PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT

GURU SARAN V S
XII - B
 INDEX
PG NO.
INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3

AIM, APPARATUS, THEORY, CIRCUIT DIAGRAM -------------------------- 4

PROCEDURE & OBSERVATION ----------------------------------------------- 5

RESULT, PRECAUTION & SOURCES OF ERROR -------------------------- 6

APPLICATIONS OF SELF INDUCTANCE ------------------------------------- 6

TESLA COIL WORKING PRINCIPLE ------------------------------------------ 7

TESLA COIL CIRCUIT DIAGRAM --------------------------------------------- 7

TESLA COIL WORKING -------------------------------------------------------- 8

OSSILATION FREQUENCY ---------------------------------------------------- 8

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES OF TESLA COIL ----------------------- 9

APPLICATION OF TESLA COIL ------------------------------------------------ 9

INTRODUCTION :-

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.
• The magnetic flux produced by the current in 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
AIM :-
To study the factor on which the self inductance of a coil depends by observing
the effect of this coil, when put in series with a resistor (bulb) in a circuit fed up
by an A.C. source of adjustable frequency.

APPARATUS :-
A coil of large turns, a.c. source of adjustable frequency, an electrical bulb , (6V)
a.c. ammeter of suitable range rheostat , a soft iron rod, one way key,
connecting wires etc

THEORY :-
Self inductance is the property of a coil which opposes the change in current
through it. The self inductance of a coil (long solenoid) is
L=µ0µrN 2A/ l
Where µr, = Relative magnetic permeability of magnetic material,
µr = µ/ µ0
N = Total number of turns in solenoid
A = Area of cross-section of solenoid
L = Length of Solenoid.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM :-
PROCEDURE :-
1. Make all connections as shown in the circuit diagram.
2. Switch on the a.c. supply & adjust the current in the circuit by using the
variable resistor (Rh).
3. Record the current in a.c. ammeter & seethe brightness of bulb.
4. Now, put the soft iron rod inside the conductor core & record the current in
a.c. ammeter & again check the brightness of bulb. The current & brightness
both decreases.
5. Now, switch off the supply & decrease the frequency of a.c. source (say 50
Hz).
6. Again switch on the supply & adjust the current in circuit at same constant
voltage 6 V by using the rheostat. Note the current in ammeter & brightness of
bulb. The current & brightness both will increase.
7. Again insert the iron rod in the core of coil & note the current & brightness.
The current & brightness both decreases.
8. Repeat the steps 5, 6 and 7 for different frequency of a.c. source.

OBSERVATIONS :-
1. Least count of ammeter = 0.05 A.
2. Zero error of ammeter = 0 A.
3. Range of ammeter = 0 – 5 A
RESULT :-
1. The current in the circuit decrease on inserting the iron rod in the core of
coil at constant frequency of applied voltage &brightness of bulb
decreases & vice-versa.
2. The current in the circuit increases on decreasing the frequency of
applied voltage & vice-versa. Therefore, the brightness of bulb increases.

PRECAUTIONS :-
1. The coil should have large number of turns.
2. Current should be passed for a small time to avoid the heating effect.

SOURCES OF ERRORS :-
1. The resistance of circuit may increases lightly due to heating effect of
current.
2. There may be eddy current in soft iron coil.

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.
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 ‘f2’ and are given by,
f1=1/2π√L1C1 and f2=1/2π√L2C2
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 = 1/2π√L1C1 =1/2π√L2C2
The condition for primary and secondary to resonate at the same frequency is,
L1C1= L2C2
The output voltage in the resonant transformer 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 ‘C1’ and the voltage at which the spark breaks down is ‘V1’.
W1=1/2C1V12
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 = V1√C1/C2 = V1√L2/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 of Tesla 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
electronics 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 electricity 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.