Tesla Coils are awesome

After building a vandergraph generator, which worked rather well, I have looked at making one of the many other high voltage static generators out there. I really want to build a wimhurst, and eventually will, however I really want a Tesla Coil, because they are amazing. They are so powerful the intense electric field around them can light up fluorescent bulbs from a few inches to a few feet away depending on the size. The one big drawback to Tesla coil is they need an outside power-source, usually a high-voltage transformer of some kind, as well as other electronic components, so in reality it is not quite a static generator, but still amazing machines! If I ever find plans for a simple low power one I will definitely start building it.

I love the video above because it demonstrates a simple Tesla coil very well, plus I can not stop laughing every time it starts up, creates a static buz, and then BOOM (At 00:24). This is the first one I have heard do this.

Other people have done amazing things with Tesla coils, such as adjusting the frequency to play music on them!