Modulated Lightning - "Thunder" Speaker -- aka Plasma Speaker

[rockman378]

thumbs up if your listening to this with your plasma speaker :D

[zasabiibasaz]

How did you get experienced enough to get to this godlike level of knowledge? Do I need to go to college and be an EE?

[zasabiibasaz]

holy fuck you are the coolest mother fucker on the planet, i want to be like you when im older

[alexcount]

Be aware that at 30kv you WILL be creating high energy radiation such as x-rays, which requires serious shielding. Think about how much lead is in a TV or CRT running at 25-50kv, the only purpose of leaded glass is to block these high energy waves. Be careful, and be aware with any high voltage project operating above 5-10kv will create high energy waves which will penetrate most objects.... Build a high energy wave detector or use a Geiger counter to check for presence of ionizing radiation.

[RodgerCleye]

@alexcount Accurate safety information (as is the case here) is always appreciated and welcome. In my case, my total exposure to such radiation was the duration of the video. After that, I was on to my next project!

[DarkAAProductions]

i want one of those

[awesomelightning]

What tpe of transformer dd you use? Is it also a 555 one?

[electricunicycle]

@awesomelightning I use a large TV flyback transformer. This circuit is TL494 based, not 555. Go to instructables and look at the various implementations of "plasma speakers" that people with time to document have provided. Many didn't go to 30KV like I did, so they don't get as long as an arc (and lower amplitude because of it). Still 30KV is a bit nasty, It will jump 3 inches in air to find you if you look like a good low resistance path. The 20KHz carrier is likely to force fibrilation .

[awesomelightning]

@electricunicycle LOL. My resistance right now is...100kohms from finger of one hand to finger of other. o_o LOL I am a little bit conductive. cuz my fingers are really dry. Hm I want a flyback LOL will see if this one shop carries it tmrw...

[RodgerCleye]

You are correct. This is dangerous and cool.

[cheeseman2603]

Would I be correct in thinking that this also generates potentially harmful UV rays and also a small amount of ozone?

[ccraig412]

That shit is like a wasp! When you blew on it, it seemed like it wanted to attack! O_O

[Magewrite]

ummm a question if i may: i have been doing some playing in this sort of area with a fly-back transformer and am interested in the circuit board that you uses. is there a schematic for one of those, where did you get yours and how much did it cost??

[RodgerCleye]

I think plasmania posted some schems

[heli121212]

one word... AWESOME!

[moonlightguardian]

stupid question here... if you were to touch that "lightning".... would it hurt?

[sanosukke]

90W to produce such a low output audio...

At least you can entertain you guests with it.

[bum291]

Do we get a basedrum? ;)

[jasonguyperson]

"No really, there's no hidden speaker. Put your ear right next to it and see. Closer... Closer..."

[sphan32]

where can i buy one?

[ARYAKANHYE]

whats the songs name?

[KPAracing]

@ARYAKANHYE Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

[eurenton99]

Future of music lol.

[yerbah1]

Is it possible to increase the volume or is it set? what would you have to do to increase the volume, would supplie more power or make the coil larger? thanks

[Polybun]

@yerbah1 to increase volume he would need to increase the power of the carrier wave, which would allow him to increase arc length and increase the strength of the modulating signal. It really adds order of magnitude so far as complexity goes. That said, I've got a heathkit DX-100 warming up, which is good for 150watts carrier at 1.8mhz or so. We'll get that baby singing. This sure isn't anything a pair of 6146's can't match! Just need to make a voltage ballun to jump the voltage up.

[DeadXRiders]

So The Sound comes from the light? wtf thats amazing

[Mackin7777]

Fucking cool! I love science ^^

[Dri0m]

its tesla coil xD

[Kraized]

I have a question:

Can i make this with fire instead of Plasma!?

If so, how? I wanna do it so bad! Either experiment is fine, but it seems so much more amazing if it's done with fire. Don't get me wrong it's still amazing but idk.

[hardstyle905]

@Kraized With fire? How? You can try and modulate the trigger of a flame thrower / lighter / deodorant can / whatever but I doubt it will work out as you are imagining. Also I think fire would be too slow. Even if it worked in the low frequencies you won't hear much music.

But if you try it let me know.

[Tightmopedman9]

Is there any reason you chose AM over FM or PWM? What SMPS controller are you using?

Thanks

Aaron

[hydrote]

Is there any safe way to make this?

[awesomelightning]

@hydrote XDDD high voltage? LOL you'v got to be kidding me. Flybacks are generally safer than LOTS of other transformers you can be using. so... for any safer...use a smaller flyback. still its dangerous.

[ciboka]

touch my fucking speaker jackass i dare you!

[cjellwood]

What variations can be experimented with here i.e. plasma in water etc ?

[BassPounderX]

Ummmm, Dont look very safe. But hey im not trying it so thats what youtubes for LOL

[nyge23]

what sort of voltage do you need to make an arc that long? surely it must have a step up transformer after the power supply right? i would have thought that the tin foil covering the upper part would have effected the sound quality, there as the smooth covering on a van der graaf generator would have less distortion???

[aelitadelarobia]

@nyge23

more then likely a flyback trahsformer from an old television or crt monitor

[jadedmastermind]

Did she blind you with science?

[aggrippa]

seems like it could use some downsising, but otherwise awesome.

[icantswimj]

wtf ? 0_0

[855h0le]

Reminds me of when I was 8. I hooked up a DC motor to Pair of Speaker Wires. the Motor "modulates" and you can hear the music. It moves back and forth per se. Try it and see what I mean.. NOT as cool as the arc.

[tjinga2u1]

really only 24v? thats impresive. i wish i had a mini one id carry around with me =D

[doomsd46]

@lhaymehr

It is fairly practical actually. The company Alienware actually sells these for a lot, and I mean A LOT! of money. They produce, if they have a good quality driver, the absolute best sound quality, nothing preforms better, because these have no physical moving parts like a conventional speaker. I was planning on making a set of these with Tungsten electrodes (Tungsten works WAY better then tinfoil) for my computer or other musical needs, but the IC's are overheating way too much.

[sanjouindacapo]

Not FCC approved? I thought the FCC was just a buncha stuffed-shirts who keep certain words off the airwaves XD j/k

[Malagon194]

Ok then ill give him a weird middle name thou just to be funny something like thunderbolt or black thunder(no im not black)

[Malagon194]

Wow dude this is gonna sound weird but wow u just completely answered my question in a way were id never have any questions about it ive never felt like this thanks you truly are a smart man and i will name my first child after you

[electricunicycle]

Thanks. However, to prevent teasing of your first born, I recommend that you DO NOT name him "electricunicycle"!

[Polybun]

@electricunicycle this goon may as well name it that. Everyone is going to call it goober anyway.

[Malagon194]

What would happen if u touched it?

[electricunicycle]

Depending on the path it takes to exit your body it could vary from a mild sensation all the way to death. Stories from those who have touched claim it doesn't hurt WHILE it is happening - people don't feel vibrations at the high modulation frequency. Later they find out they have internal muscular damage that grows in pain an may take months to heal. So, DON'T TOUCH!

[hardstyle905]

@electricunicycle lol

don't forget it also depends on the current. While you'd rather not want to touch those thick white/yellow ish arcs, the purple lightning bolts are okay, if you can handle the shocks... see my vids ^_^

And if you MUST touch it, NEVER use both hands.

[Masamuneblade7]

@electricunicycle Basically if you're grounded, the bolt will trace around/through your finger to the other electrode, through the regular circuit. Which, would burn the heck out of your flesh to the bone, or burn the muscles under your skin... and if you're not grounded- prepare for the bolt to go into your finger, through your heart, through your balls, and through your ankle, out your foot. Which pretty much burns everything you need to live in about 2 seconds...

[Polybun]

@electricunicycle yay for RF burns!

[Genukie]

@electricunicycle can i light my cigarette with it?

[electricunicycle]

@Genukie You could light a cigarette with it. For the best effect, play the "Funeral March" while doing so. If the arc doesn't get you, the long term effects of cigarette smoking will! Technically, the arc should not want to enter you as it will find a lower resistance path to ground by the foil ball. The insulation formed by a long cigarette should be adequate. Of course, if you jump out of a pool dripping with a wet cigarette, a voltage division may kill you.

[Hellpowa29]

@Malagon194 touch it ! ... it's the only way to feel the music =]

[Elektrobastler]

Could you post the schematic for this circuit?

I'd like to build it too, it's very cool.

[rcflight13]

with a little tinkering i'm sure this we could take this whole "plasma speaker" concept further.

[HeavyMetal1981Fan]

SCIENCE!

[mimic58]

how do you mix the amplitude modulation signal into the Ultrasonic carrier ?? is it before the Voltage step up stage or after??

[zedthree]

I hope you have your room well-ventilated, as this will produce a lot of ozone, which is pretty toxic!

[ShokaLion]

It won't produce that much... You'd have to be running it continuously for hours to generate an even moderately dangerous amount from that kinda arc.

[wsetrecords]

But, Thomas Dolby did create Dolby technology. So it is Dolby, before Dolby was Dolby. So, where do you input the frequency?

[AKhellbindeR]

How can this not have more views. This is amazing.

[Aleksa809]

you should remove the little alu foil ball on the top,cause it is causing the arc to walk around and make little cracks and pops,the best way to do this is with 2 little pins or needles

[my4trackmachine]

this sounds alot better then some of the larger tesla coil speakers i have heard.

[electricunicycle]

Yes, because it IS better. The ones you have heard use zero-crossing detection and make a click every time the audio input crosses zero. That is good for a single tone, but not for complex audio that has "hitches" above and below zero due to frequency mixing in the time domain. Because amplitude modulation is employed here, it can track the audio faithfully.

[samssoftwareuser]

hey, do flyback transformers kill a heathly person like me if i got electrocuted?

[electricunicycle]

Only if the circuit completes through your heart. The primary stimulator is more dangerous because it packs more lethal current (but has enough voltage to break down your body resistance) - Always work with HV with one hand behind your back - this will prevent completing the circuit through your heart.

[samssoftwareuser]

so that means it would kill me straight away if it went through my heart?, will it always kill you?

[electricunicycle]

The electrical conditions where ventricular fibrilation will happen and the resultant consequence is beyond the scope of this you tube video.

[AlienScientist]

Cool

[UniAduin]

dude that totally eludes me!! This video is awsome!! :D