gap -
.
C HA PT ER VIII
TH E TH E O R Y O F TH E T ESLA CO IL
ALTH OU GH in the introduction the authors stated that

, ,
they would not attem p t to give a mathematical explanation

of the coil still they feel that a few facts regarding the theory
,
would not be out of place here in that it may suggest certain

,
im p rovements to the reader It will also be of assistance if

.
the amateur wishes to construct a coil of his own design .
T he firs t thing to consider is the transformer Its action .

,
as is well kn own to almost everybody de pends on electro ,
magnetic induction T h e alternating current flowing in the

.
primary sets u p an al ternating magnetic field which being ,
linked with the secondary induces an electromotive force

in it When the secondary is o pen there is theoretically no
.
current p assing through the primary due to its high self

,
induction except that necessary to magnetize the core

, .
AS a load is thrown on to the seconda ry the current throug h

,
the p rimary automatically adjusts itself as the self induction -
is decreased by the op posing ampere turns of the second

ary that is if the transformer is self regulating for vary
, ,
-
ing loads .
T he normal current through the primary of the transformer

used in the 1 2 coil is from 2 2 to 2 5 amperes the seconda ry
”
,
7 2
essential part of the Tesla coil It plays the same part as

.
the mechanical interrupter in the ordinary induction coil .
Its action however is purely electrical and its great advantage

, ,
lies in setting up the currents of enormous frequency .
When any condenser is discharged the discharge may ta ke

,
one O f S everal forms depending only on the three electrical

,
constants of the discharging circuit — inductance ca paci ty , ,
and resistance T he discharge may be either oscillato ry or

.
entirely unidirectional consisting only of a gradual equali

,
za tion of the potentials on the two plates .
T his may be made clear by the following mechanical illus
tration. S uppose a glass U tube to be p artly filled with

-
mercury and the mercury to be displaced so that the level

,
in one side of the tube is higher than in the other T here .
is then a force due to the d iff erence of level tending to cause ,
the liquid to return to an equal height in both limb s If .
the mercu ry is now allowed to return but is constrained , ,
so that it is released slowly it goes back to its original

,
position without oscillations If however the constraint is

.
, ,
suddenly removed then owing to the inertia of the mer

,
cury it overshoots the position of equilibrium and oscilla

tions are created If the tube is rough in the interior or
.
,
the liquid viscous these oscillations will quickly subside

, ,
being damped out by friction .
What we call inertia in material substances corresponds

with the inductance of an electric circuit and the frictional
resistance experienced by a liquid moving in the tube with ,
the electrical resistance of a circuit If we su ppose the .

The ory f
o the C oi l 75
U tube to include air above the mercury and to be closed u p

-
at its ends the compressibility of the enclosed air would

,
correspond to the electrical capacity in a circuit .
T he necessa ry conditions for the creation of mechanical

oscillations in a material system or substance are that there
must be a self recovering displaceability of some kind and
-
,
the matter displaced must possess inertia " in other words ,
the thing moved must tend to go back to its original position

when the restraining force is removed and must overshoot
,
the position of equilibrium in so doing Fric tional resist

.
ance causes decay in the amplitude of the oscillations by

dissipating their energy as heat .
In the same way the conditions for establishing electrical

oscillations in a circuit is that it must connect two bodies
having electrical capacity with respect to each other such ,
as the plates of a condenser and the circuit itself must

,
possess inductance and l ow resistance U nder these condi

.
tions the sudden release Of the electric strain results in the

,
production of an oscillatory electric current in the circuit ,
provided the resistance of the circuit is less than a certain

critical value We have these conditions present when the
.
two coatings of a L eyden jar are connected by a heavy .
copper wire .
P rofessor William T homson titled L ord K elvin published

, ,
“ ”
in 1 8 53 a paper on T ransient Electric C urrents in which
the discharge of the L eyden jar was mathematically treated
in a manner that elucidated im portant facts .
If we c onsider the case of a L eyden jar or condenser charged

through a c ircuit having inductance and resistance , then in

the act of discharge the electrostatic energy stored up in
the condenser is converted into electric current energy and
dissipated as heat in the connecting circuit At any moment .
the rate of decrease of the energy in the jar is equal to the

rate of dissipation of the energy in the discharging circuit
plus the rate of change of the kinetic or magnetic energy
associated with the circuit .
From these facts L ord K elvin sets up an equation of

energy which leads to a certa in class of di ff erential equation
,
having two solutions T h e solutions in this case depend on

.
the relation between the constants inductance resistance , ,
and ca pacity .
If L inductance C capacity R re si stance then the

, , ,
solution s are determined by the re lati ve value s o f

R and LC .
1
2
2
f"
I
is gre ater than that is , if R is greater than i
’
4
2
LC
RC
or if
4
is gre ater than
i the charge in the jar die s away
gradually as the time increases in such a manner that the ,
discharge current is always in one direction .
T he ratio
i is called the time con stant ( T) of the d is
charge circuit and the product C R is called the time con

,
stant ( T ) of the condenser circ uit Hence the discharge

’
.
is unidirectional w hen the time constant o f the inductive

circuit is less than half the geometric mean of the time con
stan ts of the inductive circui t and conden ser circui t
Theory of the C oi l 77
CR
If however , is le ss than the d i scharge current will
,
4 R
be oscillatory the current decaying in accordance with the
,
law of a damped oscillation train .
When the discharge is so highly oscillato ry that the cur

rent is not uniformly distributed through the cross section -
O f the conductor then the ordinary resistance ( R ) and in

,
d uc tanc e (L) must be replaced by the high frequency resist -
ance and inductance of the circuit .
When the discharge ta kes the oscillatory form the fre

queney is given by the expression ,
1 2
If R is very small then,

4 2 2
can be neglected in compari
son w ith and the n the frequency is given by the expre s
LC
In this equation both the quanti ties C and L must be measured

in electromagnetic units or both in practical units viz in , .
,
henrys and farads .
In the majority of cases in which electric oscillations

are practically used , the resistance of the oscillatory cir
cuit is negligible and the inductance is small and hence
,
easily measured in centimeters or ab sol u te C G S units ,

'
. . .
one milli hen ry being equal to a milli on centimeters

-
7 8 The Tesl a C oil
Also the ca pacity is be st measured in microfarads " one

.
microfarad being the one millionth part of a farad or

10 —15
of an absolute C G S unit ( electromagnetic ) O f
. . .
,
capacity .
Hence when L is exp ressed in centimeters and C in micro

farads the expression for the natural frequency of the circuit
,
becomes X 10
“
x/ C L
Th e energy storing capacity of a condenser is given by

I
the e xpre ssIO n CV
2
, where C 18 the c ap ac Ity of the con
2
denser and V the charging voltage .
T he main thing in constructing condensers to be used on

high charging voltages is the solid dielectric T here are in .
all only a few dielectrics s uitable for high tension work and -
,
this number is reduced when cost and internal energy loss

in the dielectric are considered Glass o f certain composi .
tions ebonite mica and micanite are practically all that

, , ,
are sui table and of these flint glass is the best as its dielectric
, ,
constant is high being from 5 to 1 0 and its dielectric strength

, ,
is also great Glass is brittle however and liable to have

.
, ,
flaws which sooner or later give way .
T he capacity of a condenser depends on the area of the

plates their distance apart and the constant O f the dielectric
,
used and is expressed by the following formula in micro

,
farads where K is the dielectric constant S the total area O f

, ,
th e plates expressed in square centimeters and D the distanc e ,
apart in cen timeters ,

Theory f
o the C oi l 79
KS
4 D X9 X
5
7r 10
The constant 9 x 1 0 comes from the fact that one micro

5
farad equals electrostatic units of ca pacity .
T he oscillation transformer is nothing but a modified trans

former with an air core T he only important facts about
.
its cons truction are that it should be built to withstand great

voltage di ff erences between the turns and that the primary
,
should have as small an inductance as is practicable in order ,
to make the frequency as great as possible No advantage .
is gained by h aving many close turns in the prima ry because ,
the increase of inductive e ff ect on the secondary due to an ,
increase in the number O f primary turns is about exactly ,
annu lled by the decreased current through the primary due

to its ow n gre ater i nductance .
T h e function of the interrupter is to destroy any are that

may be formed across the terminals of the primary spark
ga p for if this are is not wi p ed ou t there will be no true
,
o sci l latory di scharge in th e cond e n se r circuit or only a feeble

one T he reason for this is that as long as the arc discharge
.
continues the secondary terminals of the transformer are

,
reduced to nearly the same potential or at most di ff er only

,
by a few hundred volts .
T he function Of the primary s p ark gap is to regulate the

-
voltage to which to charge the condenser S ince the poten .
tial di ff erence between the s park balls is almost equal to the

potenti al di fference across the condenser the condenser will ,
discharge at a voltage determined by the length of the air

80 The Tesl a Coi l
gap Now there is a certain length Of spark gap which is best

.
-
suited for each coil and it can easily b e determined by trial .
As a rule it is best to start with a rather short spark gap -

,
gradually lengthening it out until a point is almost reached ,
when opening it out any further would cause it to cease pass

ing T hi s spark length almost always gives the best results
. .
In the earlier part of this chapter it was stated that the high
frequency resistance and inductance should be substi tuted
for the ordinary resista nce and inductance when dealing ,
with circuits which are subject to the action of electric osc il

l ations T he processes and means used for the measure
.
—
ment of low frequency alte rnating currents and potentials
are not always applicable or correct either when applied to
high frequency measurements
-
T h e main reason for the
.
di ff erence between the tw o cases is to b e found in the fact

that a high frequency current does not penetrate into the
-
interior of a thick solid conductor of good conductivity b u t ,
is merely a surface or skin e ff ect .
When traversed by an alternating current there are five ,
qualities O f a circuit to be considered .
1. T h e resistance of the conductor which is always greater

,
for high frequency currents than for the ordinary currents "
-
that is direct currents and alternating currents up to about a

,
frequency Of 1 00 per second .
2 T he inductance o f the conductor depends on its geo

.
metrical form material and the nature O f the surrounding

, ,
insulator T h e greater the frequency the smalle r the induc

.
,
tance becomes .
b alls etc a discharge takes place which oscillates through

,
.
,
the primary of the oscillation transformer and back and

—
forth across the primary sp ark gap Th e frequency Of the
.
current depends entirely as show n before on the constants

, ,
of the circuit O n first thought one would think that the

.
,
condenser would discharge through the closed circuit in the

transformer secondary ra ther than jump the air gap but a -
,
little consideration of the matter wil l S how that the induc

tance of thi s circuit to electric oscillations of this nature is
so great that no discharge can ta ke p lace Another matter.
that might be touched on here is the resistance O f the spark

gap Before any discharge has passed and under normal
.
condition s the resistance of the spark gap is very great : the

-
voltage required to break down one centimeter Of air being

about After the initial discharge has passed and the
air becomes heated and ionized the resistance may drop as
l ow as two or three Ohms T his fact plays an important
.
part in the damping of the oscillation trains .
T he discharge from the condenser which oscillates through

the prima ry of the oscillati on transformer sets up a rapidly .
alternating magnetic field which being linked wi th the sec

,
onda ry induces an el ectrom otive force in it T h e law for the

.
induction in this case is not nearly as simple as in the case O f ,
the ordinary transformer the capacities of the circuits playing

,
an important part If the ca pacity Of the circui ts is below a

.
certain critical value the induction is in the ratio of the

,
capacities of the circuits while if greater the induction de

,
pends on the relation between the number of turns in th e

The ory f
o the C oi l 83
primary and secondary T he fo rmula for calculating the

.
voltage di ff erence across the seconda ry in either case are

ext remely complex involving the damping factor the capaci
, ,
ties of the circuits and other constants D rude and Bjerkn es

, .
have treated the subject of the oscillation transformer analyt

ic al l y in an admirable manner .
T he frequency of the spark in the large spark gap is not a -
simple one but consists Of several one being the natural

,
period of vibration of the secondary and one a forced vibra

tion of the seconda ry due to the fact that the primary and
,
seconda ry are never exactly in tune T here is also a certain

.
small current of a high frequency due entirely to the con

,
stan ts of the spark balls and conn ectors which act as a

,
condenser .
Th e T esla coil in i ts present form is still very crude leaving

much to be improved upon and wished for T he problem .
that presents itself in the construction Of T esla coils is prac

tically the same one that presents itself in selective wireless
telegraphy so that the solution Of the one will solve the other
, .
C HAPTER IX
U S E S O F THE C O IL
THE Tesla coil readily lends i tself to a great number O f

experiments some interesting in their e ff ect others useful
, ,
in scientific research Waves for wireless messages may

.
be sent out into space X Ray tubes excited Geissler tubes

,
-
,
illuminated beautiful brush e ff ects shown and a great

, ,
number O f other things done .
T h e high potential current obtained from this coil pos

sesses certa in interesting properties due to its high frequency
that are not possessed by either the R uhmkorff induction
coil or a sta tic machine .
T hese properties are best seen in the beautiful brush

e ff ects which may be obtained even with the coil described
,
in the Appendix All of these experiments on the bru sh

.
discharge should be performed in the dark as they then ,
S how to the b e st advantage .
T hese e ff ects besid es a ffording a pleasing sight are of

, ,
great scientific value It is a known fact that the p henome

.
non is due to the agitation of the molecules near the terminal ,
and it is thought since the brush is ho t that some heat must

, ,
be develo ped by the impact Of the molecules against the ter

minal or each other A little consideration Of the matter
.
84
86 The Tesl a C oil
the 1 2 or 7 coil the light from them will b e suffic ien t to

”
,
distingu ish objects in the troom .
Another way of eas ily exhibiting the brush e fiec t is b y

attaching the end Of I o or 2 0 feet of NO 3 6 insul ated CO p p e r
.
wire to the one terminal of the coil and the Opposite en d to

an insulati ng su pp ort leaving the wire hanging clear U p o n
, .
touching the remaining terminal with a bit of meta l hel d i n

the hand the w ire will break forth into numberless stre a m s
,
or threads of light p alp i ta ting in unison w ith the d isc h a rge

o f the condenser .
T he lumi nou s i n tensity of the streams can b e cons id er a b ly
increased by focusing them upon a small surface T h i s is .
illustrated by the following experiment To one o f t he te r.
m inal s of the coil a wire bent into a circle about one foo t in
diameter is at tached and to the other te rminal a small b r as s
sp here T h e centre of the sp here should be in a line at r igh t
.
angles to the p lane of the circle at its centre W h en th e .
discharge is set u p a luminous hollow cone is fo rm ed a n d

, ,
in the dark one half of the brass sp here is seen strongly i ll u

minated To get th e best results possible with th i s e xp e ri
.
ment the area of the sphere should be equal to th e ar e a o f

,
the w ire .
Another w ay in w hich the luminous e ff ect Of the d isc h a r ge

may be shown is as follow s :two circles O f ra ther stou t w i re ,
one being about 3 2 in diameter and the other

”
ar fo rm ed ,
e
and to each of the terminals of the coil one of the C i rc l es is
attached Th e tw o circles mu st be concentri c an d in th e
.
same plane When the coil is t urned on the w hol e spac e

.
Uses f th C oi l 87
o
,
betw een the wires is uniformly filled with streams T h e .
intensity of the streams forming this luminous disc is such

that objects in the room can be p lainly distinguished even
though at a considerable distance .
By this time the exp erimenter w ill realize that to p ass

ordinary luminous discharges through gases no particular ,
degree of exhaustion is necessary but a very high frequency

,
is essential and of course a fairly high p otential T his

, .
S ho w s us that the attem p ts to produce light by the agitation
of the molecules or atoms of a gas need not be limited to the

vacuum tube but the time is to be looked fo rwa rd to and
, ,
that in the near future when light will be produced w ithout

,
the use of any vessel w hatever and w ith air at ordinary p res
sure When light is obtained this way there will be no
.
,
chemical p rocess nor consumption O f material but merely ,
a transfer o f energy and the probability is that such a light

,
would have an e ffi ciency far exceeding that of even the best

o f the present incandescent lights which waste so much of ,
the energy in heat .
T h e Geissler c fl ec t can be readily show n by using only a
burnt out incandescent globe in which the vacuum has not

-
,
been destroyed To show it the bulb should be suspended

.
from an insulating knob so that the discharge will pass

,
through the centre of the bulb T he room should be dark

.
in order to see the changes that take place in the globe O n .
putting the coil in action the bulb lights up with a gently

pulsating delicate purple hue T his color in a few minutes
, .
generally turns to a lovely pale green and then sometimes, ,

88 The J esl a C oil
b ut this changes to a delica te w hi te li gh t T he in

rare l v , .
ten si tv o f the li ght is not ver v gre a t b u t the d el ica te n ess ,
o f t he co lo rs is so methi ng to b e a d mired T he d isc h ar ge .
must no t b e cont i nu ed too long th ro ugh th e tub e as i t i s

l ia ble to pierce the glass A pec ul iar th i ng al w ays happe ns .
if a b ulb w i t h a good filamen t is used namel y tha t in a fe w ,

,
m in u tes the fil ament is found to b e compl e tel v s ha t te re d .
Wi t h the 1 2 coil it is onl v nec essar v to hold the gl ob e in th e

’
han d w i tho ut anv connec tions to the co il for it to li gh t u p

. . .
Bv mo v ing the b ulb aro un d in the v ic ini ty of th e sp ar k ,
va rio us c h an es in t he in ten si tv o f t he l igh t w ill b e see n

g .
If th e amate u r is fort una te e no ugh to pos ess so me Ge issl e r

tu b e s thts e mav b e l it up b v c o nnec ting th em in se r ies w i t h
.
,
an a dj usta bl e spa rk gap to th e co il In th e case o f the l arge

-
. .
co il t u b es w ill li gh t up w hen mere l v b ro u h t in to th e v i c i n i t g

y
o f th e d i sc h arge .
T he h s
o t X rav
-
t ub e to use w i th th is Tesl a co il is w hat
is know n as a doub le foc us tu b e -

. al t ho ugh au v o th e r t ub e
ma v b used e
w i th no t q u ite as good res u l ts . As the te rm in al s
of the X m v t ub
- e
ar e
al terna tel v c a thod e and a nod e , w h en
a n a te rna t ing c urren
l t is used t he l xt in t h
p u s g or ra e r va r
y
in g
l igh t . if X m vs mav b
- e
ca l led l igh t . w o u ld be ob ec ti o n
j
ab l e . b u t d ue to t h e h igh freq u en c v of th e cu rre n t f ro m th is
co i l t he p u l s t t io ns a r
e
no t no ric e a b le . “h en th e dou b l e
foc us t ub is used t he nu s flec ted firs t from
e
ar r
e e
on e te
fl ec tor a nd t he n fr m the
o o t he r in ra
p id suu ess ion , an d
‘
t h us
do u b l e t he s a ce
p is fil led w i th t he wa s t han if a si ngl e -fo c u s
t u be had been used .

90 The Tesl a C oil
’
was in a large barn that the authors verified some of Hertz s
experiments on electric wa ves In dealing with electric
.
waves there are two disturbances to be taken int o account ,
the electromagnetic and the electrostatic T here are also .
two classes of waves the electromagnetic waves and the sta

,
tionary waves on wires A method will be given for obtain

.
ing bo th the electromagnetic and the stationary waves ,
which is all that can consistently be brought within the

scope of this work .
D E J
. ones has made a translation from the German
.
of the original pap ers o f Heinrich Hertz dealing wi th th e ,
experiments and results which have made his name famo u s .
T h e radiator or oscillator used by Hertz consists of t w o
metallic plates having attached to them short rods endi ng

,
in kn obs a short distance a part T hese kn obs are conn ected

.
to the secondary of the coil Hence as the seconda ry elec tro

.
,
motive force accumulates the plates are brought to a di ff e r

,
ence of potential and lines of electrostatic displacem e nt

s tretch out from the p ositive side o f the oscillator to corre
spon d in g points on the negative We have thus a stro ng
.
electrosta tic dis placement created along the lines of forc e .
When the potential d i fie renc e reaches a certain point d e

pending on the l ength o f the s park ga p the air insulat io n -
,
breaks down and a current flows from the one plate to the
other across the sp ark ga p It is merely the discharge of
-
.
a condenser for the two p lates on the oscillator form a c on

,
denser with air as a dielectric T his crea tes in th e spa ce

,
.
around a ma gnetic flux the direction of which is every w h ere

,
Uses f
o the C oi l 9 1
normal to the direction of the electric displacement T he .
electrostatic energy is thus transformed into electrokinetic

energy .
If the electric oscillation is started su ffi ciently sudden

some of the energy is throw n 06 as a dis placement wave .
As the coil is continually in op eration we have groups of

intermittent oscillations and therefore trains of electric
waves throw n off w hich sp read ou t through the dielectric .
In this way the electromagnetic w aves are set u p in the air .
In order to have the breaking down o f the air su ffi ciently

sharp to obtain the oscillations at least three things are
,
necessary :the spark ball surfaces must be bright and clean

-
,
no ultra violet light must fall on the balls and the balls must
-
,
be a certain distance ap art best determined by experience

, .
T h e form of resonator devised by Hertz consists merely

of a nearly closed ring or rectangle of wire the ends of which
end in metallic balls placed very close together T he one .
ball is adjustable by the use o f a micrometer screw T here .
have been many modifications o f this resonator but the one ,
the authors found most satisfactory was where a neon or

carbon dioxide Geissler tube of the spectrum variety was
connected directly across the sp ark ga p Instead of getting
-
.
a S park then the tube becomes illuminated .
By using this resonator and the before mentioned oscilla -
tor the magnitude oi the electric displacements in the space

,
surrounding the oscillator can be mapped out .
Hertz s great work was in setting up stationary waves in

’
air
. Thi s is accomplished by havin g a large metal plate
se t up in the room to ac t as a re flector T he coil with its .
radi a tor is set up in front of it at some dis ta nce from it so

, ,
t h a t the plane of the pla t es on the oscilla tor is para l lel to the
re fl ec tor
. Bv holding the resonator pa rallel to th e meta l li c
re flec tor the node s and antinodes can b e easily tra ced o u t .
T he size o f the pla tes on the radi a tor used by Hertz in

t his expe riment w as 1 6 sq u a re T he resona tor w as a ring
”
.
of a bout No 6 copper w i re 1 4 in diameter

"
. . .
W 3
‘
sta t iona r v w a x i s i ns t he same rad ia to r is

-
on w
w e s i mila r la tes to t izt xs e on t he t s c i l l a to r are tt n

p go e
94 The Tesl a C oil
citing them being that they may furnish entertainment to

some friend who should chance into his sho p T he write rs .
fi rst saw them p erformed on the vaudeville stage with an

O ndin resonator w hich is far inferior to the T esla coil .
To begin the performance the o perator should make a

few general statements as to the voltage required to lea p
—
d ifl e ren t air gaps such as for a b out for
'
etc T hen show the di scharge across the 6 or 1 2 gap

.
” "
and let the spectator imagine what voltage that represents .
After he has bec ome somewhat impressed with the intensity

of the discharge the operator can approach one of the osc il
,
lators and allow the spark to play on his bare hand To .
do this without severe burning of the hand he should kee p

,
his han d in constant motion to p re vent the spark from playing

on one point T he re is only a ve ry slight sensa tion felt
.
when this current is traversing your body and no injurio u s

e fl ec ts re sult so fa r as the autho r s are awa re T h e eff ect
.
is bes t show n in the dark .
T he next experi men t is to gras p one oscil la tor with th e

h and w h e n the co il is i n ope ra t ion and to have an ass istant
touch th e o pe r ator s b are elbow w ith a cott on cloth dipp ed
’
in alcohol .Th e h andke rc hi e f immed i ate l v burst s in flame .
To ge t the r es ult w ithout any u nc e rta intv the clo th is w rappe d

ra t her tightly a round the ass ista nt s hand A n amusing
'
mod ification of the same expe riment is to touch the cloth to

t he h a ir of the opera tor show ing that the hair is not ign ited
. .
If au v of the a udience are inclined to smoke a suggestion

'
as to lighting ci ga rs on a w indy ni gh t w i thou t th e annoyance

Uses o f the Coi l 95
of matches blowing out will be greatly app reciated T he .
Operator has merely to bring a piece of metal such as a nail

, ,
”
held in the hand to within Q of one of the spark terminals
and light the cigar from the spark .
A gas flame can be lit with the bare fingers by grasp ing
one oscillator with the bare hand and app roaching the burner
with the finger o f the other hand so that a spark will jump to
the metal ti p of the burne r T he write rs have made thi s
.
more spectacular by letting the sp ark jump from the ti p of

the tongue .
In these experiments an assistant should adjust the spark

gap so that no more current passes than is necessary T his .
is to prevent the s p ark from burning the operator .
To convince the audience o f the tremendous voltage

passing through the operator s body he has merely to bring
’
one hand u p to a lighted incandescent globe while he gras p s

,
one terminal of the coil with the other hand O n the near.
a pproach of the hand the filament will violentl y vibrate and

then shatter blackening the bulb and of course extinguishing
,
the lam p .
L ighting Geissler tubes held in the hand or even in the
mouth by ap p roaching them to the oscillators is an experi

ment that never fails to bring forth the applause of those
present .
P erha p s the most S p ectacular ex p eriment one which is

,
unaccountable for by the every day electrician w ho does

-
house wiring and has never been brought in touch with

high frequency cu rrents is the lighting of an ordinary incan
-
descent lamp with the current traversing the operator s ’
body .
Before performing this experiment some few remarks

on the quantity of current necessary to bring the filament
to full brightness on the 1 1 0 volt circuits should be made

-
,
if those present are ignorant o f electrical matters T hey can .
thus see that the energy required to light an ordinary 1 6

C P lam p is equivalent to 55 watts and that this amount
. .
,
is therefore taken through the operator s body At 1 1 0 ’

.
volts this means approximately am p ere while according

,
to the best authorities {5 of an am p ere is fatal to the aver
age hu man T h e reason why this amount of energy can be

.
taken with imp unity is not definitely known but it is thought ,
to be due to the fact that the high frequency current does

-
not penetrate into the interior of a solid conductor but ,
follows the surface T his is known as the skin e fl ec t

. .
T he operator to get the best results should stand on an

, ,
insulated stool and grasp one terminal o f the coil with one
hand and a pp roach with a p iece o f metal held tightly in the
,
hand or mouth one lead of a lamp , the other lead of which

has been previously grounded T he lamp will come u p
.
to bright red and if an assistant adjusts the primary s park

gap to its best working distance the lamp may be brought
,
up to full brightness .
C H APT ER X
D IM ENSIO NS O F 7 S TANDAR D CO IL
"
FOR those amateurs who having read the pr evious

,
chapters think that an app aratus giving a tw elve inch

,
-
spark is too large for their limited uses this chapter has
,
been added .
T his coil is by no means to be thought of as a toy for the ,
authors themselves used the very ap paratus described in

this chapter in carrying out their fi rst experiments with the
X ray and Geissler tubes
-
Wireless messages were also
.
sent successfully over a dista nce of three miles in wet weather .
T his was the greatest available distance over which the

authors could try the coil so that three miles S hould not be
,
considered the maximum transmitting distance In clear .
weather messages could easily be sent a distance of about

fifty miles provided your antenna: is well insulated from
,
grounds .
Because this apparatus is not as powerful as the other ,
doeS not mean that any less care S hould be taken as

regards insulation and mechanical construction for it depends
,
entirely on this whether the coil builder is to get a thin inter ,
mittent S park or a fat crackling one T he only d ifl erence

.
between this apparatus and the larger one besides that of

,
97
Size is in the cons truction of the transfo rmer and conden se r

,
and then they are onl y tr ivial .
T h e core of the transformer is 2 3 in diameter and i s

built u p of pieces of NO 3 2 B & S gauge iron wire 1 3
. .
”
.
long after the manner described in C hapter II T h e sa m e .
care should be taken in annealing and in sulating the iro n

wires as was done before .
T h e p rimary is w ound in tw o sec tions adjacent to ea c h

oth er as seen in Fig 38 Each section is wound toward s
, . .
FI G 8 — P RI MARY A ND CORE or T R ANS FORME R or

'
CO IL
3 .
7 .
”
the centre starting 1 from the ends of the core for a dis ta nc e
, ,
of T here are S ix layers o f No I 6 B 8:S gauge d o u bl e

. . .
cotton covered copper wire in each section Each lay e r is .
thoroughly she l lacked w hen put on and th e terminal w ire s

are held by the sa me method as described in C hapte r I I .
At least tw o fee t should be left for bringing out the term in al s

to the binding posts -
.
T h e sec onda ry is w ound in two section s NO 3 2 B 8:S . . . .
ga uge double cotton cove re d copper wi re is used T he tu b e .

is wrapped wi th several tu rns O f pa pe r w hic h is s h el l ac ked

in pla ce T his completes the construction of the transfo r m e r
. .
When finished it S hould be left for some time in a w ar m dr y

place as be hind the stove to thoroughly dry th e s h e ll a c
, .
Th e reason for this is that green S hellac is a fair ly goo d c on

ductor .
For the condenser twenty eight S heets O f brass 6 x 1 0

-
” ”
,
are required NO 3 2 or 3 4 S oft S h eet brass is used

. . Eac h .
S heet has a lug 1 g long and 1 5 wide eit h er c u t d i r ec tl y

” ”
on it or soldered on in the upper corner Whe ther th ey .
are cut directly on the sheet or are soldered on w ill d e p e nd

”
on the width of the brass sheet used With 1 2 brass t h ey
.
”
are cut on the sheet or soldered on with 8 brass A .
lip is bent across the top of each lug See Fig 40 T h i rty
. . .
1 ”
sheets Of glass 1 0 thick and 7 x 1 2 are required A ny
” ”
.
S heet of glass that has an air bubble in it S hould b e re ec ted

j
as it is liable sooner or later to give way th us ca u sin g the
,
reconstruction of the condenser Wipe eac h S heet of gl ass

.
clean before putting it in to the condenser .
T he frame is constructed from well seasoned pi n e T he .
” ”
tw o sides are made from } x 1 2 pine 4 long
7 T h e b ase .
”
is made of a piece of i x 4 pine 8 long T he base is fas
” ”
.
tened to the sides by some flat headed brass sc rew s T h e

-
.
heads of the screws S hould be sunk flush with th e w oo d .
”
O n the one S ide of the frame two strips x 1 are fasten ed "
one at the to
p and the other at the bottom of th e f ra m e.
S ee figure T h e frame is now laid on a flat sur fa ce w i th

.
the side on which the strips have jus t b een fastened dow n .
Di mensi ons of
”
7 S ta ndard 101
FI G 40
. . P LATE AND F RAME or CONDE NS E R
.
1 02 The Tesl a Coi l
A glass plate is placed in the frame after having been wiped

dry and clean so that it touches the bottom Of the frame .
T hen a brass sheet is laid in so that there is 1 margin O f

”
l ”
glass at the bottom and a g margin on the S ides T he lip .
should just fit against the upper edge of the glass Without .
displacing the brass S heet place a sheet Of glass on top O f

i t T his is followed with a S heet of brass but in this case
.
,
the lug on the brass is brought ou t on the opposi te side ~
to the previous one . C ontinue this process until the 2 8

sheets of glass have been put in p lace T w o glass sheets
.
are placed on top of the last brass sheet Also remember

.
to bring the lugs from the brass S heets ou t on alternate S ides .
Mortices S hould be cut in the top and bottom of the upper

ends of the sides a little deeper than the point to which the
last glass sheet reaches T hese are to receive two strips
.
” ”
o f p ine i x 1 similar to those on the other S ide T hese .
S hould be screwed down so that they press firmly against
the glass A piece of paper or cloth p laced between the

.
strip and the glass will p revent the breaking of the latter .
Set the condenser upright and solder a piece Of copper

wire which has already been tinned to each of the lips
, ,
in turn down the one S ide and another wire to all the lips
on the other side About NO 1 6 bare wire will do Enough
. . .
extra wire should be left to make all necessary connections .
T he oscillation transformer is constructed in the same

”
manner as the one for the 1 2 coil T he circular supports
.
”
for the secondary are 6 in diameter and are turned out
of j
”
material E ight equidistant S lo ts are cut in the per
.
Di mensi ons f
o 7
”
S tandard C oi l 105
primary band for making the connections . A hard rubber

”
strip 1 x j ”
, 12 long is screw ed across the top of the
”
,
completed oscillation transformer Tw o holes are dri l led

.
in it apart Into these tw o bushings S imilar to those

.
,
”
used in the 1 2 coil and described in C hapter IV are fitted , .
When the secondary terminals are soldered to them the

oscillation transformer is complete .
”
Al l the parts Of the 7 coil are mounted in one b ox T he .
dimensions Of this box are given in Fig 4 2 T he b ox is . .
”
built out of i well seasoned oak All the directions given
t .
in C hapter VI apply to the construction of this b ox T he .
cover is divided into two halves one carrying the interrupter

,
and the other the discharge oscillators .
T he connections from the interrupter to the condenser are

made through the hinges so that the cover may be sw ung back
without disturbing the conn ections A partition is put in b e
.
tween the transformer and the condenser It has a number .
O f holes drilled in it to allow Of the free circulation of the Oil .
S uitable handles are put at each end of the b ox for carrying it .
T h e transformer is now set on end in the smaller division

of the b ox It is held in place by tw o yoke shaped wooden
.
-
,
sup ports fastened to the inside of the b ox and encircling the

core between the two sections of the secondary Th e primary .
terminals are brought to four heavy binding posts at the upper -
end Of the b ox T hey should be soldered on in the same

.
order as for the transformer on the large coil that is so that , ,
shorting the tw o middle posts puts the sections in series and

shorting the two outer pairs gives a parallel conn ection .
T he oscillators consist of tw o brass balls i in diameter

3 ” ”
screwed on the end of two 3 3 brass rods 7 long which are ,
”
to slide easily in tw o holes dri l led 5 from the top of the
standards through both the fibre and the rod A set screw
, .
at the top of each standard will be of convenience in clamping

the rods in any desired position .
T he standards are constructed as follows T w o fibre or

.
”
hard rubber bushings 2 in di ameter and 1 } in length and
7
”
having a fla nge i thick and in diameter tu rn ed on one
end are set in two holes cut in the cover directly above the
holes in the brass bu shings on the oscillation transformer .
”
A i hole is drilled through the centre of each bushing Tw o .
” ”
brass rods 8 long are e nclosed in fibre tubes 5 3 in outside
1”
diameter and 7 75 long T he tubes should fit the rods
.
tightly The ends Of the brass rods p roject from the fibre
.
and should be slightly tapered to fit the bushings on the

oscillation transformer .
In order that the discharge gap may be adjusted while

”
the coil is in operation two vulcanite handles 5
, 2 in diameter
are screwed on the ends Of the rods carrying the oscillators
, ,
for abo ut
T he standards are now slid through the bushings in the
cover until they make good contact with the bushings on
the oscillation transformer When the coil is now connected
.
up to the alternating current mains it will break forth in

,
”
a beautiful 7 discharge .
If everything is not as it ought to be the trouble may be

,
found in the manner described in C hapter VII .

D i mensi ons of 7
”
S tandard C oi l 1 09
OS ”
C CLL A T O R a T A NDA R D
a b rass
"
r od
UGO:L
"
B U S H l NG FOR .
FIG 44. . O SC ILLATO RS AND S TANDARDS FO R 7

”
A PPARATU S
.
T he above sums include the simple interrupter Th e .
others wil l bring the price up in proportion .
T he high frequency coil is made as follows : Cu t out two

-
” ”
end pieces of 1 wood 1 0 square and describe on each one
two concentric circles having diameters of 9 and 7 inches
,
” ”
respectively O n these circles bore a number of 1 holes 1
.
apart as in the figure Next procure from a planing mill

.
”
about twenty i dowels T hese are made of hard wood and
.
” ”
come 3 6 l ong C u t each dowel into 1 2 lengths and fit one
.
in each of the holes on the smaller circle of one of the boards ,
When they are all in place the other board is put on the
other end Of the dowels T he outer circle Of holes is left
.
em p ty until the secondary is wound .
T he secondary winding consists of one layer of NO 3 2 .
B . S gauge double cotton covered copper wire

. Begin the .
”
winding about 3 from the ends S hellac the wire with
7 .
several coats of the best orange shellac when the windin g is

finished .
T h e dowels for the primary are next put in place by push

ing them through the holes from one end If they fit too
'
tightly the holes may be reamed out Next six turns O f NO . .
1 8 bare wire are wound on the outer dowels each tu rn being ,
over an inch from the one next to it .
T h e whole co il i s then mounted on a base Th e end s of .
the primary are connected to tw o b ind ing posts moun ted on a a
piece Of hard rubber Tw o oscillators with standards are

.
p ro vided for the terminals of the secondary T his com .
pletes the high tension coil -

.
The secondary winding Of this transformer consists of

two sections of No 3 2 B 81 S gauge double cotton covered
. . .
”
copper wire First saw out Of 1 stock four circular pieces
.
”
of wood 4 , in diameter and having a z i hole in the centre
”
.
Slip these on the prima ry to the positions S hown in the figure .
”
Th e two end ones are 5 from the ends of the core and the
”
middle ones are i apart .
Wind the wire of the secondary on the two spools just

formed until the diameter is T horoughly S hellac each
layer and wrap a piece of paper on before beginning the next .
T h e whole coil is mounted on a suitable base the primary ,
terminals being connected to binding posts -

.
—
If the transformer is to be operated on the 1 00 1 1 0 volt
current the two sections of the primary are connected in
,
series If on the other hand it is to be used on the 50 55 —

.
, ,
volt current the sections are joined in parallel It is well .

,
however in either case to bring the primary terminals out

,
to four separate b i nd ing po st s Then the de sired connec

-
.
tions may be readily made for ei ther series or parallel .
Always be certain though that the current will travers e

, ,
the windings in the same direction .
In order to set up the high oscillations we must introduce

a spark gap in series with the secondary Of the transformer
-
and the high tension coil -

Th e method Of making this
.
primary spark gap is given as follows : Procure two pieces

-
of vulcanized fibre rod Y in diameter 4 inches long Drill .
”
a 1 hole in each 5 from one end Next bore two i holes
” ”
.
”
6 apart in the base O f the transformer as shown in Fig 4 7 . .
tension coil is connected to the spark gap instead of the sec

-
ondary of the induction coil Th e other terminal Of the high

.
tension coils primary is connected to the new binding post -

.
A glance at the figure will make this plain and also the method
FI G .
48 . W I RING D IAGRAM .
F IG .
49 . W IRI NG D IAGRAM .
Of connecting up the condenser When making conn ections

.
between the various parts of the apparatus it is well to enclose

the wires in glass tubes and to keep them back Ou t Of the way .
The operator will soon find that ordinary insul ation is Of

A ppendi x 11
9
no value whatever in dealing with these high tension currents

-
,
so that all terminals must be kept apart a distance greater
than that Of the high tenson discharge gap If this pre

-
.
caution is not Observed you will have some very beautiful

brush discharges all along the conductors that are in too
close proximity.
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, l
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—
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CROCKER , F . B .
,
an d ARENDT ,
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S eventh Editi on . . .
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El ec tri ci ty i n Mi n i ng
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INCAND E S CE NT E ECTRI L C LIGHTING

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TheTeslaHighFrequencyCoil 10500429

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PLATE IV . Moto r-d ri ven Interrupter .

PLA TE V . Th e E le c t ro lyt i c Rec ti ﬁer .

5 6 ILLU S TRA TI ONS

presenting this b ook on the Tesla coil to the public the

g ive a mathematical explanatio n of the oscillation transformer ,

and other parts of the hi gh frequency apparatus for the

simple reason that the theory is too complex and when ,

obtained of no practical use Neither have the authors

tried to lead the amateur who is just learning how to string

bells and connect batteries from the elements of the galvanic

cell up to the working of a high potential alternating cur

rent but have merely m ade an e ff ort to place in the hands of

advanced amateurs in electrical science a practical working

useful in scientiﬁc investigation .

T he attention of the authors was ﬁrst called to the T esla

book A systematic line of experiments was carried on with

k of the various circuits A ll the mechanical and electrical

35 deta ils of construction were carefully worked out and the ,

authors ﬁnally decided to design and construct a larger coil .

T he coil as ﬁrst constructed was a decided failure due to

too small a condenser capacity For about ﬁve months they

further experimented on the deta ils of construction and

coil they feel assured is as emc ient as can be made It is

especially desi gned to give a high frequency discharge of

great volume T his latter fact ma kes it useful for wireless

In conclusion they have to thank M r G 0 M itchell for

many suggestions and for the kindly interest he has taken in

this little book would have been impossible .

IV .T HE O S C ILLATI ON T RANS FO RME R

VI .T HE C ONS TR U CTI ON O R THE B OX E S

X. D IME NS I ONS O P 7 S TANDARD C O IL

O s illat io n T a n fo me a nd G lass fo C o nd e nse

Th e E l t olyt i Rec t iﬁe

Th e 7 S ta nda d A ppa atus

H igh -tens io n B ush ing

O ill t ion T ansfo me of S mall C o il

BY far the largest and most interesting branch of science

Hertz veriﬁed experimenta lly that light is an elec tromagnetic

disturbance in the ether and thus added that subject to the

realm of electricity Amongst the various phenomena of

electricity those of the high tension current are the most

interesting and instructive With such a current al l the

wonders of the Geissler and C rookes tubes may be seen .

With it waves for wireless messages may be sent out into

It is the purpose of this book to S how how a satisfactory

and also to describe a few of the uses for such a coil .

T he apparatus as described in this book is most commonly

kn own as the T esla High Frequency C oil and consists in

general of four parts : I T he S tep Up Transformer "2 T he

Interrupter " 3 Th e C ondenser " 4 T he O scillation Trans

former Each of these will be fully considered in subsequent

Before entering upon the description of the Tesla high

few general remarks which are of the greatest importance .

TH E transformer sometimes called a converter is

alternating current mains without the use of an interrupter

and is used to raise or lower the voltage In a transformer.

the number of watts in the primary equals approximately

In the case of any step up transformer the ratio of the

number of volts in the primary to those set up in the sec

in the primary to the number in the secondary " but the

T he transformer used in the coil described in this book is

transformer It takes the alternating current from the mains

at 1 1 0 volts or 55 volts and steps it up to about