Jacob's ladder

[zachtheterrible]

I just built an extremely simple and crude jacob's ladder. Step up transformer connected to two wires in the shape of a V. I haven't actually tested it yet cuz my dad doesn't want me to cuz he's afraid i'm gonna start the house on fire (chuckle chuckle). Anyways, I connected a 9 volt battery to the two primary leads into the transformer, and when i touched the two leads, i got a tiny shock. I'm guessing that this is because the primary lead of the transformer is acting like a inductor, and storing the charge. Is this true? And when I do what I am doing, does current stop flowing, or am I shorting out the battery?

 

[diode]

So you connected the 9v battery directly to the primary of the transformer? In that case you will not be able to get an output, your battery provides DC but a transformer requires AC.

Regarding the tiny shock I assume you got this when you touched the wires while they were being disconnected from the transformer. This is regular behaviour with inductors.

If you want to think it in simple way an inductor wants to keep the current flowing trough it constant, so if you had a battery connected and suddently disconnect it this current will tend to go to zero, so the inductor will generate a voltage across it as high as it is capable in an effort to keep current trough it running. Needles to say that it will not suceed and soon run out of stored enrrgy, but it has time to generate a little pulse at high voltage.


Coming to your jacob's ladder you will need to find some circuit, and appropriate transformer, there are many in the net. Possibly those so called "plasma lamps" should do.