Tesla Coils: A Shocking Hobby
A Lecture by: Brent Turner
Video
Report (6.9 MB) On November 13,
lightning struck inside Michigan Tech's Rosza Center. The MTU Entertainment
Board sponsored a lecture by Brent Turner, a man who has an electrifying
hobby. Check out the video for some of the night's highlights as Turner
demonstrates his Tesla Coils. Imagine the sight, sound and
smell of millions of volts of electrical power The high frequency nature of
the current generated by the coil is part of the If you've ever seen the dramatic
lightning flashes in the 1931 classic movie of Frankenstein starring Boris
Karloff, you've seen the first use of Tesla coils in movie making. This
paved the way for bigger, better, and more dramatic lightning flashes
for the dozens of Frankenstein movies and hundreds of horror movies that
have been made since then. The most popular use for Tesla Coils is still
as special effects in the film industry when spectacular lightning flashes
are required.
before your very eyes! Brent Turner is a man who has what he describes
as a shocking hobby — he plays with lightning. And he enjoys the
sensation of having a million volts of electrical power at his fingertips.
In spite of all that power, he lives to tell the tale! Turner has a background
in electrical engineering with a specialty in Tesla Coils, a technology
pioneered over 100 years ago by the Croatian-born inventor, Nikola Tesla.
As a grand finale to his lecture about Tesla Coils, Turner demonstrates
the amazing results possible when he has millions of volts of electricity
available. The high frequency nature of the current generated by the coil
is part of the reason why he remains unhurt following the extraordinary
lightning bolts that spring from his fingers. However, he does caution
novices never to attempt such a stunt. The most popular use for Tesla
Coils has been as special effects in the film industry when spectacular
lightning flashes are required.
reason why Brent remains unhurt following the extraordinary lightning
bolts that spring from his fingers at his demonstrations. However, he
does caution novices never to attempt such stunts. Brent has been investigating
and building Tesla coils since his high school days, but it was only after
he had studied Tesla's own demonstrations that he attempted the "Lightning
Guy" stunt, one of the most dangerous and elusive stunts ever performed.
