214 lines
12 KiB
Standard ML
214 lines
12 KiB
Standard ML
..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..
|
||
O O
|
||
O How to Construct a High Voltage Jacob's Ladder O
|
||
O by O
|
||
O ..oooOO Count Zero OOooo.. O
|
||
O O
|
||
..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..oo..
|
||
|
||
|
||
Greetings...I assume all of you have at one point seen the old Frankenstein
|
||
movies where the lab is filled with an assortment of electronic gadgets, all
|
||
of them sparking and hissing furiously...Well, if you remember, one of these
|
||
consisted of a V-shaped piece of wire, where a spark would form at the base of
|
||
the V and slowly crawl up the wires, expanding until it reached the top..where
|
||
it would bow out and disappear while a new spark formed back at the base...
|
||
Such a device is known as a Jacob's Ladder (from the Bible, I think, where this
|
||
dude named Jacob has a vision of Angels climbing some celestial, firey ladder)
|
||
and was designed especially for special effects use in Frankenstein movies...
|
||
|
||
|
||
ANYWAY, such a device is SIMPLE to create, and the total cost is only about
|
||
$50....but FIRST I want to explain the theory behind its operation (what's the
|
||
use in building something if you have no CLUE why it works?!?). The term
|
||
VOLTAGE refers to potential, or like water pressure (a decent analogy).......
|
||
CURRENT refers to electrical flow, or like the volume of water flowing thru a
|
||
pipe...a DIELECTRIC is something that resists the flow of electricity until a
|
||
high enough VOLTAGE is created, sort of like fish clogging a pipe until the
|
||
water pressure builds enough to BLAST the fish and rush thru (hehehe..mebbe I
|
||
should have been a plumber)...OK...well, AIR is a DIELECTRIC...and when two
|
||
points in space build up enough VOLTAGE between them, a spark jumps between
|
||
them (like lightning)..AIR is a tough dielectic...it takes about 1 thousand
|
||
volts to create a spark only 1 millimeter long!...BUT..just because you have
|
||
a high voltage DOESN'T mean your CURRENT is large...remember rubbing your feet
|
||
on rugs in the library then going up to the class dweeb and touching his arm?
|
||
Remember that spark that jumped from your finger?..well, you built up a VOLTAGE
|
||
of about 2 thousand volts (2 mm distance, usually)..but the CURRENT was very
|
||
LOW...remember, HIGH VOLTAGE does not always mean HIGH CURRENT...
|
||
High currents KILL....a car battery, with only about 12 Volts, packs some
|
||
SERIOUS current...enough to kill you QUICKLY....while that spark from your
|
||
finger packed HIGH VOLTAGE..but no killing current....remember the old maxim
|
||
|
||
"Volts jolt, but mills (as in milliAmps) KILL" *
|
||
|
||
*Unfortunately, when you get up to a Voltage in excess of 10 thou, it IS
|
||
enough to kill you...several times over..
|
||
|
||
|
||
BTW, Amps are the measure of current magnitude...
|
||
|
||
|
||
Now, a Jacob's Ladder works by building up a Voltage of AT LEAST 10 thousand
|
||
Volts at the base of the V...this initial spark will heat and ionize the air
|
||
directly above it, REDUCING the BREAKDOWN Voltage (normally 1kV/1mm) of this
|
||
air..........basically, it becomes easier for the spark to form in
|
||
this heated, ionized air, and the spark CLIMBS up the ladder..while the spark
|
||
gets LONGER AND LONGER (as a result of the reduced breakdown voltage).......
|
||
This spark grows longer and climbs, hissing and writhing between the wires
|
||
..... until it reaches the top of the V and bows out, extinguishing itself..
|
||
after which another spark immediately forms back at the base.....got it? good.
|
||
|
||
ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION....simple...ALL you need is a high voltage transformer..
|
||
this transformer will BOOST the Voltage of your house current from 120V to
|
||
10kV or higher...but, "Where can I get a high voltage transformer?"...simple..
|
||
find a Neon sign manufacturer/seller and ask them if they have any OLD Neon
|
||
sign transformers lying around...tell the dude you NEED an OLD one that has
|
||
an output of AT LEAST 10 thousand Volts...the Current output doesn't matter..
|
||
DO NOT buy a NEW Neon sign transformer...it will not work properly..new Neon
|
||
signs typically use transformers of a low output Voltage, and the Voltage is
|
||
later stepped up with an array of capacitors, etc....SO...if you're lucky,
|
||
the guy will pull out this black, oily, rectangular thing (probably will look
|
||
like a battery)...with 2 ceramic standoffs (those things you shoot with BB guns
|
||
on top of power lines..)..these ceramic standoffs are the OUTPUT...look for 3
|
||
bolts..they will be the INPUT...(and ground)...ASK THE GUY to TRY THE THING...
|
||
make sure he tests it before you buy it...don't get ripped off...OK..now,
|
||
you've got this thing...what do you do?...FIRST..clean it up a bit...if it is
|
||
leaking oil a bit, seal any leaks...this oil inside is NECESSARY to dissipate
|
||
heat...NOW...get TWO coat hangers....straighten them up...attach them to the
|
||
ceramic standoffs like this...
|
||
|
||
----- X - 4"- X
|
||
| X X
|
||
| X X
|
||
12" X X
|
||
| X X <------------------ coathangers
|
||
-------- X X
|
||
X X
|
||
X X
|
||
I I
|
||
OOO OOO <------------ ceramic standoffs (OUTPUT)
|
||
---------------
|
||
| |
|
||
| transformer |
|
||
| |oooooooooooooooooooooE
|
||
| | ^cord and plug to wall socket
|
||
---------------
|
||
|
||
|
||
The hangers at the base of the V should be about 0.5" apart...Bend the hangers
|
||
with a pair of needle nose pliers...
|
||
|
||
|
||
The CRITICAL thing here is the distance and angle of the coathangers....you
|
||
will have to play with them to get them right...the distances given are
|
||
approximations......when you get the distances right, the spark should
|
||
climb all the way to the top..!
|
||
|
||
OK..."How do I plug this sucker in?..is it safe for my house?..will I blow
|
||
every fuse on the block?"...first of all, it drains only as much juice as
|
||
an average TV set, so it won't blow any fuses..but it WILL fuck up radio
|
||
and television broadcasts.....(fun with the neighbors!!!!)
|
||
|
||
The next thing to do is make a trip to Radio Hack and buy a 3-prong
|
||
plug...YOU MUST GET A 3 PRONG....with exposed wires ..like this...
|
||
|
||
|
||
oooXXX ....... < to input
|
||
plug > ooo XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX./....... < to input
|
||
oooXXX \............ < to ground
|
||
|
||
|
||
Attach this cord to your transformer...be sure to ground this sucker!...if you
|
||
aren't sure about which is the input and ground, ASK THE DUDE YOU BUY IT FROM!!
|
||
Wrap all exposed wires on this cord with electrician's tape...(heheh..DON'T
|
||
WRAP the coathangers..they need to be BARE)
|
||
If your coathangers have paint on 'em, sand it off....
|
||
|
||
OK..now..PLUG IT IN?...NO...also buy at Radio Hack one of those surge
|
||
suppressing power strips..the kind with a switch built in..ok...plug the
|
||
strip in..make sure it is OFF...then plug in the transformer cord...then stand
|
||
back and turn it on..probably, nothing will happen...UNPLUG the transformer
|
||
and adjust the coathangers (move 'em a bit closer)..try, try again..you will
|
||
eventually get it right!..
|
||
|
||
WARNING: I don't think I need to tell you how DANGEROUS this thing is...as long
|
||
as you remain AT LEAST 3 feet away from it, you are in no danger...transformers
|
||
don't blow up....they are very simple devices...BUT, as the sucker is sparking,
|
||
you might notice a strange smell in the air..this is OZONE, produced by the
|
||
ionization..OZONE is DEADLY to humans..at least when it is inhaled....this
|
||
is the same smell you notice after an electrical storm..ALSO, Ultraviolet
|
||
light is produced during the spark's creation...if you STARE at this thing all
|
||
night, your corneas will be phucked up...so if you must, wear UV shades..!
|
||
|
||
A note of warning.....high voltage like this will cause every muscle in your
|
||
body to contract...since this is AC high voltage, they will contract
|
||
spastically...let me illustrate...
|
||
|
||
"Bob sets up his c00l new Jacob's ladder at a party...Wayne is amazed by it and
|
||
reached out to adjust the coathangers...when he gets within about an INCH of
|
||
hangers, a brilliant blue spark jumps to his hand...Wayne's hand spastically
|
||
clamps shut on the coathangers...all the muscles in his body contract
|
||
violently...with a gutteral scream, his diaphram expells all air from his
|
||
lungs..he empties his bowels, as well as shits his pants...his brain shuts
|
||
down within seconds, but his muscles keep fibrillating...his heart merely
|
||
quivers in his chest, as Waynes eyeballs turn opaque and wither....if Wayne
|
||
is lucky, his leg spasms propell him away from the transformer..breaking the
|
||
connection..but he probably will land on the floor already dead"..
|
||
|
||
Get the picture?
|
||
|
||
I don't want to scare anyone off, but this IS a SERIOUS device..not a CUTE
|
||
PLASMA SPHERE..not a mythical Blotto box...this thing is REAL and WILL WORK..
|
||
but you must use it carefully and with respect...if you do, you have nothing
|
||
to worry about...heck, it's probably safer to use than to drive down the
|
||
Interstate!....just don't leave it on for more than 5 or 10 min. at a time..
|
||
otherwise it may overheat a bit...
|
||
|
||
OK...now you have it...what do you do with it?...show it off at Halloween
|
||
parties....impress your friends...impress your enemies...use it as a project
|
||
for a Science class....generate ozone to replenish the Earth's ozone layer...
|
||
turn it on, turn out all the lights, and marvel at the POWER of electricity..
|
||
we forget what electricity looks like in its RAW form....make it part of an
|
||
art project..a monument to the age of electonics!
|
||
|
||
..oooOOooo..
|
||
|
||
Some Neon sign manufacturers that PROBABLY have such transformers
|
||
in the Boston area (I live in Boston) include
|
||
|
||
Neon Williams
|
||
93 Hano St., Allston
|
||
617/783-9680
|
||
617/547-7001
|
||
|
||
Jim Did it Signs
|
||
465 Cambridge St., Allston
|
||
617/728-2410
|
||
|
||
The price for an OLD Neon sign transformer should be about $40-50....
|
||
Look in the yellow pages under "Neon Signs"..make some phone calls..
|
||
you shouldn't have too much of a problem locating one....
|
||
|
||
Well, it's been PHUN, dudes...this is my first textfile about high-voltage
|
||
gizmos...I plan to write more...too many textfiles out there are full
|
||
of SH!T or outdated or BOTH in regards to electronic devices...I plan
|
||
to try and remedy that situation...I know what I'm talking about..and
|
||
I BUILD everything I talk about....if you have any questions, contact
|
||
me at any decent board in MA.....
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Special Greetings to Darby, JT, Muppet, Magic Man,Madmike, Falcon, George Bush,
|
||
FBI Agent, Canine, Plutus, Old Pink, the Knight, and anyone else I forgot..
|
||
|
||
Call ATDT!...Life w/out ATDT isn't worth living! (617)PRI-VATE
|
||
|
||
Keep the faith, share the knowledge, and drink Jolt cola...
|
||
|
||
..................................
|
||
|
||
..oooOO Count Zero OOooo..,MCWS
|
||
|
||
..................................
|
||
|
||
|