Maker Your Own Lightning Globe!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Maker-your-own-Lightning-Globe!/

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Make your own Lightning Globe!by NK5 on October 4, 2007

Table of Contents

Make your own Lightning Globe! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Make your own Lightning Globe! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Prep the screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 3: Fit the screen over the bulb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 4: Prep the stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 5: Test it out! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9


Intro: Make your own Lightning Globe!This instructable will show you how to make one of those cool lightning globes with about $5.00 worth of parts.WARNING Just like my Monitor Hack instructable , this makes use of some very high voltage. It could be potentially lethal, especially if you are standing in a puddle ofwater.

Watch the video for the overview:

Step 1: SuppliesHere's a list of supplies I used:

1. Large, clear light bulbNot just any light bulb will work. It must be one that has been gas filled.Typically, anything 60 watts or higher should work. Lower wattage bulbs typically have a vaccuum. 60 watt and higher usually have an argon nitrogen mix, which lights upnicely!

I found a 5 inch 60 watt bulb for about $2.49 at the hardware store.2. Aluminum screen, painted blackThe aluminum screen will be our ground to attract the high voltage.

Instead of shelling out a bunch of money for an entire roll of aluminum screening, just look for an HVAC vent with some right on the back.I found the one below at the hardware store for about $1.50, and the screen was already painted black!3. A cheap black plastic potThis is going to be the holder for the globe. Since it will be used at night, it doesn't need to look pretty.

I found a black plastic pot for about $0.79, you guessed it, at the hardware store.4. A high voltage power sourceThis is what makes the magic happen.

I used the same monitor as the one in my Electric Fence Monitor Hack Video

With people upgrading to LCDs like crazy these days, you can easily get a 15" monitor from someone for free. You might even talk them into paying you for removing thehideous eyesore from their humble abode.

WARNING: Color monitors put out close to 30,000 volts. This voltage can harm you and quite possibly kill you, depending on the depth of the water you are standing inor how old your pacemaker batteries are. Seriously, though, be careful.


Image Notes1. Large clear light bulb. 60 watts or higher. This one is 5 inches in diameter, thebiggest I could find at the hardware store.

Image Notes1. HVAC air vent.

Image Notes1. Use a pocket knife to scratch off the paint. If it's shiny, then it's probablyaluminum. It should be easy to tell just by running your fingernail over it, though.Regular black screen is made of some sort of fiber.

Image Notes1. This plastic pot had the perfect sized indentation for the light bulb.

Image Notes1. EXTREMELY HIGH VOLTAGE!2. An old CRT monitor that went the way of the Dodo bird.


Step 2: Prep the screenThe screen is our grounding plane for the high voltage. It will be wrapped around as much of the light bulb as possible, without causing unintended arcs.

Trim the screen as needed. You should be able to fold the screen in half and still be able to fit the bulb inside tightly.

The screen I used was painted black, so I scraped off some paint with an Exacto knife. Since we need to attach a wire to it, pick a good spot on the edge of the screen -right in the center.

You'll need to scrape paint off of both sides of the screen and on both edges.

Then fold the screen in half, poke the stripped ground wire through both pieces, wrap it around the edge as tightly as you can get it, and then solder the ground wire toitself.

Since the screen is aluminum, you won't be able to solder the wire directly to it. That's why it's very important to tighten the ground wire around the screen. Use pliers ifyou have to.

Image Notes1. Scrape off the black paint.

Image Notes1. I folded it to make sure the scraped areas were lined up.

Image Notes1. Fold it in half carefully. It needs to be round, as it will be wrapped around thebulb.2. Scrape off both sides of the screen where they will touch each other.

Image Notes1. Feed the stripped ground wire through both edges of the screen, and thenwrap it tight.


Image Notes1. Solder the ground wire to itself.

Image Notes1. The bulb should fit tightly inside the screen.

Step 3: Fit the screen over the bulbNext, I trimmed the screen on the top and bottom to be sure the high voltage wouldn't arc unintentionally.

Then I made several cuts evenly spaced around the screen so I could fold it to the shape of the globe.

To make it easier, you can make one cut the proper length, remove the bulb, then make the rest of the cuts. At that point, simply bend the screen flaps down and thenslide the bulb inside. That will make it nice and tight.

Do the same for the top, and then use your hands to gently squeeze the screen around the globe so it's form-fitted.

Image Notes1. Trim off the excess screen. Make sure to trim it fairly high up from the tip,otherwise the voltage will try to arc.

Image Notes1. Make several evenly spaced cuts around the screen.

Image Notes1. Fold the screen flaps on top of each other.

Image Notes1. It's actually easier to make all the folds without the bulb inside, then slide it


in.

Image Notes1. Nice and form-fitted around the bottom.

Image Notes1. Form-fitted around the top, too.

Step 4: Prep the standTo prep the stand (cheap plastic pot), cut out a hole in the top the size of the light bulb stem. You'll also need to cut a slot on one side to allow the high voltage wire topass through.

Cut a small hole in the side of the pot about four inches off the ground. The high voltage wire will pass through here, so it must be high enough that it won't try to arc toground.

Feed the wire through the side hole, then through the top and attach it to the bulb.

Now slide the bulb into the pot and it's done.

It's not pretty to look at, and it's not supposed to be. It's for use at night.

Image Notes1. Cut a hole for the bulb stem. This pot was the perfect size.

Image Notes1. Cut a hole in the side about four inches up for the high voltage wire to passthrough.


Image Notes1. Feed the wire through the hole in the side, and then up through the tophole.

Image Notes1. Wrap the wire around the bulb tightly.2. Cut an extra notch to allow the bulb and wire to pass through the hole.

Image Notes1. Ground wire.2. High voltage wire.

Step 5: Test it out!Now it's time to hook it up and test it out!

Refer to the Monitor Hack Instructable for instructions on how to connect the aluminum wire to the anode. Be sure to pay attention to the part where you carefullydischarge the high voltage!

The ground wire needs to go to ground, of course. The easiest place to attach the ground wire to is the inside of the monitor at the same place the high voltage wasdischarged to.

Turn it on and test it out!

If everything is nice and tight, there should be a great lightning show around all sides of the globe.

If it's arcing to the stem, you'll need to turn it off and trim the screen on the bottom some more.

Watch the video to see it in action:


Image Notes1. You should see a nice lightning show evenly spread all around the bulb.

Image Notes1. If it's arcing to the bottom of the bulb, trim the screen.

Image Notes1. You might have to trim up it fairly high to keep it from arcing.

Image Notes1. Turn out the lights to see it in all its glory!

Image Notes1. Here's a good closeup view.


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Comments50 comments Add Comment view all 312 comments

pjp15 says: Nov 24, 2009. 3:06 PM REPLYWhen wrapping the aluminum screening around the globe, can you cover the top? And what do you mean by "so the high voltage wouldn't arkunintentionally"?

Fireater989 says: Jan 13, 2011. 7:28 PM REPLYIf the electricity isn't distributed evenly, it can arc to one point in the mesh and can become so hot that it will melt the glass. That probably won't happen,but don't stick any pointed metal objects against the glass or it will probably happen.

ernestmac13 says: Mar 22, 2010. 4:01 AM REPLYHow could I fix a store bought lightning bulb, that's has suffered a broken globe.The Tesla coil looking thing in the middle is still intact, but both the inner and outer bulbs were shattered. It would be a shame to discard this globe, as itworked vary well, and looked vary cool. The globe was about the size of a grape fruit, which made it even more impressive than, some of the tiny ones I'veseen. Any ideas beyond a simple round globe would be appreciated as well.

Thanks

badideasrus says: Sep 27, 2010. 7:25 PM REPLYi would say no. unless you have the power to take a vacuum sealed (airtight) glass, fill it with argon and nitrogen, and stick ur coil into it. i would almostwager that the second globe(outer) was filled with a very conductive gas (just a guess) so as to replace the screen. technically you don't need the screenon some globes, but they (if i have this right) don't work quite as well.while one globe "might" be possible with some rigging, two globes sounds rather ........ impossible.

you could, however, look for another ibble that scratch builds a lighning globe and skip all the steps pertainting to the power and coil, and jump right tothe globe filling..

(this is all theory, i'm not 100% sure)

cheychey777 says: Nov 7, 2010. 6:18 PM REPLYWhat kind of high voltage power source do i need? I don't have access to a computer monitor or TV.

Lil6lil says: Jun 13, 2010. 7:13 PM REPLYwould this work if i used a low voltage source????? cause the high voltage sounds kinda dangerous...

badideasrus says: Oct 22, 2010. 12:21 PM REPLYactually, volts dont kill. amperage does. thats why tazers have over 1000000 volts. i can't say weather this would work or not, and i'm definantly sayingthis isn't dangerous! so be careful.

ctrlx says: Sep 28, 2010. 6:49 PM REPLYFor the most part Edison was a businessman, he would employ people and call their inventions "his" because they worked for him. He tried to do the sameto Tesla, but Tesla told him to "Stuff it" and Tesla went off on his own......Edison did NOT invent the light bulb! Please have a look at:http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/edison.asp....I wish more credit would be given to Tesla, just look at the things around us that we take for granted: AC power, High Voltage coils (what gives carengines spark to run), Radio (Marconi used Tesla's ideas).....the list goes on and on.....Nikola Tesla, Man Ahead of His Time.

LeviMan_2001 says: Mar 17, 2010. 5:18 PM REPLYDo you think this would work with an old TV as well?


badideasrus says: Sep 27, 2010. 7:32 PM REPLYa crt tv, yes.

Tesla boy says: Jul 30, 2010. 7:49 AM REPLYHey knoxarama! the pictures that NK5 (the author) took were probably long exposures so they had the advantage of looking like there were lots of shocks atonce, but they are really just a lot of shocks over lots of time. You might try getting a furnace ignition unit, try a car ignition coil or a NST (Neon SignTransformer). Please be careful with these they put out less voltage but way more amprage.

codename_two says: Jul 11, 2010. 3:48 AM REPLYwhere is the video dude??

Lil6lil says: Jun 12, 2010. 9:56 PM REPLYhelp!!!!! do you actually need a pc moniter for this to work or is there something else that will work??

speakerman9 says: Jul 6, 2010. 11:44 PM REPLYTry a neon ballast. The voltage is lower (15KVDC), but, in a smaller bulb, it should give you the desired result.

Quantinuim says: Jun 18, 2010. 12:01 AM REPLYYou can use any kind of screen that is based the cathode ray

pjp15 says: Nov 24, 2009. 3:11 PM REPLYI am not sure where to connect the grounding wire on my monitor, where else could I ground it? Would something like sticking it in a bucket of sand work?

zombiefire says: Jun 23, 2010. 2:13 AM REPLYi used an old charger which xould be plugged in to a voltage socket

adammcbride says: Apr 29, 2010. 7:34 PM REPLYhey. what kind of wire do i have to use to connect it to the ground? and to connect the bulb to the source?

Gilly001 says: Oct 21, 2007. 7:52 PM REPLYis the moniter a computer one?

ARMITRON says: Apr 9, 2010. 1:14 PM REPLYyep, but That's does not matter dude

be careful

knoxarama says: Mar 28, 2010. 12:49 PM REPLYhow do you get the arcing to be continuous? mine just zaps for a couple seconds every few seconds.

KryptoTSD says: Mar 22, 2010. 11:19 AM REPLYCOOL!I Gots To Get Me One Of THESE!

Derin says: Dec 14, 2007. 11:18 AM REPLYlook u can also connect it to the filament and super bright lightbulb!

Derin says: Apr 14, 2008. 9:37 AM REPLYim takin that back super quick explosive


psych0munky says: Mar 21, 2010. 1:39 PM REPLYI am guessing it was super bright for a few milliseconds...hopefully you weren't hurt...

osmonde says: Mar 21, 2010. 1:38 PM REPLYanother high voltage source would be a neon transformer, they put out between 4-20kv depending on the model. And any crt tv will work, because they alluse high voltages.

Mark Rehorst says: Mar 21, 2010. 11:40 AM REPLYI probably shouldn't mention it, but someone here is bound to try it if they aren't warned off first...

About 30 years ago (40?) Scientific American magazine's Amateur Scientist column did a DIY X-ray generator that used a light bulb, a piece of aluminumfoil and a HV DC supply. Basically, it is the same set-up as this project except that they turned on the light bulb filament in order to boil electrons off it. TheHVDC then accelerates the electrons to hit the foil target through the glass. Some weak X-rays are produced and if I recall correctly, they were used tocause mutations in seeds that were then grown to observe the effects of the radiation/mutations.

I shouldn't have to say it, but I will because there are always a few people out there will think it is a cool idea to try to x-ray their own body parts or those oftheir pets, girlfriends, etc. DON'T DO IT. X-rays are potentially dangerous. The mutations can cause cancer, etc. Here's an article similar to the one I amreferring to: www.noah.org/science/x-ray/stong/

alzie says: Mar 21, 2010. 8:49 AM REPLYBeen down this road before:

A big problem with these 2nd anode CRT HV suppliesis that they are only DC.Since the glass of the bulb is an insulator,DC can not flow through it to light the gas well.In fact, HVDC can punch through the glass and ruin the seal,letting atmospheric air pressure inside, which ruins its operation.

The bulb glass Does form the dielectric of a capacitance, andwill couple AC very well to the gas.It is advizable to gut the rectifier diode out of the flyback transformer, orwhere ever it is located, so thatyou have access to the AC directly from the transformer.All plasma globes use AC from their special transformers.With a good source of AC, you dont need the external bulb screen.A well placed finger will do.

The Lightning Stalker says: Jan 7, 2010. 12:24 PM REPLYIf you're adept at working with electronics, there's a circuit on my site that is more powerful and compact than using an old monitor. http://kickme.to/lightningstalker Click Enter and on the next page, "How To Build A Transistorized Tesla Coil". I've blown a few transformers with this circuitand it's still ticking.

If you use a flyback transformer that doesn't have diodes or wind your own coil, it has a display similar to a store bought globe. One of these days I shouldmake an instructable on winding your own coil.

Don't ever touch a sharp metal object such as a key to a plasma globe! It will burn a hole in the glass and the fill gas will leak out and ruin it.

The 4th Doctor says: Jan 17, 2010. 10:37 AM REPLYive got a flyback with a blow diode that makes a nice plasma globe, its drivin my a cfl ballast (bipolar @100khz i think). works quite well but my bulbskeep dieing a slow death after an hour or so of use

im not burning holes in them (well the first one i did) but this second one died without any hole. any idea why? these 5 inch bulbs are 4 bucks a pop

CoolKoon says: Jan 10, 2010. 12:49 PM REPLYDoes the sharp metal object have this effect even if it's in close proximity of the plasma globe too or does it have to literally be in contact with the glass?

The 4th Doctor says: Jan 10, 2010. 9:42 PM REPLYdepending on the voltage, once it gets close enough a bit of an arc forms (depending on just how much of a ground your using) and the current heatsup the thin glass of a lightbulb fairly quick, this also depends on current available ofcourse. oh and it dosent need to be sharp unless it creates a largesurface area on the bulb

The Lightning Stalker says: Jan 10, 2010. 9:32 PM REPLYWhat happens is the arc heats the glass and if it gets hot enough, it melts a hole in it and that's what you want to avoid. You can't be too carefulbecause you don't know how close is too close until it's too late.

CoolKoon says: Jan 11, 2010. 1:12 PM REPLYYou mean an arc would form THROUGH the glass itself? I thought that glass is a better insulator than air itself.......


The 4th Doctor says: Jan 12, 2010. 2:25 PM REPLYthe bulb heats up rapidly with a good ground, current seeps threw because the glass forms the dielectric of a capacitor, a capacitor which ischarged and discharged quite fast, the thin glass wall of the bulb gets very hot very quick if you focus the current to a point and the glassactually melts i suppose. it happens very quick, the arc instantly gets a much more direct path to ground and a small yellow dot glows wherethe very small hole is. if you pull away fast enough the vacuum in the glass can hold for a fairly long time

CoolKoon says: Jan 13, 2010. 3:38 AM REPLYHmmm, I think I get it. The metal thing has to have a pointy tip, therefore it concentrates too much current at the surface of the glasscausing it to fail. Right?

The Lightning Stalker says: Jan 16, 2010. 8:07 AM REPLYNo, it doesn't have to be sharp at all. Any metal object can cause it, especially if it's grounded or if you're holding it in your hand.

CoolKoon says: Jan 16, 2010. 10:44 AM REPLYAny metal object? But then the grill which the guy has used for his plasma globe design will sooner or later cause electricalbreakdown too (by melting holes in the glass of the bulb), right? As what you've said implies this too....

The 4th Doctor says: Jan 13, 2010. 3:19 PM REPLYyep

The Lightning Stalker says: Jan 11, 2010. 6:41 PM REPLYNot in vapor form

CoolKoon says: Jan 12, 2010. 4:53 AM REPLYWhat do you mean?

The Lightning Stalker says: Jan 12, 2010. 3:07 PM REPLYThe arc heats the glass past boiling, it vaporizes and leaves a hole behind. If the arc isn't hot enough to vaporize the glass, it cansqueeze it by dielectric pinching and still make a hole. I'm not answering any more questions on this subject.

Wareagle says: Jan 16, 2010. 9:28 AM REPLYthe ONLY bad thing about this is that you cant put your hand on it and attract the lightning. good 'ible!

The 4th Doctor says: Jan 16, 2010. 6:39 PM REPLYif you have an ac flyback you can, it may hurt a bit depending on the poweri happen to have one that the diode blew out on, ill post a video of it soon (i just made a nice little casing for it)

CoolKoon says: Aug 31, 2009. 3:55 PM REPLYJust one note: since the voltage is so high the electric field created by it will be big as well. This means that the metal screen for ground (or opposite pole) isabsolutely unnecessary. The circuit will work without it too and you won't risk electrocution since by touching the glass you put a high-value resistor (theglass casing of the bulb) in series with your body->very low amperage->you'll hardly feel anything if you touch the glass.

The 4th Doctor says: Oct 2, 2009. 2:50 PM REPLYthe metal screen is needed because the flyback puts out DC i happen to have a flyback that had its internal diode burn out and it works quite well anddoes not need a metal plate. touching it does give a significant shock but you can hold your finger on it, until the glass gets too hot. it also fairly slowlyburns away skin where your touching it not enough for a visible affect but it makes where you were touching it smell terrible after a while

CoolKoon says: Jan 9, 2010. 4:38 AM REPLYIt's quite confusing that you say in your first sentence that the metal screen is needed and then in the next sentence you say yours works without ametal plate (or screen). And obviously you haven't read the instructable thoroughly either, did you? The guy draws the voltage from a monitor usingits own driving circuit. And even if there's DC coming from the monitor it's a switched one, which makes things a bit different. I believe frequency-wiseit has the same effects as HF AC. Hence the burning of the sking, the heat generation and all the other effects related to RF.Maybe the ground needs to be close(r) to the bulb for it to actually work but it definitely doesn't need to be connected to a wire mesh around the bulb.HV simply doesn't work that way. The big difference is that by increasing the voltage the electric field around the conductor increases too (even if thesurroundings are insulated). This phenomenon is what makes even getting close to a HV cable fallen to the ground dangerous. When you see a HVcable near the rails fallen to the ground, you should NEVER come even close to it. Unless it's connected to the rails (shorting therefore the wire to theground and blowing a fuse or something) it contains enough electricity to kill you several times over. Even if you're approaching it. BTW this is why onall electrician trainings they recommend you to approach anyone in proximity to a live HV cable (already getting electrocuted) in VERY small steps.Or else your so-called step voltage could be as high as thousands of volts (i.e. by taking a step the voltage increases by thousands of volts and youdon't even have to touch the wire). Of course the electric field around 110/220 V wiring isn't this big (unless it's imersed in water :P).


The 4th Doctor says: Jan 9, 2010. 11:38 AM REPLYHV RF AC really acts quite differently i believe this has something to do with it forming a capacitor between the air (or another insulator) and theground. ive seen this directly, ac digs threw almost any insulator, and actually makes streamers, and gets the desired plasma globe effect with alight bulb. not so with dc of simaler voltage and frequencythe ground really does have to be right on the other side of the glass or close to it with dc

CoolKoon says: Jan 10, 2010. 12:45 PM REPLYFine, you're right. And you can tell that AC digs through any insulator or else you won't be able to watch FTA TV stations or listen to radio.You keep talking about DC, but I doubt that there's any DC involved in flyback transformers at all. You see a flyback transformer isresponsible for controlling the horizontal deflection of the electron beam in a CRT. It does so at the rate of around 15 kHz both for PAL andNTSC (and I suppose for digital signal it's the same as well). Therefore the frequency is probably not in the RF range, but it doesn't have tobe either. The point is that it has to be higher than the untility frequency at a high voltage.Oh and BTW we don't contradict to each other if I say it's caused by a larger-than-normal electric field and you say it's due to capacitiveeffect. It's because capacitance (and capacitors) is in fact based on (caused by) an electric field. You see a capacitor stores energy in form ofan electric field as opposed to an inductor (coil, electromagnet etc.) which stores energy in the form of a magnetic field.

The 4th Doctor says: Jan 10, 2010. 9:38 PM REPLYI think that the flyback is in a way a byproduct of the sweep signal rather then what generates it, high voltage is needed for the crt and asmall hv transformer needs a high frequency input. so the sweep signal is used for convience basicly. im fairly sure on that but im positivethat a crt needs a DC high voltage for the tube (just talking about the hv end).i guess if you use dc at a higher voltage you could distance the ground some but you wouldent want to touch it. im not exactly sure why dccurrent dosent work with this, trying to wrap my head around it though. the only explantion i have at the moment is that capacitance thing.i suppose with dc you get more of a slow trickle of current because a capacitor is formed and charged and once its charged current flowdiminishes quite a bit like any other capacitor, but with ac its charged and discharged ergo quite a bit more current flow. hey i think imstarting to understand it =D

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Maker Your Own Lightning Globe!