"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...

Note: then there were they guys building the *big* (as in 8-foot-plus
tall)
Tesla coils. _Those_ things were dangerous! While admittedly not
'static'
machines, *anything* that can maintain and sustain an atmospheric arc (a
"Jacob's ladder") in excess of 4 _feet_ is deserving of some serious
respect.

Sounds like they had a nice little toy there. In a previous career, I
designed and tested high-voltage insulators. I tested using an AC set that
could generate 1000kV and create an arc over 15 feet long. We also used an
impulse generator which simulated lightning and switching surges that could
go up to about 2500kV. All of that was very interesting.

If you want even more fun, do high *current* testing and run 20kA through
some hardware. Ka-boom!

todd