Sparks, Electricity, and High Voltage Fun
To create this effect, we’ll use an igition coil. What’s an ignition coil Well a four stroke engine goes SUCK, SQUEEZE, BANG, BLOW. Literally. The BANG bit utilizes an ignition coil to produce a spark across the spark plug, initiating the power stroke of the engine. These pulses that are applied to the primary coil are magnified and the voltage appearing from the secondary coil can be up to about 40kV. Of course, these puny sparks are nothing compared to tesla coils.
Want more high voltage projects Check out a few of these tutorials. I managed to get the ignition coil for this project for $5 from the local car wreckers. Of course, don’t try this at home, this kind of voltage may kill you. In this above picture, the high voltage terminal is in the center. The sparks race around the insulating plastic around the ground terminal until they reach it.
This is what happens when the wire is brought closer to the board. The sparks are produced much more frequently, as the charges don’t have to build up for as long anymore. So intense that the camera is saturated.
