Tesla Transformer for Experimentation and Research

摘要

The Tesla Transformer is an electrical device capable of developing high potentials ranging from a few hundreds of kilovolts up to several megavolts; the voltage is produced as AC, with a typical frequency of 50 - 400 kHz. The Tesla Transformer has been known for more than a century to the scientific community and has been used in several applications. Yet some of the effects involved with its operation, which are pretty unique to this kind of device, and the theory underneath them, still deserve a certain amount of research to be fully explained and justified. This work concentrates on the design and construction of a versatile Tesla Transformer that can be easily used for measurements and general research. The task is, therefore, to minimize the number of stochastic and unknown parameters influencing the device functionality. First, the different possibilities to implement a Tesla Transformer and its power supply are explored, pointing out pros and cons of each solution. Then, a medium-sized apparatus is designed and built using off-the-self components. The theory of operation is described using a classical approach, together with some innovative concepts. A model of the transformer is built using a standard simulation package and a set of preliminary measurements of the main components values. Finally, the model is validated by practical measurements indicating its correctness.