I held an Open day for around 70 invited guests to display my Tesla/high voltage/laser and general physics/science exhibits.
“Continue reading” for more details and photos.
I last held one in 2010 but haven’t since due in part due to lack of new displays and concern re public liability.
Occasional thunderstorms threatened but in the end the weather gods granted excellent weather with a warm 18 – 24 C (64 – 75 F) and not too much wind to upset the smoke machine. Unfortunately, it meant that the 60 something displays were set up late and not all were complete.
Open Day 2014 Highlights:
Musical Tesla coil
A musical Tesla coil was played by Michael Terren (above) with a selection of popular and electronic improvisations. The Tesla coil music was used to play one simple dominant track while the background went through conventional speakers.
The Tesla coil had only arrived 5 days before so little time to test it to music.
An angled earthed rod allows the sparks to ride up it to a degree.
The variegated sparks almost let you see the music.
The musical Tesla coil held the crowd transfixed.
Big Tesla Coil
The show finale has to be this of course for sheer power and awesomeness.
Pool Tesla Coil
Safety wires doing what they should.
“Head in the clouds” is the obvious title. Lost power here so no sparks in the liquid nitrogen fog.
Briefcase Tesla Coil
Liquid Nitrogen
I received a lot of help from the University of WA Physics Dept. who did a very popular liquid nitrogen display.
Blake Segler doing a demo so fast you can hardly see his hands. Thanks to Joe Coletti, Alexander Mazur and Juliet Burridge who also came down from the Physics Dept and to Jay Jay for organising things.
Demos included:
Superconducting flux pinning racetrack
Freezing balloons, lackey bands, fruit
Smashing frozen tomatoes
LN2 poppers
Hand in LN2
My LN2 displays: (* = didn’t get used due to time or incomplete setup)
Banana hammer *
Peltier electricity generating demo*
Meissner effect *
LOx (liquid oxygen) *
Magnetism
Ferrofluid display with light
Iron filings display to complement Ferrofluid
Magnets hand held – try to push these together. Popular
Magnetise/demagnetise. Popular
Magnetic sensor array.
Diamagnetic levitation – magnet in field between bismuth plates.
Diamagnetic levitation with Pyrolytic graphite.
Tesla meter. *
Eddy current demo with copper plate. *
Magnetic viewing film. *
Magnetic putty. *
Laser Display
1 Watt green laser diffused into over 2000 dots, projected onto trees was a wow moment.
The Riley family and the laser display.
Laser Display Case with:
Helium neon lasers x 2
Laser butterfly hologram
Scanning green laser for hand effects
Blu-ray handheld laser with diffraction
Blu-ray with fluorescence of fluorescein and rhodamine
NdYAG laser SSY1 (not running)
Nitrogen laser TEA
Crookes Tube running with green laser
Radioactive display
Contents:
Rotating specimen tray with 12 specimens on a rotating platter
Spinthariscope Home made
HV Alpha detector
Spinthariscope sheet
Irradiated bottles
Amanda is HOT info
UV and Oddities display
10 W UV light in the display case lights up:
Tonic water
Fluorescein
Rhodamine
Scorpion
Uranium marble
Wernerite
Zinc Sulphide (activated)
Strontium Aluminate
Tektite
Fulgurite
Aerogel
Meteorite
Light effects
Ulexite
Fluorescein
Steel wool twirling
Drill and sparkler
Corner cube
Pyramid
Strobe
Fresnel lens *
LED glasses *
Welcome
Talk and some demos in front of the big photos.
Second talk with powerpoint presentation prior to running the big Tesla coil.
Nature photos
Smoke rings
Ancestry
Tesla note
Magazines
Old power supply
Autodose
Bernoulli beer
Bike lights
CD abuse
Kids power supply
Liquid crystal sheets
Bubbles
EE Electronics kit
High Voltage
Free shocks
Magneto running
SCR Cap coilgun driver display
Exploding steel wool *
Exploding Watermelons *
OLD TC *
Microwave TC *
Spiral line gen *
Woodburning fractals *
Media
GWN7 News
South Western Times April 10, 2014 p14
Bunbury Herald social pages April 16, 2014
SBS interview (audio) Go easy on me here. I was awake 5 minutes with a caffeine level approaching zero, to pick up the phone and be told “we are going live”.
Related pages
Open Day 2010 Try something else
LED rope tricks
External links
Photo Date: April 5, 2014