A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit invented It is used to produce high-

voltage, low-current, high frequency alternating-current electricity. Tesla experimented with a

number of different configurations consisting of two, or sometimes three, coupled resonant
electric circuits.
Tesla used these coils to conduct innovative experiments in
electrical lighting, phosphorescence, X-ray generation, high frequencyalternating
current phenomena, electrotherapy, and the transmission of electrical energy without wires. Tesla
coil circuits were used commercially in sparkgap radio transmitters for wireless telegraphy until
the 1920s, and in medical equipment such aselectrotherapy and violet ray devices. Today their
main use is for entertainment and educational displays, although small coils are still used today
as leak detectors for high vacuum systems.
Theory

A Tesla coil transformer operates in a significantly different fashion from a conventional (i.e.,
iron core) transformer. In a conventional transformer, the windings are very tightly coupled and
voltage gain is determined by the ratio of the numbers of turns in the windings. This works well
at normal voltages, but, at high voltages, the insulation between the two sets of windings is easily
broken down and this prevents iron-cored transformers from running at extremely high voltages
without damage, unless they are immersed in oil or SF6.
Unlike those of a conventional transformer (which may couple 97%+ of the fields between
windings), a Tesla coil's windings are "loosely" coupled, with a large air gap, and thus the
primary and secondary typically share only 10–20% of their respective magnetic fields. Instead
of a tight coupling, the coil transfers energy (via loose coupling) from one resonant circuit (the
primary) to the other (the secondary) resonant at the same frequency, over a number of radio
frequency cyclesAs the primary energy transfers to the secondary, the secondary's output voltage
increases until all of the available primary energy has been transferred to the secondary (less
losses). Even with significant spark gap losses, a well-designed Tesla coil can transfer over 85%
of the energy initially stored in the primary capacitor to the secondary circuit. The voltage
achievable from a Tesla coil can be significantly greater than a conventional transformer,
because the secondary is resonant with the primary. Also, the voltage per turn in any coil is
higher because the rate of change of magnetic flux is at high frequencies

With the loose coupling the voltage gain is instead proportional to the square root of the ratio of
secondary and primary inductances. Because the secondary winding is wound to be resonant at
the same frequency as the primary, this voltage gain is also proportional to the square root of the
ratio of the primary capacitor to the stray capacitance of the secondary to ground The original
Tesla coil transformer employed a capacitor which, upon break-down of a short spark gap,
became connected to a coil of a few turns (the primary winding set), forming a resonant circuit
with the frequency of oscillation, usually 20–100 kHz, determined by the capacitance of the
capacitor and the inductance of the coil. The capacitor was charged to the voltage necessary to
rupture the air of the gap during the input line cycle, about 10 kV by a line-powered transformer
connected across the gap. The line transformer could tolerate the short circuit occurring while the
gap remained ionized, or for the few milliseconds until the high frequency current had died
away.
The spark gap is set up so that its breakdown occurs near to the peak voltage of the input line
voltage to maximize the voltage across the capacitor. The sudden current through the spark gap
causes the primary resonant circuit to "ring" at its resonant frequency. This ringing continues
until the spark across the gap is quenched when the input line voltage drops towards zero. Hence
the duration of the spark is about one quarter of the line input AC cycle.
A more prominent secondary winding, with vastly more turns of thinner wire than the primary,
was positioned to intercept some of the magnetic field of the primary. The secondary was
designed to have the same frequency of resonance as the primary using only the stray
capacitance of the winding itself to ground and that of any "top hat" placed at the upper end. The
lower end of the long secondary coil must be grounded to the surroundings.
Modern high-voltage enthusiasts usually build Tesla coils similar to some of Tesla's "later" air-
core designs. These typically consist of a primary tank circuit, a series LC (inductance-
capacitance) circuit composed of a high-voltage capacitor, spark gap and primary coil, and the
secondary LC circuit, a series-resonant circuit consisting of the secondary coil plus a terminal
capacitance or "top load". In Tesla's more advanced design, the secondary LC circuit is
composed of an air-core transformer secondary coil placed in series with a helical resonator.
Most modern coils use only a single helical coil comprising both the secondary and primary
resonator. The helical coil is then connected to the terminal, which forms one 'plate' of
a capacitor, the other 'plate' being the earth (or "ground"). The primary LC circuit is tuned so
it resonates at the same frequency as the secondary LC circuit. The primary and secondary coils
are magnetically coupled, creating a dual-tuned resonant air-core transformer. Earlier oil-
insulated Tesla coils needed large and long insulators at their high-voltage terminals to prevent
discharge in air. Later Tesla coils spread their electric fields over large distances to prevent high
electrical stresses in the first place, thereby allowing operation in free air.
Most modern Tesla coils use simple toroids, typically fabricated from spun metal or flexible
aluminum ducting, to control the high electrical field near the top of the secondary and to direct
sparks outward and away from the primary and secondary windings. It is better if these top
elements are fastened high above the top of the coil to minimise the possibility of flashover to
the coils.
More advanced Tesla coil transmitters involve a more tightly coupled air-core resonance
transformer network or "master oscillator" the output of which is then fed to another resonator,
sometimes called the "extra coil". The principle is that energy accumulates in the extra coil and
the role of transformer secondary is played by the separate master oscillator secondary; the roles
are not shared by a single secondary. In some modern three-coil magnifying transmitter systems,
the extra coil is placed some distance from the transformer. Direct magnetic coupling to the
upper secondary is not desirable, since the third coil is designed to be driven by injecting RF
current directly into the bottom end.
This particular Tesla coil configuration consists of a secondary coil in close inductive relation
with a primary, and one end of which is connected to a ground-plate {the earth}, while its other
end is led through a separate self-induction coil (whose connection should always be made at, or
near, the geometrical center of that coil's circular aspect, to secure a symmetrical distribution of
the current), and of a metallic cylinder carrying the current to the terminal. The primary coil may
be excited by any desired source of high-frequency current. The important requirement is that the
primary and secondary sides must be tuned to the same resonant frequency to allow efficient
transfer of energy between the primary and secondary resonant circuits. The conductor of the
shaft to the terminal (topload) is in the form of a cylinder with smooth surface of a radius much
larger than that of the spherical metal plates, and widens out at the bottom into a hood (which is
slotted to avoid loss by eddy currents). The secondary coil is wound on a drum of insulating
material, with its turns close together. When the effect of the small radius of curvature of the
wire itself is overcome, the lower secondary coil behaves as a conductor of large radius of
curvature, corresponding to that of the drum. The top of the extra coil may be extended up to the
terminal and the bottom should be somewhat below the uppermost turn of the primary coil. This
lessens the tendency of the charge to break out from the wire connecting both and to pass along
the support
A large Tesla coil of more modern design often operates at very high peak power levels, up to
many megawatts (millions of watts). It is therefore adjusted and operated carefully, not only for
efficiency and economy, but also for safety. If, due to improper tuning, the maximum voltage
point occurs below the terminal, along the secondary coil, a discharge (spark) may break out and
damage or destroy the coil wire, supports, or nearby objects.
 Tesla coil schematics

Typical circuit configuration

Here, the spark gap shorts the high frequency across the first transformer that is supplied by
alternating current. An inductance, not shown, protects the transformer. This design is favoured
when a relatively fragile neon sign transformer is used.

Alternative circuit configuration

With the capacitor in parallel to the first transformer and the spark gap in series to the Tesla-coil
primary, the AC supply transformer must be capable of withstanding high voltages at high
frequencies.

Tesla experimented with these, and many other, circuit configurations (see right). The Tesla coil
primary winding, spark gap and tank capacitor are connected in series. In each circuit, the AC
supply transformer charges the tank capacitor until its voltage is sufficient to break down the
spark gap. The gap suddenly fires, allowing the charged tank capacitor to discharge into the
primary winding. Once the gap fires, the electrical behavior of either circuit is identical.
Experiments have shown that neither circuit offers any marked performance advantage over the
other.

However, in the typical circuit, the spark gap's short circuiting action prevents high-frequency
oscillations from 'backing up' into the supply transformer. In the alternate circuit, high amplitude
high frequency oscillations that appear across the capacitor also are applied to the supply
transformer's winding. This can induce corona discharges between turns that weaken and
eventually destroy the transformer's insulation. Experienced Tesla coil builders almost
exclusively use the top circuit, often augmenting it with low pass filters (resistor and capacitor
(RC) networks) between the supply transformer and spark gap to help protect the supply
transformer. This is especially important when using transformers with fragile high-voltage
windings, such as neon sign transformers (NSTs). Regardless of which configuration is used, the
HV transformer must be of a type that self-limits its secondary current by means of
internal leakage inductance. A normal (low leakage inductance) high-voltage transformer must
use an external limiter (sometimes called a ballast) to limit current. NSTs are designed to have
high leakage inductance to limit their short circuit current to a safe level.

Tuning precautionsThe primary coil's resonant frequency is tuned to that of the secondary, using
low-power oscillations, then increasing the power until the apparatus has been brought under
control. While tuning, a small projection (called a "breakout bump") is often added to the top
terminal in order to stimulate corona and spark discharges (sometimes called streamers) into the
surrounding air. Tuning can then be adjusted so as to achieve the longest streamers at a given
power level, corresponding to a frequency match between the primary and secondary coil.
Capacitive 'loading' by the streamers tends to lower the resonant frequency of a Tesla coil
operating under full power. For a variety of technical reasons,[citation needed] toroids provide one of
the most effective shapes for the top terminals of Tesla coils.

Air discharges

A small, later-type Tesla coil in operation: The output is giving 43-cmsparks. The diameter of
the secondary is 8 cm. The power source is a10 000 V, 60 Hz current-limited supply.

While generating discharges, electrical energy from the secondary and toroid is transferred to the
surrounding air as electrical charge, heat, light, and sound. The process is similar to charging or
discharging a capacitor, except that a Tesla coil uses AC instead of DC. The current that arises
from shifting charges within a capacitor is called a displacement current. Tesla coil discharges
are formed as a result of displacement currents as pulses of electrical charge are rapidly
transferred between the high-voltage toroid and nearby regions within the air (called space
charge regions). Although the space charge regions around the toroid are invisible, they play a
profound role in the appearance and location of Tesla coil discharges.

When the spark gap fires, the charged capacitor discharges into the primary winding, causing the
primary circuit to oscillate. The oscillating primary current creates a magnetic field that couples
to the secondary winding, transferring energy into the secondary side of the transformer and
causing it to oscillate with the toroid capacitance to ground. The energy transfer occurs over a
number of cycles, and most of the energy that was originally in the primary side is transferred
into the secondary side. The greater the magnetic coupling between windings, the shorter the
time required to complete the energy transfer. As energy builds within the oscillating secondary
circuit, the amplitude of the toroid's RF voltage rapidly increases, and the air surrounding the
toroid begins to undergo dielectric breakdown, forming a corona discharge.

As the secondary coil's energy (and output voltage) continue to increase, larger pulses of
displacement current further ionize and heat the air at the point of initial breakdown. This forms
a very conductive "root" of hotter plasma, called a leader, that projects outward from the toroid.
The plasma within the leader is considerably hotter than a corona discharge, and is considerably
more conductive. In fact, its properties are similar to an electric arc. The leader tapers and
branches into thousands of thinner, cooler, hair-like discharges (called streamers). The streamers
look like a bluish 'haze' at the ends of the more luminous leaders, and transfer charge between
the leaders and toroid to nearby space charge regions. The displacement currents from countless
streamers all feed into the leader, helping to keep it hot and electrically conductive.

The primary break rate of sparking Tesla coils is slow compared to the resonant frequency of the
resonator-topload assembly. When the switch closes, energy is transferred from the primary LC
circuit to the resonator where the voltage rings up over a short period of time up culminating in
the electrical discharge. In a spark gap Tesla coil, the primary-to-secondary energy transfer
process happens repetitively at typical pulsing rates of 50–500 times per second, depending on
the frequency of the input line voltage, and previously formed leader channels do not get a
chance to fully cool down between pulses. So, on successive pulses, newer discharges can build
upon the hot pathways left by their predecessors. This causes incremental growth of the leader
from one pulse to the next, lengthening the entire discharge on each successive pulse. Repetitive
pulsing causes the discharges to grow until the average energy available from the Tesla coil
during each pulse balances the average energy being lost in the discharges (mostly as heat). At
this point, dynamic equilibrium is reached, and the discharges have reached their maximum
length for the Tesla coil's output power level. The unique combination of a rising high-
voltage radio frequency envelope and repetitive pulsing seem to be ideally suited to creating
long, branching discharges that are considerably longer than would be otherwise expected by
output voltage considerations alone. High-voltage discharges create filamentary multibranched
discharges which are purplish-blue in colour. High-energy discharges create thicker discharges
with fewer branches, are pale and luminous, almost white, and are much longer than low-energy
discharges, because of increased ionisation. A strong smell of ozone and nitrogen oxides will
occur in the area. The important factors for maximum discharge length appear to be voltage,
energy, and still air of low to moderate humidity. However, even more than 100 years after the
first use of Tesla coils, many aspects of Tesla coil discharges and the energy transfer process are
still not completely understood.

Applications

Tesla coil circuits were used commercially in sparkgap radio transmitters for wireless
telegraphy until the 1920s,[1][9][10] and in electrotherapy and pseudomedical devices such asviolet
ray. Today, their main use is entertainment and educational displays. Tesla coils are built by
many high-voltage enthusiasts, research institutions, science museums, and independent
experimenters. Although electronic circuit controllers have been developed, Tesla's original
spark gap design is less expensive and has proven extremely reliable.

Wireless power transmission

Tesla demonstrating wireless power transmission in a lecture at Columbia College, New York, in
1891. The two metal sheets are connected to a Tesla coil oscillator, which applies a high radio
frequency oscillating voltage. The oscillating electric field between the sheets ionizes the low
pressure gas in the two long Geissler tubes he is holding, causing them to glow by fluorescence,
similar to neon lights.

Light bulb (bottom) powered wirelessly by "receiver" coil tuned to resonance with the huge
"magnifying transmitter" coil at Tesla's Colorado Springs lab,

Wardenclyffe tower, a huge Tesla coil built by Tesla at Shoreham, Tesla used his Tesla coil
circuits to perform the first experiments in wireless power transmission at the turn of the 20th
century high AC voltages on elevated capacitive terminals In demonstrations before the
American Institute of Electrical Columbian Exposition in Chicago he lit light bulbs from across a
stage He found he could increase the distance by using a receiving LC circuit tuned
to resonance with the Tesla coil's LC circuit, transferring energy by by using voltages of the
order of 20 megavolts generated by his enormous magnifying transmitter coil, he was able to
light three incandescent lamps at a distance of about 100 feet (30 m). The resonant inductive
coupling technique pioneered by Tesla has recently become a central concept in modern wireless
power development, and is being widely used in short range wireless transmission systems like
cellphone charging pads.

The inductive and capacitive coupling used in Tesla's experiments are "near-field" effects,
[22]
meaning that the energy transferred decreases with the sixth power of the distance between
transmitter and receiver, so they cannot be used for long-distance transmission. However, Tesla
was obsessed with developing a long range wireless power transmission system which could
transmit power from power plants directly into homes and factories without wires, The Problem
of Increasing Human Energy and he believed resonance was the key. Tesla claimed to be able to
transmit power on a worldwide scale, using a method that involved conduction through the Earth
and atmosphere Tesla was vague about his methods. One of his ideas was that transmitting and
receiving terminals could be suspended in the feet (9,100 m) altitude, where the air pressure is
lower At this altitude, Tesla thought, an ionized layer would allow electricity to be sent at high
voltages (millions of volts) over long distances.

Tesla began construction of a high-voltage wireless power station Essentially a large Tesla coil
intended as a prototype transmitter for a "World Wireless System" that was to transmit both
information and power worldwide, he had a history of making claims that he had not confirmed
by experiment and there seems to be no evidence that he ever transmitted significant power
beyond the short-range demonstrations above. The only report of long-distance transmission by
Tesla is a claim, not found in reliable sources demonstration; Tesla did not mention it and it does
not appear in his laboratory notes fragmentary material... in a number of publications".In the 110
years since Tesla's experiments, efforts by others to achieve long distance power transmission
using Tesla coils have failed and the scientific consensus is his World Wireless system would not
have worked. Contemporary scientists point out that while Tesla's coils function as radio
transmitters, transmitting energy in the form of radio waves, the frequency he used, around 150
kHz, is far too low for practical long range power transmissionAt these wavelengths the radio
waves spread out in all directions and cannot be focused on a distant receiver. Long range
wireless power transmission was only achieved in the 1960s with the development
of microwavetechnologyTesla's world power transmission scheme remains today what it was in
Tesla's time, a bold, fascinating dream

The 'skin effect'

The dangers of contact with high-frequency electrical current are sometimes perceived as being
less than at lower frequencies, because the subject usually does not feel pain or a 'shock'. This is
often erroneously attributed to skin effect, a phenomenon that tends to inhibitalternating
current from flowing inside conducting media. It was thought that in the body, Tesla currents
travelled close to the skin surface, making them safer than lower-frequency electric currents.
Although skin effect limits Tesla currents to the outer fraction of an inch in metal conductors, the
'skin depth' of human flesh at typical Tesla coil frequencies is still of the order of 60 inches
(150 cm) or more. This means high-frequency currents will still preferentially flow through
deeper, better conducting, portions of an experimenter's body such as the circulatory and nervous
systems. The reason for the lack of pain is that a human being's nervous system does not sense
the flow of potentially dangerous electrical currents above 15–20 kHz; essentially, for nerves to
be activated, a significant number of ions must cross their membranes before the current (and
hence voltage) reverses. Since the body no longer provides a warning 'shock', novices may touch
the output streamers of small Tesla coils without feeling painful shocks. However, anecdotal
evidence among Tesla coil experimenters indicates temporary tissue damage may still occur and
be observed as muscle pain, joint pain, or tingling for hours or even days afterwards. This is
believed to be caused by the damaging effects of internal current flow, and is especially common
with continuous wave, solid state or vacuum tube Tesla coils operating at relatively low
frequencies (tens to hundreds of kHz). It is possible to generate very high frequency currents
(tens to hundreds of MHz) that do have a smaller penetration depth in flesh. These are often used
for medical and therapeutic purposes such aselectrocauterization and diathermy. The designs of
early diathermy machines were based on Tesla coils or Oudin coils.
Large Tesla coils and magnifiers can deliver dangerous levels of high-frequency current, and
they can also develop significantly higher voltages (often 250,000–500,000 volts, or more).
Because of the higher voltages, large systems can deliver higher energy, potentially lethal,
repetitive high-voltage capacitor discharges from their top terminals. Doubling the output voltage
quadruples the electrostatic energy stored in a given top terminal capacitance. If an unwary
experimenter accidentally places himself in path of the high-voltage capacitor discharge to
ground, the low current electric shock can cause involuntary spasms of major muscle groups and
may induce life-threatening ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest. Even lower power vacuum
tube or solid state Tesla coils can deliver RF currents capable of causing temporary internal
tissue, nerve, or joint damage through Joule heating. In addition, an RF arc can carbonize flesh,
causing a painful and dangerous bone-deep RF burn that may take months to heal. Because of
these risks, knowledgeable experimenters avoid contact with streamers from all but the smallest
systems. Professionals usually use other means of protection such as a Faraday cage or a
metallic mail suit to prevent dangerous currents from entering their bodies.
The most serious dangers associated with Tesla coil operation are associated with the primary
circuit. It is capable of delivering a sufficient current at a significant voltage to stop the heart of a
careless experimenter. Because these components are not the source of the trademark visual or
auditory coil effects, they may easily be overlooked as the chief source of hazard. Should a high-
frequency arc strike the exposed primary coil while, at the same time, another arc has also been
allowed to strike to a person, the ionized gas of the two arcs forms a circuit that may conduct
lethal, low-frequency current from the primary into the person.
Further, great care must be taken when working on the primary section of a coil even when it has
been disconnected from its power source for some time. The tank capacitors can remain charged
for days with enough energy to deliver a fatal shock. Proper designs always include 'bleeder
resistors' to bleed off stored charge from the capacitors. In addition, a safety shorting operation is
performed on each capacitor before any internal work is performed.

Instances and devices

Tesla's Colorado Springs laboratory possessed one of the largest Tesla coils ever built, known as
the "Magnifying Transmitter". The Magnifying Transmitter is somewhat different from classic
two-coil Tesla coils. A magnifier uses a two-coil 'driver' to excite the base of a third coil
('resonator') located some distance from the driver. The operating principles of both systems are
similar. The world's largest currently existing two-coil Tesla coil is a 130,000-watt unit, part of a
38-foot-tall (12 m) sculpture titled Electrum owned by Alan Gibbsand currently resides in a
private sculpture park at Kakanui Point near Auckland, New Zealand
The Tesla coil is an early predecessor (along with the induction coil) of a more modern device
called a flyback transformer, which provides the voltage needed to power the cathode ray
tube used in some televisions and computer monitors. The disruptive discharge coil remains in
common use as the 'ignition coil'or 'spark coil' in the ignition system of an internal combustion
engine. These two devices do not use resonance to accumulate energy, however, which is the
distinguishing feature of a Tesla coil. They do use inductive "kick", the forced, abrupt decay of
the magnetic field, such that the voltage provided by the coil at its primary terminals is much
greater than the voltage applied to establish the magnetic field, and this higher voltage is then
multiplied by the transformer turns ratio. Thus, they do store energy, and a Tesla resonator stores
energy. A modern, low-power variant of the Tesla coil is also used to power plasma
globe sculptures and similar devices.
Scientists working with a glass vacuum line (e.g. chemists working with volatile substances in
the gas phase, inside a system of glass tubes, taps and bulbs) test for the presence of tiny pin
holes in the apparatus (especially a newly blown piece of glassware) using high-voltage
discharges, such as a Tesla coil produces. When the system is evacuated and the discharging end
of the coil moved over the glass, the discharge travels through any pin hole immediately below it
and thus illuminates the hole, indicating points that need to be annealed or reblown before they
can be used in an experiment.

Popularity
Tesla coils are very popular devices among certain electrical
engineers and electronics enthusiasts. Builders of Tesla coils as a hobby are called "coilers". A
very large Tesla coil, designed and built by Syd Klinge, is shown every year at the Coachella
Valley Music and Arts Festival, in Coachella, Indio, California, USA. People attend "coiling"
conventions where they display their home-made Tesla coils and other electrical devices of
interest. Austin Richards, a physicist in California, he named the character in the suit Doctor
MegaVolt and has performed all over the world and at Burning Man 9 different years.
Low-power Tesla coils are also sometimes used as a high-voltage source for Kirlian photography
Tesla coils can also be used to generate sounds, including music, by modulating the system's
effective "break ratethe rate and duration of high power RF bursts) via MIDI data and a control
unit. The actual MIDI data is interpreted by a microcontroller which converts the MIDI data into
a PWM output which can be sent to the Tesla coil via a fiber optic
interface The YouTube video Super Mario Brothers theme in stereo and harmony on two
coils shows a performance on matching solid state coils operating at 41 kHz. The coils were built
and operated by designer hobbyists Jeff Larson and Steve Ward. The device has been named
theZeusaphone, after Zeus, Greek god of lightning, and as a play on words referencing
the Sousaphone. The idea of playing music on the singing Tesla coils flies around the world and
a few follower