What for can you describe what it is there are alternatives to a length of red hot wire to produce a glow that don't have the inherent fire risks.
For example have you considered electroluminescent wire ? this can be run off a battery or small wall adapter with a suitable inverter easily and...
If your upto what i think you might be upto (my guess is a hot wire for cutting through polystyrene n stuff) your not going to get the currents required from something as small as a film can. Your best bet is a bench supply with a decent current capability. Or the cheap hacked PC PSU which can...
NO, that simple, if your not sure what your doing then don't do it whenever mains potential is involved.
CFL transformers actually step the voltage UP not down to ionise the gas inside them, so it sounds like your heading for a world of hurt.
I suggest you get a voltage and current limited...
http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Standalone
http://www.instructables.com/id/Programming-Arduino-Bootloader-without-External-Pr/?ALLSTEPS
Google is your friend :)
Well that's good so you have a grounding in electronics ohms laws ect basic drive circuits. C/C++ isn't hard just convoluted if you have no programming experience , basic is more human readable and really easy to learn. If you have worked with OOP languages then C++ is not to huge a step but...
Just to note the AMICUS compiler I mentioned is FREE and the file it produces is a HEX for 18F25K20 ,, the hardware is open. you don't have to buy an AMICUS board ,, you could etch your own or just stick a 18K25K20 into a breadboard , compile your Hex in AMICUS compiler and just drop it on the...
Pickit3 is probably the easiest and cheapest ,, tho pickit2 was better IMHO but newer devices are all supported on PicKit3. Great Cheap programmer.
Then Pic a language , if your new to programming go for a basic compiler Proton Development Suite is hard to beat, lots of examples support on the...
I doub't a simple phase copping dimmer like the Ebay link would do. For AC pumps you really want a VF (variable frequency drive).
You could buy a Blue Eco pump which is a super high efficiency BLDC (Brush-less DC pump) which comes with a BLDC driver and can go any speed by just using either...