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Tesla coil electrical arcs at 1,750,000 frames per second look absolutely insane

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It’s no secret that we’re big fans of The Slow Mo Guys here at DIYP. But when they team up with one of our other favourite YouTubers, like Mehdi Sadaghdar – otherwise known as ElectroBOOM – you just know it’s going to get crazy. After the boys saw one of Mehdi’s videos they knew they just had to collaborate with him on something extra special involving electricity and… Well, they’re The Slow Mo Guys, so they made it happen.

Mehdi travelled all the way from Vancouver, Canada down to Texas, with a lot of dodgy-looking electronics in his carry-on luggage to film with the guys. Not surprisingly, Mehdi got a few shocks along the way – and they all looked like genuine accidents this time – but you’ll all be pleased to know that Dan did, too!

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Photographing the corona discharge of conductive objects looks absolutely awesome

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This is a pretty cool technique that definitely needs to come with a health and safety warning. So, don’t try this at home unless you understand how electricity works and how to experiment with it safely. If that’s you, then you’ll love this video from Hyperspace Pirate. Even if it’s not you, watch it anyway because it results in some pretty cool photography!

It’s a process called Kirlian Photography and it’s used to be able to photograph the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharge. It was accidentally discovered by Semyon Kirlian, after whom it was named, in 1939. It’s a similar principle as those “Plasma Globes” that were so popular in the 80s.

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How to capture electric sparks on film

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There are still a few very unique and interesting things that can be done with film, but not with a digital camera.  One of these experiments is the recording of sparks on film. Sparks are created when an electrical discharge moves either through or across the surface of the film. I first got interested in this project when I noticed static discharge patterns on x-ray film. Those patterns were due to the charge buildup on the plastic rollers in the auto development machines, but I wondered could I make better patterns in the lab?

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Photos Of Lights Powered By Fruits

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Over the years, we shared quite a few ways to power your lights, but nothing we shared was as inspiring as this Back To Light series by Caleb Charland (interviewed here).

Caleb Wires fruits and vegetables in a way similar to the classic electricity-from-potato weekend experiment, only he uses arrays of eatery and visually appealing light fixtures. He then takes a pictures of the power created.

Once the photo was taken, Caleb recycles the fruits by composting them or feeding them to the animals in the forests around his house.[Read More…]

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