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Fun with a few 9V batteries. (244 of them) @ The Custom Geek… [via]
So I needed a break from working on a project again, and I remembered that I had a bunch of 9V batteries and thought, ‘I wonder if that would be enough voltage to hold an arc?‘. The answer is yes, it would. So I made a little video of melting some alligator clips and crispifying some LED’s, a CD, and a cap. Or at least trying to blow up the cap, that was one tough cookie..
I used 244 9V batteries, that were not new, but not dead. When you do the math, this should be 2,196 Volts, but that is when they are new. I measured (in blocks) 2,000 volts total. Lots of sparky..
Fun with a few 9V batteries. (244 of them) - [Link]
Teravolt.org – DIY High Voltage Capacitors… [via]
Sure making a cap out of paper is fun and all, but making a high voltage one is even more fun!
You don’t need lots of money to make high voltage capacitors, in fact some pretty decent ones can be made with some cheap and readily available materials. This is because capacitors are very simple devices; consisting only of a dielectric and two plates. Most often a capacitor’s plates are just aluminum foil, and reynold’s wrap is easy enough to obtain, but what about the dielectric?
Enter the overhead projector sheet. Transparencies as they are commonly known as are nothing but acetate film, and while this is not the ideal dielectric for a capacitor it still does quite a good job. Typically a four mil OHP sheet can withstand 14kV before breaking down. As for obtaining them, the cheapest I have found these sheets is $10 for a box of 100, enough for about 16 capacitors.
How you make the capacitors is a rather trivial task, all that needs to be done is some cutting, flattening and rolling. Below I have an image that explains the process. Multiple sheets of OHP sheet are used to increase the capacitor’s voltage rating, and two sets of sheets are used so the capacitor can be rolled up.
DIY High Voltage Capacitors – [Link]
www.microsyl.com writes:
After doing the Scope clock project I was feeling in an “antique mood”. So I bought some big nixie tubes on eBay from Russia and also I bought the nixie tube driver. It’s a 74141 and it can handle 200 volts!
Nixie Clock – [Link]
petercd writes:
Two models will be shown, one full-wave rectified and the other a half-wave rectified negative ion ionizer. Featuring an optional fan on the full-wave model.
Benefits of negative ions supposedly include
• freshen and purify the air
• help lift mood
• alleviate depression including winter depression(SAD)
• eliminate most tiny particles suspended in the air (indoors)
How to Make a Negative Ion air ionizer – [Link]
megavolts.nl writes:
This is a high power switch which can be used to switch almost anything. It is designed to enable / shorting large capacitor banks for maximum energy transfer. Applications: Can Crusher, Disc Launcher, Rail Gun, etc.
High power pneumatic switch – [Link]
hackhut.com writes:
As soon as I heard about the 555 timer contest, I knew I had to come up with something inspiring! My buddy Jay recently introduced me to Nixie Tubes, and I thought… hmm, how can I use a tube and the 555 timer? I noodled on it for a while, and ultimately came up with the notion of a KEYCHAIN! Simple really, take the smallest Nixie Tube that displays digits, and make it display a ’5′ in the smallest package possible and put it on a keychain. That was the idea… and it took quite a journey to complete.
A Nixie Tube Keychain – [Link]
Welding with a buzz-box (AC arc welder) is much easier if you don’t have to scratch-start the arc. A high-frequency start circuit puts a high voltage (AC) in series with the low-voltage high-current welder output. Then, when the welding electrode is brought near the work, the high voltage (HV) ionizes the air and creates a path for the low-voltage and high-current arc.
High-Frequency Start Box – [Link]
