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Awesome Electricity

DIY LEGO Technic Coil Gun

DIY LEGO Technic Coil Gun

A coil gun is a weapon that uses electromagnets to accelerate a metal projectile through its barrel. It’s possible to build your own, but the high-voltage electricity involved can be dangerous. Using the utmost caution, Jamie’s Brick Jams built a slightly less deadly coil gun using Technic parts, a bunch of 9-volt batteries, and some 100-volt capacitors.

Amped-up Paper Shredder

Amped-up Paper Shredder

A regular paper shredder chews through a letter-sized sheet of paper in 2 to 3 seconds. CrazyConstructions upgraded their shredder with a 3500-watt motor and external power supply to maximize its speed. Sticking a sheet of paper into this thing is one of those “blink and you might miss it” experiences. He’s also got an extreme pencil sharpener.

Charging a Phone with Marbles

Charging a Phone with Marbles

Any time an object moves, it transfers energy. With that in mind, Engineezy wanted to see if he could capture enough energy from rolling steel spheres to charge a phone. The finished machine is an impressive feat of engineering. Sadly, it uses much more electricity than it outputs to lift marbles to the top… because you can’t get something for nothing.

Zapping Stuff in a 20,000 Watt Microwave Oven

Zapping Stuff in a 20,000 Watt Microwave Oven

A typical microwave oven uses about 1000 watts of power. Mad scientist StyroPyro rigged up a microwave with 20 times as much power. This thing can superheat water in a couple of seconds and causes all kinds of instant carnage. Working with magnetrons, transformers, and electricity can be extremely dangerous, so don’t try anything like this at home.

Tesla Coil Sound Experiments

Tesla Coil Sound Experiments

We already know that Tesla coils can be used to make music. This video from Ideas1+1 shows what happens when you interfere with the coil’s plasma emissions by placing other objects in the way and letting the current pass through them. We can’t decide if the spinning arcs or those in the syringe were the coolest to watch.

A Brief History of Batteries

A Brief History of Batteries

We rely on batteries to power everything from our watches to our phones to our vehicles. But where did batteries come from, and who invented them? Origins explores the history of batteries and their evolution since 1799. Along the way, you learn we don’t see “B” cell batteries and what frog legs and torpedo fish have to do with it all.

When Would the Last Light Go Out on Earth?

When Would the Last Light Go Out on Earth?

It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but someday humans may go extinct. xkcd’s What If? contemplates how long it would take before the last artificial source of light went out if no humans were around to tend to electrical systems or replace light bulbs. While some power sources would stop quickly, others could keep running for years.

If All the World’s Lightning Struck One Spot at Once

If All the World’s Lightning Struck One Spot at Once

Imagine, if you will, that Mother Nature focused her energy on a single location and hit it with all of her electrical fury. xkcd’s What If? takes on another hypothetical question, exploring what might happen if every lightning bolt struck a single spot on Earth and whether we could harvest the power from the mega-storm.

Billie Jean: Tesla Coil Edition

Billie Jean: Tesla Coil Edition

Franzoli Electronics is back with another high-voltage cover of a classic song. This time, his musical Tesla coils performed a version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Take our strong advice and remember to always think twice before playing with this much electricity.

Making a Ray Gun That Shoots Lightning

Making a Ray Gun That Shoots Lightning

We’ve seen cool toys that look like ray guns but none that fire a ray. After building a Halo-inspired plasma knife, Jay from the Plasma Channel returned to his workbench to create a raygun that shoots powerful bursts of static electricity from its tip. The 120,000-volt, 3D-printed gizmo produces an arc that becomes visible when shorting it directly to ground.

Optima/Clarios Brings Free EV Charging to Dust Fest

Optima/Clarios Brings Free EV Charging to Dust Fest

Off-roading and overlanding have increased greatly in popularity; however, these venues remain largely off-limits to owners of EVs due to the lack of charging units in the backcountry. Now, Optima and parent company Clarios have created a unique and fun opportunity to encourage EV owners to get off the grid and play in the desert – with free charging.

Building a Working Star Wars Plasma Blaster

Building a Working Star Wars Plasma Blaster

The blasters in Star Wars supposedly fire bolts of plasma energy held together with a magnetic field. This sounds like pure science fiction, but Jake Makes wanted to see if he could create the same effect with a real-world weapon. While he came up with an approach that looks pretty accurate, it’s not technically the same idea at all.

Ignition Coil vs. Circuit Board

Ignition Coil vs. Circuit Board

We don’t recommend playing with the electricity from a car’s ignition coil, but Styro Pyro is an expert at these sorts of things. In this video, he shows what happens when the power from these high-voltage transformers is applied to the bare metal traces of a blank circuit board. We’re guessing stuff would start smoking if the board had parts on it.

Making an Ionic Plasma Thruster

Making an Ionic Plasma Thruster

After making a bladeless fan that runs on ionic wind, Integza wanted to see if he could harness that electric breeze to create a small jet engine. He used a small transformer to step up the voltage and wired it up to send electrons between a nickel and copper-plated ring. It’s not very powerful, but it’s still incredibly cool.

Thunderstruck on Tesla Coils

Thunderstruck on Tesla Coils

Franzoli Electronics rode down the highway, broke the limit, and hit the town with another electrifying performance by his Tesla coil band. This time, the high-voltage musicians added some lightning to the AC/DC classic Thunderstruck. The improved expressiveness and stereo capabilities represent a big upgrade from past Tesla coil concerts.

Squirrel-powered Phone Charger

Squirrel-powered Phone Charger

Quiet Nerd wanted to know if a squirrel running in a wheel could generate enough electricity to charge a phone. He built his squirrel-sized wheel using a baking pan and a stepper motor to recharge a battery pack. Once he placed it in the woods, all kinds of animals checked it out, but did they generate enough energy? We bet a hamster would be more effective.

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