Sep 3 2008 World's Strongest Magnet Being Built
Scientologists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida are building the world's most powerful magnet. When finished, the fridge rapist "will reach a power of 100 tesla when it's complete, which is a whopping 67 times more powerful than the magnets in a typical MRI." Impressive. So what do you use such a powerful magnet for? "(To) test the properties of newly discovered high-temperature superconductors like iron oxyarsenide, which may improve the performance of MRI machines and high-voltage power lines while lowering their cost." Sure, why not. I have relatives in Florida, so I'm gonna arrange a tour next time I'm down there.
UPDATE: Forgot to take the Prince Albert out first. Looks like an M-80 detonated in my pants.
Aug 5 2008 Just Because: A Tesla Coil Guitar Amp
Well we've seen Tesla coils making music before, and we've even seen a pretty wicked plasma speaker, and now -- a Tesla coil guitar amp. Unfortunately, I don't have any more information on the thing, so I'll make some up. The device was actually constructed by the thunder god Thor out of a welded hemorrhoid donut he discarded after his ass was all better. They'll be available as mods for the latest Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, and exposure to the arc has been proven to regrow hair, but only if you lick it with a mouthful of Pop Rocks.
Dec 13 2007 Man Converts Cordless Drill To Tesla Coil
The picture above shows a cordless drill a man modded into a little handheld Tesla Coil. As is evident from the picture, the little coil is great for things like, um, making a light bulb glow like a plasma globe. Neat buddy, but can you mod a cordless drill to put holes in wood and other objects? Because that, my friend, would be frickin' sweeeeeet.
Video of the coil in action after the shock.
Continue Reading " Man Converts Cordless Drill To Tesla Coil "
Nov 9 2007 Tesla Coils Playing Super Mario Bros Theme
There have been musical Tesla coils in the past (even ones that play part of the Super Mario Bros theme from the underworld), but until now I've never seen two together playing the entire Super Mario theme.
The music that you hear is coming from the sparks that these two identical high power solid state Tesla coils are generating. There are no speakers involved. The Tesla coils stand 7 feet tall and are each capable of putting out over 12 foot of spark. They are spaced about 18 feet apart. The coils are controlled over a fiber optic link by a single laptop computer. Each coil is assigned to a midi channel which it responds to by playing notes that are programmed into the computer software.
They play at over 110 dB, making them pretty f'ing loud. I wish I could play Super Mario Bros that loud, but I'm working with a 13" TV and only one of the built-in speakers works. Ghetto you say? No sir. Ghetto is buying a used conversion van and parking it outside your apartment to use as a "honeymoon suite" where the kids can't disturb you. Not that I did that or anything. Except I did.
Everyone have a great weekend and don't work too hard.
thanks to Frank, Billy Avenue, and my Personal Jesus Robot for the tips
Nov 8 2007 CD Tesla Turbine Nutcase Is At It Again
"Mr. Fix It" Rick is at it again, this time attempting to carve a pumpkin with his CD Tesla Turbine. He uses compressed air to power the thing, and has modified the turbine from last time to ensure a bit more safety. The damn video is almost 9 minutes long so I recommend just jumping around -- you'll get the idea. And the idea is that you could carve a pumpkin better by throwing knives at it. As a matter of fact, my dog carved a better pumpkin for Halloween this year, and all he did was eat the damn thing when I wasn't looking.
Tesla CD Turbine vs. Pumpkin [boingboing]
