Imhotep's Lab Interactive FAQ

WoW! I am so impressed with everyone's enthusiasm with this project. And with any project there are always a ton of questions in the discovery process. I have tried to compile the most asked questions so far. Please feel free to ask you own questions.


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Q :What does a condenser do?

A : In electronic circuits, a former name for a capacitor.

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Q : The use of that specific relay in the circuit is accidental or is there a reason for that specific one?
Could we use any mini or non-mini relay for that matter? Is there a reason to even use a relay and could we just replace this with solid state?

A : The relay is the one that Peter Lindemann used and is widely available. The one I originally used was from the 70's. and is no longer available and the one from the 70's drew the least amount of current. but the one from radioshack was the mostly closed match. You can use any relay you want as long as the contacts can handle it, and the coil current draw doesnt matter you. Remember you are trying to impedance match the primary and the coil on the relay, the better the impedance match the lower the current draw, but you can use whatever one you want, your batteries might not last as long, and you can also use larger batteries. There is energy recovery on it. The first one i did i ran 72 hours straight and it did not run down the batteries but because the extremely high voltage the light output on the very first 9 watt cfl had diminished light output prematurely. So matching the bulb is also important. Its all a journey and a experiment. the bulbs are cheap, the relays are cheap and the coils arent that expensive either. Through experimentation im sure you will find the perfect match and possibly be able to light the 4 foot regular magnetic ballast fluorescent bulbs if you get the proper match.

You do not have to use a relay I used it for simplicity. You can use a 3055 transistor in self oscillation mode but you would have to use a heat sink and the current draw would be much higher, 555 timer and a FET, you can use a SCR. you can use a small dc motor with a magnet on the armature and a reed relay, anything to pulse the primary. Doesnt even matter what frequency. But remember you will have to experimented to get the best match for the longest lasting ability of the bulb, lowest current draw and brightest light output. Feel free to experiment. and report any good findings to help other people. I experimented on this circuit for 2 months. As well as a month with Peter. Trying to get the lowest current draw, easiest design, best light output, and longest battery life.

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Hi all

I have a couple of questions:

1: How it is connected the ignition coil, to the CFL bulb?It is soldered into one of the spark terminals?... or is this radiant electricity going though air into a normal PIPE!!!!??? (I could not see any copper in the cable connected to the ignition coil in the video)
And, would it be realistic build yourself the ignition coil (no idea where to find it) with a transformer with few turns in the primary and lots of turns in the secondary? And.. it is the spark-gap really needed, could it be possible to connect the CFL terminals directly in the terminals of the high-V windings of the transformer (ignition coil)?
I will be very happy if someone can send me any link with information about: "what it is doing the ignition coil"?is radiant electricity just very high voltage pulses? or it is need sparks for some reason?And.. if there is happening longitudinal electromagnetic waves... is this longitudinal to the direction of the spark??? Sorry my friends... so many questions...

And the other question seems more easy:

2: I could not see the video of the modification of the CFL. Not allowed in Denamk 8-(
But if I can guess the modification consist in remove the build in circuit and leave the terminals of the bulb itself... Is that right?let me know if Im wrong or if I can watch the video somewhere else in the net...

Thank you all you nice people!!
wangha

Hi Wangha,

The ignition coil is not like most transformers in that its secondary is connected to its primary on one leg. That is why there is three terminals. Its like a center tapped transformer, except the "tap" is far from the center. Google ignition coil and you will see what I mean.

It can be configured so that the light is only connected to the HV output, however you will find your best light with the light connected to the HV and one other terminal, generally the negative one.

It is not unrealistic to build your own, infact I have done it with some success. You can see the secondary in this picture, its the one in the center. The ring at its base is inductively coupled and is the primary. Lots of wire on the secondary there.

The light is simply gutted of its circuit and each terminal accessed. It will make perfect sense when you open it up.

Regards

Thanks Ren

That homemade coil looks cool
I like when things can be homemade 8)

As I understand, the "ignition coil" is like a DC transformer, with a huge secondary.
How may volts do you get at the secondary (where the CFL is connected) ?? Or, how many volts do you need to light a CLF ??

Other question I always have around is about: touching a cable with 200 volts, or more, like the spikes recharging the battery... 200v sounds scary, but the little 9v NiMH battery does not have enough power like to make much Ampers on those 200v spikes... so I guess I will not be electrocuted if I touch it or not ?

In the video of "cold electricity" of Peter Lindeman, he reads from a patent of Tesla, that the high voltage pulses (after a spark gap) are harmless to human body when the pulse frequency is high enough (Im not sure if he said specifically: "pulse period shorter than a micro-second", so that would be MHz).

So, is that the case? Whats the frequency of this radiant oscillator? any nice experience touching one of those high V pulses ?



wishes
Wangha