by Aneri Shethji

At Carnegie Science Center, the Works Theater houses a giant Tesla coil. You can see a giant contraption that reaches the ceiling, with a powerful electric field that makes a very loud sound. But what is a Tesla coil, and what does it do?

A Tesla coil is a technology that transmits energy. In fact, it generates a huge electrical field that you may utilize to power some electrical appliances. A magnetic field may be created by an electric current passing through a coil and a change in a magnetic field can cause an electric current to flow through another coil. A Tesla coil generates an alternating current to run through a coil, but at a very high voltage and a certain frequency to be able to transport energy farther. Essentially, the Tesla coil was the first step towards achieving wireless power. Phones, laptops, watches, and just about any other technology we use today run on wireless power, and this wireless power was discovered through the Tesla coil.

A man named Nikola Tesla, who was fascinated by electricity, is credited with creating it. He had a keen interest in alternating current devices, which use a unique technique to transfer energy from one object to another. But he also conducted several tests using wireless technologies and power. One of these tests led to the invention of the Tesla coil.

Using a Tesla coil requires a level of care. A huge Tesla coil may produce peak power outputs of several megawatts (a lot of horsepower). Therefore, it should be properly calibrated and used, not just for effectiveness and economy but also for safety. A discharge (spark) or even a sphere of plasma may erupt if faulty tuning causes the highest voltage point to occur along the secondary coil below the terminal, damaging or destroying the coil wire, supports, neighboring items, or anything else in its path.

Without the Tesla coil, we wouldn’t have developed many of the technological luxuries we use today. Today, people have advanced these coils to do all sorts of things, even sing! The next time you visit the Science Center, be sure to check out the Tesla coil!

Source:

“Tesla – Master of Lightning: The Tesla Coil.”  PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,

Dickerson, Kelly. “Wireless Electricity? How the Tesla Coil Works.” LiveScience, Purch, 10 July 2014,

Editor’s note: Nikola Tesla, built the first high-voltage transformer in 1891. Carnegie Science Center’s Tesla coil was created 30 years later by a teenager named George Kaufman, who built it in the attic of his Pittsburgh home. Every time he set it off, the neighbors would experience dramatic electrical interference. In 1950, after some years of taking his Tesla coil on the road for public demonstrations, Kaufman donated his Tesla coil to the Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, where it would often disturb television and radio reception throughout Pittsburgh’s North Side, much as it did in Kaufman’s neighborhood. The Tesla coil was the main attraction in the Buhl’s lobby, where it was marketed as the “man-made lightning show.” In 1991, nearly a decade after Kaufman’s death, his creation found its current home in the newly built Carnegie Science Center.

Scientific Peer Review by Alysia Mandato

Aneri Shethji:

Aneri Shethji is a 10th grader at North Allegheny Intermediate High School. She is very passionate about science and writing and enjoys getting involved with the community. In her free time, Aneri spends time with friends and family and loves getting outside. She can’t wait to learn more about all that science has to offer, and help others learn it too!