More Geek Fun: DIY Ball Lightnin'!
"I have been able to produce ball lightning with my Tesla coils. I have found that the parallel resonant primary circuit seems to work the best. Also the amount of input/output power determines ball size. My first balls were about 1-3mm with a 7500v 30ma xfmr. I got balls to 5mm with a 9000v 30ma xfmr, and up to 1cm at 15kv 60ma. I used a source of carbon, consisting of a small chunk of car tire on a sharp pointed #6 wire. Before I start the coil, I set the car tire on fire."
"I have been able to produce ball lightning with my Tesla coils. I have found that the parallel resonant primary circuit seems to work the best. Also the amount of input/output power determines ball size. My first balls were about 1-3mm with a 7500v 30ma xfmr. I got balls to 5mm with a 9000v 30ma xfmr, and up to 1cm at 15kv 60ma. I used a source of carbon, consisting of a small chunk of car tire on a sharp pointed #6 wire. Before I start the coil, I set the car tire on fire."
