I observed and learned several things from Tom Vales demo about many topics in science. I will first give an overview of the demo, and then explain what I observed and learned.
Overview
In the demo, Tom Vales set up a Tesla coil as we talked about in previous blogs. The Tesla coil requires electricity to run, but as it runs, it amplifies the electricity. Tom’s coil was vertical, and had a spinning tip (propeller) on the top of it where the electricity collected. He said it was going at 101 khz/second.
In the first part of the demo, he touched various objects to the tip, and the electricity jumped to them. He explained the different effects caused by the different objects. He also showed several electronic historical devices and talked about them.
Three Glass Tubes
Tom used three different glass tubes and touched them to the propeller to see the electricity jump. The first tube was made by his friend out of different colors of glass. It lit up brightly when he touched it to the propeller, but he did not get hurt. He explained this is because of the Skin Effect (described below).
The second the glass tube was a little larger than the previous one, and was clear. Tom explained that there was gas inside the tube. He said that how the tube looks when it touches the propeller depends not only on what gas is in the tube, but how much, the voltage of the electricity, and the shape of the tube. He explained how gas has this property that it expands to fill the entire space it is in, and so the shape of the tube should matter.
This tube was filled with xenon gas, which he described is the same gas as in flashes on cameras. When he touched it to the propeller, it looked like a line of bluish-white lightening was going down the tube toward his hand, and it made a crackling noise.
The third tube he used to demonstrate how you can have the same gas in the whole tube, but if it is a smaller diameter on one part compared to another, the color will be different. This tube was skinnier on one end than the other. When he put it by the propeller, he showed the same gas glowed pink on the skinny side and blue on the thicker side.
The Skin Effect
When he was using the glass tubes with the propeller, he pointed out he could not touch the propeller directly or he would get burned. Using the glass tube, the electricity actually climbs down the tube to his hand but then jumps over his body. He said this is called the Skin Effect.
The Placebo Effect
Tom explained at the time that Tesla coil got popular, there was a lack of medical research and medical treatments that had been proven. Therefore, people offered various things as medical treatments. Many did not work, but people thought they worked because of the “placebo effect”. This is an effect that patients get when they believe they are getting a treatment, even if it’s not real. Just the thought that they are getting treated can make them feel fewer symptoms and like they are getting better. This is why some of the various non-proven medical treatments of the time were accepted as fact and some people believed they really worked.
Violet Ray Machine
Finally, Tom demonstrated one of his many historical Violet Ray Machines. These were machines that produced electricity that traveled down various shaped wands. The wands were supposed to be held by the part of the body that was hurting (such as the throat), and somehow, this was supposed to cure the problem. Each machine came with a set of attachments, and these attachments were suited to different parts of the body. They said it cured coughing, brain damage, or even hemorrhoids, but what was really happening was the Placebo Effect. There were also manuals explaining how to use these for medical treatment, and there were even trainings, conferences, and symposia about it.
Tom demonstrated a few of the attachments. The kit he demonstrated had three electrodes, but he said he had others with many more attachments; one had over 20 attachments. The attachments were glass, and they had a violet-colored lightning bolt that would travel down them. The first one had a comb on it, the hair electrode, and was supposed to be used on one’s head for psoriasis and other skin condition on the head. The second one, a skin electrode, had a flat part at the end for running around the skin. The third one was the shape of the throat, and was used when a patient had a sore throat. He said that when they were available, they could be bought by anyone at a store, and cost about $8.00.
Conclusion
Tom’s demo included using the Tesla coil to show how it generated electricity. He also demonstrated how electricity appears differently in different tubes, and described these historical medical devices. I learned a lot from Tom’s demo, and enjoyed looking at the different colorful lights.