Build a musical Tesla coil!

• Tweet
• Pin It

In this project we will see what Tesla coils (TC) are, how they work, a couple of variations and also how to build one in solid state (SSTC) whose purpose is to play music!

The image below shows the entire system, consisting of 3 main parts: a switching circuit, a rectifier and an interrupter.

By incorporating what is called pulse repetition frequency modulation you can produce a square wave at regular intervals. But how does it play music? Conventional speakers produce sound waves by forcing air, thus creating longitudinal waves at the desired frequency. With TC, the spark heats the surrounding air causing it to expand and when the spark decays and stops, the air cools. As it cools, it contracts. This expansion and contraction of the air creates the longitudinal waves much like a loudspeaker.

More info

Related Posts

• 

  A glove that translates sign language into text
  A glove that translates sign language into text
• 

  “Listen to temperatures” with TinyML
  “Listen to temperatures” with TinyML
• 

  Wifi clock with Bluetooth speaker and spectrum analyzer
  Wifi clock with Bluetooth speaker and spectrum analyzer
• 

  I2C car with Attiny85 and M5StickC controlled by Blynk
  I2C car with Attiny85 and M5StickC controlled by Blynk