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From the Cabinet of Physics: Induction Coils Provide the Spark of Inquiry

By Bill Higgins  |  6 May 2016

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This entry is part 16 of 23 in the series From the Cabinet of Physics

Today the curators bring us three devices from the shelves of the Cabinet of Physics. All are induction coils, sometimes called “spark coils.” Each is a transformer. Each takes a low voltage, with input interrupted in on-and-off-and-on-and-off fashion, and converts it to a much higher voltage, high enough to produce a series of substantial sparks across an air gap.

Induction coils become supporting players in a number of other videos from the Cabinet. The pulsed high voltage produced by these induction coils is a useful tool for investigating complex electrodynamic and electromagnetic phenomena that featured prominently in late 19th-century physics. One example is the colorful Geissler discharge tube we see as the third coil, the mighty Ruhmkorff coil, is demonstrated. The high-voltage pulses pass through low-pressure gas sealed within the glass tube.

The Foundation for Science and Technics, or Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica, of Florence, Italy, has made available many videos exploring the Cabinet of Physics, a large collection of antique scientific demonstration instruments.  The Foundation’s homepage may be found here, and its Youtube channel, florencefst, here.

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More Posts in this Series:
"From the Cabinet of Physics"

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

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69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

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15  |  From the Cabinet of Physics: Seven Mirrors and a Spectrum

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17  |  From the Cabinet of Physics: The Thunder House

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18  |  From the Cabinet of Physics: Lissajous Figures, Old Style

By Bill Higgins  |  22 Apr 2016

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