What is self-inductance?

When an electric current is passed through an

insulated conducting coil, it gives rise to a

magnetic field in the coil so that the coil itself

behaves like a magnet.
flux produced by the current in
The magnetic
the coil is linked with the coil itself.
As the strength of the current in the coil is
changed, the flux linked with the coil also
changes. Under such circumstances an emf is
induced in the coil too. Such emf is called a
self-induced emf and this phenomenon is
known as self-induction.
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Applications of Self-Inductance
There are many applications of self
inductance, one of the major ones being a tesla
coil,
What is a tesla coil
A Tesla coil is a radio frequency oscillator that
drives the air-core double-tuned
resonant transformer to produce high voltages
with low currents.

To understand better, let's define what is a

radio frequency oscillator. Primarily, we are
aware that the electronic oscillator is a device
that produces electrical signals of either a sine
wave or a square wave. This electronic
oscillator produces signals in the radio
frequency range of 20 kHz to 100 GHz,
known as a radio frequency oscillator.

Tesla Coil Working Principle

This coil has the ability to produce output
voltages up to several million volts based upon
the size of the coil. The Tesla coil works on a
principle to achieve a condition
called resonance. Here, the primary coil emits
huge amounts of current into the secondary
coil to drive the secondary circuit with
maximum energy. The fine-tuned circuit helps
to shoot the current from primary to secondary
circuit at a tuned resonant frequency.

Tesla Coil Circuit Diagram

This coil has two main parts - a primary coil

and a secondary coil, with each coil having its

own capacitor. A spark gap connects the coils
and capacitors. The functionality of the spark
gap is to generate the spark to excite the
system.
Torus
Spark Gap
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AC mains Primary Secondary

HV 12
Capacitor

High Voltage
Transformer Elprocus.com

Tesla Coil Working

This coil uses a specialized transformer called
a resonant transformer, a radio-frequency
transformer, or an oscillation transformer.

The primary coil is connected to the power

source and the secondary coil of a transformer
is coupled loosely to ensure that it resonates.
The capacitor connected in parallel with the
transformer circuit acts as a tuning circuit or
an LC circuit to generate signals at a specific
frequency.
The primary of the transformer, otherwise
referred to as a resonant transformer steps up
to generate very high levels of voltage ranging
between 2kv to 30 kV, which in turn charges
the capacitor. With the accumulation of
massive amounts of charge in the capacitor,
eventually, breaks down the air of the spark
gap. The capacitor emits a huge amount of
current through the Tesla Coil (L1, L2), which
in turn generates a high voltage at the output.

Oscillation Frequency
The combination of a capacitor and primary
winding L1' of the circuit forms a tuned
circuit. This tuned circuit ensures that both
primary and secondary circuits are finely
tuned to resonate at the same frequency. The
resonant frequencies of the primary 'f1' and
secondary circuits 12' and are given by,

f1=1/2rVLICI and f2=1/27VL2C2

As the secondary circuit cannot be adjusted,
the moveable tap on L1' is used to tune the
primary circuit till both the circuits resonate at
the same frequency. Therefore, the frequency
of the primary is the same as the secondary.
f 1/27vLIC1 =1/2nvL2C2
The condition for primary and secondary to
resonate at the same frequency is,
LICl=L2C2
The output voltage in the resonant transformeer
does not depend on the number-of-turns ratio
as in ordinary transformer. As soon as the
cycle begins and as the spar sets up, the
primary circuit's energy is stored in the
primary capacitor 'CI and the voltage at
which the spark breaks down is 'V1°'.

W1=1/2CIV1?
Similarly, the energy at the secondary coil is
given by,
W2=1/2C2V22
Assuming there is no loss of energy, W2 =

W1. Simplifying the above equation, we get

V2 V1VC1/C2 = V1VL2/L1
In the above equation, the peak voltage can be
achieved when air breaks down do not occur.
The peak voltage is the voltage at which the
air breaks down and begins to conduct.
Advantages/Disadvantages ofTesla Coil
The advantages are

Allows uniform distribution of voltage

throughout the winding coils.
Builds up the voltage at a slow pace and
hence no damage.
Great performance.
The use of 3-phase rectifiers for higher
powers can offer tremendous load
sharing.

The disadvantages are

Tesla coil poses several health hazards

due to high voltage radio frequency
emission that includes skin burn, damage
to the nervous system and heart.
Involves high costs in buying large DC
smoothing capacitor.
Construction of circuit consumes much
time as it needs to be perfect to resonate
Applications of Tesla Coil
At present, these coils do not require large
complex circuits to produce high voltage.
Nevertheless, small Tesla coils find their
applications in a range of sectors.
Aluminium welding
Cars use these coils for the spark plug
ignition
Created Tesla coil fans, used to generate
artificial lighting, sounds like music
Tesla coils in Entertainment and
Education industry are used as attractions
at clectronics fairs and science museums
High vacuum systems and arc lighters
Vacuum system leak detectors

1). What do Tesla coils do?

This coil is a radio frequency oscillator that
drives a resonant transformer to generate a
high voltage at low current.
2). Can a Tesla coil charge a phone?
Nowadays, smartphones are released with
built-in wireless charging, which uses the
principle of a Tesla coil.
3). Is Tesla coil dangerous?
The coil and its equipment are very dangerous
as they produce very high voltages and
currents which cannot be ensured by the
human body

4). Why do tesla coils make music?

Generally, this coil converts air around it into
a plasma that changes volume and causes the
waves to spread across all the directions,
creating sound/music. This happens at a high
frequency of 20 to 100 kHz.
5). How did Tesla transmit electricity
wirelessly?
A spark gap is used to connect the capacitors
and two coils. As the power is fed in through a
transformer, it produces the necessary current
and powers the entire circuit.
Thus, this is all about an overview of the Tesla
coil that can be used to generate electricity of
high voltage, low current, and high-frequency.
Tesla Coil has the ability to transmit clectricity
wirelessly up to several kilometres. We
ensured that this article gives the reader
insights into the working of the Tesla coil,
advantages and disadvantages, and
applications. Truly, his invention of wireless
transmission of electric energy has changed
the way the world communicates.