To take home the blue ribbon in the science fair in a spectacular way, you can’t go wrong with an old-fashioned Tesla coil, and the July 1964 issue of Popular Electronics tells exactly how to make one. The most exotic part you’ll need to track down is a neon sign transformer, but thanks to the internet, you can find one on Amazon.

The capacitor is home made, from sheet metal and a glass dielectric.

The article warns that the voltages used in the project can be lethal. The secondary of the neon transformer is 12,000 volts, and the voltage at the coil can be up to a quarter million volts.

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