Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Tesla Coil

Son In Law Andy is adventurous. He likes to build “stuff.”   For the longest time he has been talking about a Tesla Coil and building one and how cool would that be? 

A Tesla Coil  makes electricity…high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current  electricity.

The Tesla Coil

He treated us to a show after dark.  I stayed far away.

Tesla Coil at night

This was my best shot of the current.  It makes noise as it sparks.

Andy and I lingered, he wanted to try some adjustments.  I stayed incase I needed to call 911…but then he is the Fire Chief.  I gave him “the lecture”…you have two curious boys…and they have friends..yada yada.  He decided on a keyed electrical plug in.  In the meantime I strongly suggested that he disable it in some way…and he did.

I hope some kind of lock is in place. A Grandma worries about the darndest things.

On a side note Andy’s Vex Robotic Team from Thief River Falls took 32nd place in the World Championships in California a few weeks ago!  The entire family went to California.  I asked Noah what was the best thing about California and he said “The Vex Tournament.”  I thought his answer might be the Pacific Ocean or pretty girls… I did ask him if he saw any girls in bikinis…he said it was too cold.

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18 comments:

linda m said...

Your son-in-law sounds like my husband. He used to build "Jacob's Ladders" just to scare kids at Halloween. I finally convinced him they were too dangerous and to dismantle them. High voltage and kids just don't mix. Good photos of the Tesla Coil and it's electricity.

DJan said...

Wow! I've heard of Tesla Coils but never thought I'd see one. Glad to hear he disabled it. You are a very vigilant grandma, everybody should be so lucky. :-)

Cranberry Morning said...

That is SO COOL!!!! What a clever guy! And yeah, I'd be worried about the kids too. But it's a great accomplishment. Fun, huh!

Dreaming said...

Boys will be boys!!

Beth said...

You are a good grandma! I imagine that was quite a sight to see. You got a very good photo of it!

Travels with Emma said...

I've never heard of a Tesla Coil. Kind of neat.

Anonymous said...

My husband is an electrical engineer and would totally dig that, and then break into a VERY long and detailed dissertation of how it works and I would pretend I understood and listen just to be polite, because I totally don't get electricity. LOL

Primitive Stars said...

Morning, never heard of this but so interesting, Francine.

Far Guy said...

Is that Blake?

Nancy said...

Well, I learned something new today. It's amazing! Glad you had "the talk" with him about curious teenagers.

Leah said...

Very interesting :) Ha, I see Far Guy's comment - Blake? There is that resemblance - has SIL Andy ever had long hair in the day like Blake? :)

Linda said...

Funny post.....you gave me my morning laugh. Good thing you were there with your 911 on speed dial and GOOD advise!

Red said...

These coils are cool. As you can see they create some awesome light shows. The stuff has to be hooked up according to code. The fire chief there? he's a safety fanatic! They all are. Don't worry.

L. D. said...

Ah, he would never tell his Grandma that he was looking at girls in bikinis. He had not thought his answer through though as I bet the plane ride and other stuff was fun for him too.

kathy b said...

Never heard of one. People who can understand things like electricity AMAZE me

Cynthia said...

Good you have the safety aspects covered. In my experience, mad scientists don't think much about that! Nice photo. I didn't know electrical energy was purple.

Terry and Linda said...

Your photo is COOL!!!!

♥ღLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Rita said...

Never heard of that, but it was super cool!! I would want it safe from kids, though, too. Having a mad scientist for a dad is a wonderful thing. They will likely be imaginative human beings! ;)