DIY Overclocked Plasma Globe. 2500V to a MILLION volts

styropyro November 3, 2018
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styropyro

@styropyro

About

I'm a science maniac that loves building huge lasers and playing with electricity and chemicals. Officially I am a chemist, but I get my hands dirty in all aspects of mad science. When it comes to building stuff, I'm certainly an "old school" kind of maker as I'd rather use a hacksaw and soldering iron than design 3D parts on a computer. I started this channel in 2006 and handle all of the building, filming, and editing by myself. This means you'll never get a set upload schedule. :D What I lack in video editing skills I try to make up with crazy and original content! Need help with a project? Or do you just want to chat about science projects with other tinkerers? If so, join my Discord server! There are TONS of knowledgeable members there, so if I can't help with a question, they can! It really is an amazing community. https://discord.gg/styropyro

Video Description

What started as a simple desire for a brighter plasma globe got carried away and I ended up building a million volt lightning tower of death. social media sillyness: shorts channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/styropyroshorts instagram: https://www.instagram.com/styro.drake patreon: https://www.patreon.com/styropyro discord: https://discord.gg/styropyro I would love to give a big thank you to all my Patreon supporters. I would not continue to make videos if it weren’t for your generous support. I found a good deal for some plasma globes on eBay so I went ahead and bought some. Sure they were interesting, but I quickly realized I needed something much more powerful. After trying the aluminum foil arc trick, I got bored and took it apart. I tried various modifications to the driver, including a MOSFET based interrupter and a ZVS flyback transformer circuit. I even tried using some way overdriven car ignition coils but still was not satisfied. I decided I needed to build a multi-kilowatt tesla coil in order to properly drive the thing. I mean it was Nikola Tesla that invented the plasma globe, so this was the only method that would give his invention justice. I used a quad MOT, asynchronous rotary spark gap based topology. I needed 10 microwave ovens to build the fully ballasted power supply, and most of the other stuff I found at the hardware store. I did need to order capacitors and a secondary coil online. The resulting plasma globe was satisfactory. Giant arcs shoot directly out of the glass. Other plasma globes and light bulbs in the vicinity light up due to the extreme electromagnetic field produced. Plus, most importantly, it can light things on fire. Today I have done something good, and I will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow though, and it’s on the next project… Video inspired by the great photonicinduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMKe2PMenvk Song during microwave teardown is Web Weaver's Dance by Asher Fulero.