NSM said:
I think someone asked the wrong question. It sure wasn't me.
N
Good point, not all "tesla coils" are created equal. Those made from TV
flybacks can burn you fiercly: frequency and voltage are too low,
coupling too good, current too high. Some of the Odin coil types and
those built from auto ignition coils (practically the same thing) can
pack a wallop too. Most of the "classic" air-coupled teslas are
harmless, though as has been pointed out they can sting and cause little
welts if the spark lands on bare skin. It depends more on operating
freqancy than voltage.
And I played the tap on the shoulder trick holding a TV anode cable in
high school too. The trick was to get hold of the anode before the set
was switched on, so the voltage ramped up and instantaneous current was
low. It was a long time ago, but as I recall if you had clean rubber
soled sneakers, you could charge up at the set and capacitively carry a
nice pow over to the victim, remote from the set. Is my mind playing
tricks on me? The capacitances and voltages involved don't seem high
enough at first glance, though I clearly remember us torturing each
other as kids with charges accumulated from shuffling on the carpet. On
a good dry day with some expert shuffling a tap on the victim's cheek
could _really_ hurt as well as startle.
I also spent quite a bit of time squeezing train transformer secondary
wires convinced it would make me some sort of superman.
-Jeff