The Steampunk Tribune is loaded with beautiful artwork and clever ideas. This video, featured on that site, is 4 minutes long and worth the time. The music is perfectly suited to the scenery. I like the mechanical shrimp the best. What a wonderfully beautiful and impractical invention! Glorious!
I loved the Jacob's Ladders. I was sad to see them disappear from sci-fi and horror movies. Replaced by blinking lights and sparking. No contest. The electrical arcs were much, much better.
ReplyDeleteI made one when I was a kid, and - for all you proud papas out there - it's a great Dad/kid project. All you really need is a neon sign transformer, some stiff wire, and odds and ends. Switch it on and shout "BWAAA-HAHAHAHA!"
Instructions here.
Awesome! Thanks for showing us that link.
ReplyDeleteThat's one thing that makes me sad about the replacement of CRT displays with flat-screens: the loss of a source of cheap high-voltage power supplies. So we just have to soldier on with neon-light power supplies and ignition coils to power our Jacob's Ladders and Tesla Coils. Although, there are nice corona-emitter power supplies in laser printers and copiers that have some potential.
ReplyDeleteAfter getting started with a Jacob's Ladder, I recommend continuing by building Tesla coils, by the way. You can generally repurpose the same power supply. The Tesla coil I built actually only took a couple of hours to wind, and has given many years of good service. Heck, it was a key component in my first meeting with my wife! She says that when she saw me laughing maniacally while surrounded with electrical arcs, she knew I was the one.
You married well, Tim!
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