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Build a Mini Coil

Scientist invented Mini . Inventor Nikola Tesla contributed to the development of the alternating-current electrical system that has widely used today and discovered the rotating (the basis of most AC machinery).

Scientist Nikola Tesla

Mini Tesla Coil is a very interesting model, which is a very high wireless power transmission system.

Materials Required:

1. PVC Pipe 2. Insulated Wire 3. Wire 4. PN2222 5. 22K Ohms Resistance 6. 9V 6F22 Battery 7. Snapper 8. ON-OFF Switch 9. Card Board. 10. LED 11. CFL Lamp 12. Vero Board 13. Solder Wire Fig-1. Shows the circuit diagram of a mini Tesla Coil.

Working of a Tesla coil:

Before we start building the Tesla coil, it is very important to know how it works. Only then, we will be able to build and debug one successfully. The Tesla coil works with the principle of Electromagnetic Induction. According to which, when a conductor is placed under a varying magnetic field, a small current will be induced inside the conductor. For a Tesla coil, this conductor will be called as the secondary coil and the varying magnetic field will be produced by the primary coil by passing an oscillating current through the primary coil.

It might sound a bit confused, but let us proceed with the circuit diagram where things will be made much clear.

Circuit Diagram: The circuit diagram of Mini Tesla Coil Project given below is very simple. So let us understand how it works and learn how to build it. The main component in this circuit is the secondary coil (golden color), which is made by winding a magnetic wire (enameled) around a cylindrical object (any non-conductive object will work). A high current transistor like 2N2222 is used to supply current through the primary coil (violet color). A 9V battery as shown above powers the whole set up. The positive end of the battery reaches the collector of Transistor through the primary coil, and the emitter is grounded. This means that whenever the transistor conducts, current is flown through the primary coil. The LED diode and one end of the secondary coil is also connected to base of transistor to make the circuit oscillate, this way the transistor will send a oscillating current into primary coil. If you want get more technical and learn how the current oscillates, we can Google for “Slayer Exciter Circuit”.

So, with this arrangement we have a primary coil, which will have an oscillating current, and hence will produce a carrying magnetic flux around it. Now, this coil is wound around the secondary coil and hence a according to law of electromagnetic induction a will be induced in the secondary coil. Since the number of turns in the secondary coil is very large than primary coil, this voltage will be a very and hence this coil will have a very strong electric flux around it that is powerful enough to glow normal CFL bulbs and is used in Wireless Power Transmission.

Winding the Secondary Coil:

One very important step in this project is winding the secondary coil. It is a time consuming process and hence do not rush ourselves in this part. First, we will need a magnetic coil, which is also called as enameled coil wire. These wires can be found inside relays coils, and even motors. We can either reuse one or buy ourselves a new one. The thinner the wire is the better the results will be. Once we are ready with the magnetic wire, we will need a cylindrical object. The only rule while selecting this object is that it should not be conductive, we can select PVC pipes, cardboard roll or even stack 4-5 A4 sheets together and roll them up. The diameter of the cylinder can be anywhere between 5cm to 10cm, and the length should be at least 10cm. The longer the object is more number of turns it can fit in. After getting the coil and cylindrical object, it is time to start the winding process, just wind few turn and use a tape to secure the winding initially and then proceed with the complete winding. Make sure we follow the below tips while winding 1. Wind the coils as close as possible 2. Do not overlap one coil turn over another 3. Try to get a minimum of 150 turns; a value of 300 turns will be typically good.

Procedure:  Take one PVC pipe nearly 5-6 inch length and make one solenoid using the insulated copper wire (33 no,).  Turns will be nearly 600 to 700 for better result and one end is to be connected to the base of the transistor as shown in the figure.

Fig 3 shows the materials required for the experiment.  Take one wire and make the primary coil (3 turns only). Connect one LED in reverse bias.  Complete the circuit as shown in the diagram.  Switch ON the circuit and hold a CFL lamp near the coil.  Lamp will glow without and direct connection.  If it does not works change the direction of the primary coil.

Real life application: HV voltage generator, Spark Plug in automobile, High Frequency R.F Generator, Vacuum system leak detectors, tesla coil also induces high-density flux etc.