document_title: Characters of Peter Pan

question_text: names of the darling family in peter pan

text: Characters of Peter Pan

text: Major publications and films[edit]

text: This article covers the characters appearing in the canonical works of Barrie, the official books and plays, the major motion pictures and television series based on them, and the major prequels/sequels (authorised and not):

text:
The Little White Bird or Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (novel)—PPKG
Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (play)—PLAY
Peter and Wendy (novel)—P&W
Peter Pan (1924 film)—1924
Peter Pan (1953 film)—1953
Peter Pan and the Pirates—1990
Hook (film)—1991
Return to Never Land (film)—RNL
Peter Pan (2003 film)—2003
Peter Pan in Scarlet (novel)—PPS
Peter and the Starcatchers (novel)—P&SC
Peter and the Shadow Thieves (novel)—P&ST
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (novel)—P&SR
Peter and the Sword of Mercy (novel)—P&SM
Neverland (miniseries)—2011
Jake and the Never Land Pirates—2014
Pan (film)—2015

text: Characters in Barrie's works[edit]

text: A number of characters appear throughout J. M. Barrie's works, including the play Peter Pan, the novel Peter and Wendy, and the novel Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

text: Peter's Gang[edit]

text: Peter Pan[edit]

text: Peter Pan is a free spirited and adventurous young boy who would not grow up. He can fly, and lives on the island called Neverland. He is described as "a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of trees".[1] It is also stated that he still has all his baby teeth.

text: The Lost Boys[edit]

text: The Lost Boys are a gang of young boys who fell out of their prams and were not claimed by their parents, so Peter brought them to the Neverland. It is implied there has been a succession of lost boys over time, but the boys in Barrie's work are Tootles, Nibs, Curly, Slightly, and The Twins. Additional or different Lost Boys appear in sequels, prequels and adaptations.

text: The Pirates[edit]

text: Captain Hook[edit]

text: Captain Hook is a pirate and captain of the Jolly Roger. He is Peter Pan's archenemy and is determined to get revenge on Peter for cutting off his right hand in a battle and feeding it to a crocodile.

text: Pirate Crewmen[edit]

text:
Mr. Smee: the Irish bo'sun, the only non-conformist in Hook's crew. One of two pirates to survive the final battle, and "henceforth wandered around the world in his spectacles, making a precarious living by saying he was the only man that Jas. Hook had feared."
Gentleman Starkey: once an usher in a public school "and still dainty in his ways of killing". He and Smee are the sole survivors of the final battle, although he got captured by the Piccaninnies, "who made him nurse for all their papooses".
Bill Jukes: used to be on the Walrus under Flint, and is heavily tattooed.
Cecco: a very handsome Italian fellow, who was said to have "cut his name in letters of blood on the back of the governor of the prison at Gao".
Cookson: he is said to be the brother of real-life pirate Black Murphy ("but this was never proved").
Noodler: not much is known about him, except for the fact that his hands are fixed on backwards, and he is superstitious, like all sailors.
Skylights (Morgan's Skylights): he is killed off early on in the novel "to show Hook's method".
Black Pirate: it is only stated that he is gigantic and has had many names that still terrify children on the banks of the Guadjo-mo.
Alf Mason: one of the pirates who was killed in mortal combat with Lean Wolf early on in the battle between the pirates and Tiger Lily's braves.
Robert Mullins: he is killed by Peter in the final battle with the pirates.
George Scourie: another casualty in the battle.
Chas. Turley ("Chay Turley" in the play): he is said "to laugh with the wrong side of his mouth (having no other)"; another casualty in battle by the Piccaninnies.
Foggerty: an Alsatian who also died in the above battle.
Whibbles: he wears an eye patch and is the first casualty in the final battle.
Ed Teynte: the quartermaster in the novel (but not mentioned in the play), was the first killed in the last battle (instead of Whibbles).
Black Gilmour (only in play): killed in battle by the Piccaninnies.
Alan Herb (only in play): "still remembered at Manaos for playing skittles with the mate of Switch for each other's heads"; killed in battle by the Piccaninnies.
Canary Robb (only in play): killed in the above battle.

text: The Fairies[edit]

text:
Tinker Bell is a tinker fairy, and Peter Pan's companion at the time of his adventures with Wendy Darling and her brothers. She is known for her loyalty to Peter but is very jealous of Wendy and Tiger Lily. In the original play she is portrayed by a darting light and voiced by a tinkling bell.
Queen Mab: the queen of the fairies who live in Kensington Gardens and who teaches Peter Pan to fly, in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

text: The Darling family[edit]

text:
Wendy Moira Angela Darling is a young girl who is befriended by Peter Pan. She flies away with Peter to Neverland to be a mother to him and the Lost Boys.
John Napoleon Darling is the middle Darling child. He is named after Jack Llewelyn Davies.
Michael Nicholas Darling is the youngest of the three children in the Darling family. In an early draft of the play, the character's name was "Alexander" or "Alex", but was renamed after Michael Llewelyn Davies and Nicholas Llewelyn Davies, who were both born during the play's development.
George Darling: the father of Wendy, Michael, and John. He is a bank clerk and is named after George Llewelyn Davies.
Mary Darling: the mother of Wendy, John and Michael, and wife of George Darling. She is named after Mary Ansell, Barrie's wife.
Nana: the Newfoundland nurse of Wendy, John, and Michael, hired by the Darlings to look after the children.
Jane: (last name is not given) the daughter of the adult Wendy Darling who appears briefly in Barrie's An Afterthought and the final chapter of Peter and Wendy.
Margaret: Jane's daughter, mentioned at the end of the story as the one who will go back to Neverland with Peter for spring cleaning.
Liza: the maid in the Darling household.

text: Supporting characters[edit]

text: Neverland characters[edit]

text: Great Big Little Panther: the Chief of the Piccaninny tribe and the father of Tiger Lily.

text:
Tiger Lily: the chief's daughter, often described as a princess (in her own right), who is captured by the Pirates and left to drown on Marooners' Rock before being rescued by Peter Pan.
Crocodile (Tick-Tock in the Disney movie): the crocodile is Hook's other nemesis, and the only thing which he fears. It ate Hook's hand when Peter cut it from him in battle, and craves for the rest of him. The clock swallowed by the crocodile warns Hook of its proximity. In Peter and Wendy, the crocodile is briefly referred to by the feminine pronoun "she",[2] a point overlooked in subsequent adaptations.
Mermaids are half woman and half fish; they live in the sea but are often seen in Mermaids' Lagoon on the Neverland. They're vain, unfriendly and care for their looks and good appearance. They can be dangerous creatures (especially at night) and dislike all humans (except Peter Pan) and act very spiteful towards Wendy.

text: London characters[edit]

text: Maimie Mannering : a little girl who is helped and befriended by Peter Pan in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and considered to be Wendy's literary predecessor.[3] Although enjoying Kensington Gardens and her friendship with Peter when she stays behind one day after Lock Out time, she comes to realise that her mother is very worried about her so she must return. When she grows up, she continues to think of Peter, dedicating presents and letters to him. To remember Maimie, Peter rides the imaginary goat she created for him.

text: Characters from other works[edit]

text: Steven Spielberg's Hook[edit]

text: The Banning family[edit]

text:
Peter Banning is Peter Pan, grown up. When he fell in love with Moira, he abandoned his eternal youth. He was adopted by an American couple named Hank and Jane Banning, and forgot about his life as Peter Pan. He is played by Robin Williams.
Moira Banning – Moira is Wendy Darling's granddaughter and Peter Banning's wife. She is played by Caroline Goodall.
Jack Banning – Jack is Peter and Moira Banning's son and Maggie's older brother. Nearing his teen years, Jack is often frustrated by his father's repeated broken promises and absences that he turns towards Hook for a father figure. However, after watching Rufio die, he turns his back on Hook and regains his trust in Peter. Jack is played by Charlie Korsmo.
Maggie Banning – Maggie is Peter and Moira Banning's daughter and Jack's younger sister. Sweet and imaginative, she is captivated by stories of Peter Pan. Maggie is the only one who retains faith in Peter and mistrusts Hook. When she learns that her father is the famous Peter Pan, Maggie accepts him and tells Hook off that he's the one who needs a mother to straighten up his bad attitude. She is played by Amber Scott.

text: Lost Boys[edit]

text:
Rufio is the leader of the Lost Boys and Peter's successor who was hand-chosen by him when he chose to leave Neverland for good. Although initially refusing to believe that Peter Banning is Pan grown up, Rufio fights beside him in the final battle against Hook's pirates but is slain by Hook. He dies in Peter's arms after admitting that his one wish was to have a father like Peter. He was played by Dante Basco.
Thud Butt is a member of the Lost Boys who accepts the possibility that Peter Banning may be Peter Pan from the start, and strikes up a friendship with him. At the end of the film, with Rufio having been slain by Hook, Peter chooses Thud Butt as the Lost Boys' new leader. He is played by Raushan Hammond.
The remaining Lost Boys consist of Pockets (Isaiah Robinson), Ace (Jasen Fisher), Don't Ask (James Madio), Too Small (Thomas Tulak), Latchboy (Alex Zuckerman), and No Nap (Ahmad Stoner).

text: Disney's Peter Pan-Tinker Bell franchise[edit]

text: Return to Neverland[edit]

text:
Wendy's daughter Jane is portrayed in as a cynical, no-nonsense, down-to-earth girl who refuses to believe her mother's stories about Peter Pan. Unlike Wendy, she is not interested in playing "mother" for the Lost Boys and spends most of her time in Neverland just wanting to leave.
Danny: Danny is Jane's little brother. He believes entirely in his mother's stories about Peter Pan and is very similar to his uncle Michael (from the original Disney film adaptation), even to wearing footed-pajamas.
Edward: Edward is Wendy's husband and the father of Jane and Danny. He is called to serve in the British army during World War II, and returns at the end of the film. He is depicted as a warm and caring man.
Nana II: a St. Bernard owned by Jane's family who could be a descendant of the original Nana.
The Octopus: a gigantic orange octopus who replaces the Crocodile for some unknown reason as Captain Hook's enemy who wants to eat him because he enjoys his taste. He makes "plip-plop" noises with his eyes and suckers reminiscent of the Crocodile's ticking. In the end, he sinks Hook's ship and chases Hook and his crew (who he mistakes for fish) into the distance.

text: Disney Fairies[edit]

text:
Queen Clarion (Anjelica Huston) is the Fairy Queen of Pixie Hollow. She is slender and taller than hand-size with a light shimmering long yellow dress, a light golden shimmering large yellow butterfly shaped wings, tiaras for different occasions, fair skin, blue eyes, and light brown hair in an up-do style.
Bobble and Clank (Rob Paulsen and Jeff Bennett, respectively) are a pair of intelligent yet bumbling tinker sparrow men who form a brotherly relationship with Tinker Bell..
Chloe (Brenda Song), a garden fairy of Thai descent. She is small, slender, and hand-sized with brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and pointy ears. She wears a pink sports dress and leggings.
Fawn (America Ferrera, Angela Bartys and Ginnifer Goodwin) an animal-talent fairy. She is small, slender, and hand-sized with an orange and brown dress, amber curl shoes, fair skin, light freckles, braided light brown hair, amber eyes, pointy ears, and clear fairy wings on her back.
Iridessa (Raven-Symoné) is a light-talent fairy. She is small, slender, and hand-sized with a sunflower petal dress, yellow shoes, dark skin, black hair in a round up-do, brown eyes, pointy ears, and clear fairy wings on her back.
Nyx (Rosario Dawson) an incredibly loyal and devoted scouting-talent anti-hero in Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast. She wears brown sleeveless shirts and leggings, with gray-and-black striped undershirts and boots, olive green waist sashes, and black wrist bracers. She protects all of Pixie Hollow from any dangers or threats, also leads a team of fellow scout fairies who follow her commands without question. She is known to be quite tough and the kind of person who will fight until the fighting is done. She never backs down and will do whatever it takes to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Pixie Hollow and its people.
Periwinkle (Lucy Hale) is a frost-talent fairy. She is Tinker Bell’s fraternal twin sister born of the same baby's first laugh and match. She is small, slender, and hand-sized with fair skin, ice-blue eyes, snow white hair, pink blushing cheeks, and pointy ears and wears an aqua strapless dress that shimmers like ice and aqua blue-colored shoes with white puffs on her toes and has clear sparkly fairy wings on her back, which are identical to Tinker Bell's.
Rosetta (Kristin Chenoweth and Megan Hilty) is a garden-talent fairy. She is small, slender, and hand-sized with a rose petal dress in three shades of pink, fair skin, red shoes, shoulder-length red hair with curled ends, green eyes, pointy ears, and clear fairy wings on her back.
Silvermist (Lucy Liu) is a water-talent fairy. She is small, slender, and hand-sized with a dark blue-green lily single-strapped dress, blue shoes, fair skin, long loose black hair, brown eyes, pointy ears, and clear fairy wings on her back.
Terence (Jesse McCartney) is a pixie dust "sparrow man" of French-Celtic descent[clarification needed]. He has a big crush on Tinker Bell, and is also her best friend. He is small, slender, and hand-sized with blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and pointy ears and wears an acorn top hat.
Vidia (Pamela Adlon) is a fast-flying-talent fairy. She has black ponytailed hair, gray eyes, pointy ears, fair skin and wears a purple vest with pink feathers, purple pants and ballet shoes and has clear wings on her back.
Zarina (Christina Hendricks) an alchemist who dabbles in piracy with Hook for a while, she appears in the movie The Pirate Fairy.

text: Gwendolyn Carlisle[edit]

text: Gwendolyn Jane Mary Darling Carlisle is a human girl whom Peter Pan brings to Never Land, and a descendant of Wendy Darling. She lives with her parents and grandmother in the same house that Wendy had lived in so long ago.

text: Peter Pan film (2003)[edit]

text: Aunt Millicent: the Darling children's maternal aunt, a stuffy character who wants Wendy to leave her childhood world and grow up. She softens at the end of the film, and adopts Slightly.

text: Peter and the Starcatchers[edit]

text: The Aster family[edit]

text: Leonard and Louise Aster: Molly Aster's parents. Leonard is an ambassador for the King to Rudoon. In Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Louise is taken captive by the Others.

text: Molly Aster[edit]

text: Molly Aster is one of the main characters of the four Starcatchers novels. She is the daughter of famous Starcatcher Leonard Aster and his wife, Louise Aster, and is therefore a Starcatcher by blood and very wealthy.

text: Her relationships with Peter, George Darling, Tinker Bell, and the mermaids are all consistent with her being Wendy's mother, a conclusion hinted at but not confirmed until the fourth book, Peter and the Sword of Mercy. She is called "Molly" rather than "Mary", but "Molly" is a traditional nickname for "Mary".

text: Tribes[edit]

text:
Mollusk Tribe: a tribe of Native Americans.

Fighting Prawn: Chief of The Mollusk Tribe that live on Peter's Island and father of Shining Perl.

Scorpion Tribe: a dangerous group in Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, who use poison as their main weapon and are the most feared tribe of them all.

text: Other characters[edit]

text:
Lord Ombra: a shadow creature from Peter and the Shadow Thieves and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
Captain Nerezza: a cruel captain lacking a nose who is often employed by the "Others".
King Zarboff III – The King of Rundoon and one of the "Others".
Mr. Grempkin: second in Command at St. Norbert's Home For Wayward Boys.
The Headmaster's Daughter: an awful girl who likes to drop spiders on the boy's heads.
Prentiss: a new boy at St. Norbert's.
James: a boy closer to Peter than any other at St. Norbert's. In Sword of Mercy, he becomes James Smith and works for Scotland Yard.
Tubby Ted: a boy who is always hungry.
Thomas: a boy from St. Norbert's.
William Slank: an evil man who was second in command on the ship known as "The Never Land". He is presumed dead after Peter and the Shadow Thieves.
Little Richard: a huge giant of a man who is very handy with a whip. He is eaten alive by Slank so that he could live.
Mr. Grin: the crocodile.

text: Peter Pan in Scarlet[edit]

text:
Fireflyer: A silly blue fairy born out of a baby's first laugh. Like most fairies he's conceited and self-centered, but he's a devoted friend to the lost boy Slightly.
Ravello: a mysterious circus owner who is revealed to be Captain Hook.

text: Peter Pan and the Pirates[edit]

text:
Hard-to-Hit: the prince of the tribe of Native Americans living on the island of Neverland, Great Big Little Panther's son and Tiger Lily's younger brother. He is voiced by Michael Wise.
Girl in the Moon: a girl who is responsible for bringing the night by replacing the sun that appears during the day with the moon at the normal time.
King Kyros: the Ice King of Neverland who owns a giant ice cave and has elves as his subworkers. Peter entered into conflict with the king when he entered the king's home without permission and took away a crystal claiming it as his own.
Crooked Tail: a mermaid who was once beautiful, but conceited and haughty until a potion meant to enhance her beauty went horribly awry and turned her into a green-skinned hag. She helped Peter Pan rescue Wendy from two mermaids who tried to turn Wendy into a mermaid.
Short Tom: Captain Hook's mischievous one-eyed pet parrot; is capable of speech, though extremely limited. He constantly tries to warn the pirates when Peter Pan steals aboard, but usually fails.
Captain Patch : Captain Hook's late brother (whose real name is Jasper Hook), who also had been a pirate; so-called because Hook once took out his eye in a sword fight long ago. Appears as a vengeful ghost in two episodes. He was voiced by Ed Gilbert who also voiced Smee.
Olook: a grumpy giant troll.

text: Neverland miniseries[edit]

text:
Aaya is Tiger Lily.
Kaw Tribe: the Native American tribe.
Captain Elizabeth Bonny: the previous captain of the pirate ship.
Fox: a lost boy that was killed by Captain Bonny
The Twins: instead of two twins in the Lost Boys, there is one boy known as Twins for unknown reasons.


document_title: List of National Football League career passing yards leaders

question_text: who holds the most passing yards in the nfl

root

text: Players with at least 30,000 passing yards[edit]

text:
Key

^
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

*
Denotes player who is still active in the NFL

tag: table

text: Through end of 2017 season.

tag: p

text:
Rank
Player
Team(s) by season
Yards

1
Manning, PeytonPeyton Manning
Indianapolis Colts (1998–2011)
Denver Broncos (2012–2015)
71,940

2
Favre, BrettBrett Favre^
Atlanta Falcons (1991)
Green Bay Packers (1992–2007)
New York Jets (2008)
Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010)
71,838

3
Brees, DrewDrew Brees*
San Diego Chargers (2001–2005)
New Orleans Saints (2006–present)
70,445

4
Brady, TomTom Brady*
New England Patriots (2000–present)
66,159

5
Marino, DanDan Marino^
Miami Dolphins (1983–1999)
61,361

6
Manning, EliEli Manning*
New York Giants (2004–present)
51,682

7
Elway, JohnJohn Elway^
Denver Broncos (1983–1998)
51,475

8
Roethlisberger, BenBen Roethlisberger*
Pittsburgh Steelers (2004–present)
51,065

9
Rivers, PhilipPhilip Rivers*
San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers (2004–present)
50,348

10
Moon, WarrenWarren Moon^
Houston Oilers (1984–1993)
Minnesota Vikings (1994–1996)
Seattle Seahawks (1997–1998)
Kansas City Chiefs (1999–2000)
49,325

11
Tarkenton, FranFran Tarkenton^
Minnesota Vikings (1961–1966, 1972–1978)
New York Giants (1967–1971)
47,003

12
Palmer, CarsonCarson Palmer
Cincinnati Bengals (2003–2010)
Oakland Raiders (2011–2012)
Arizona Cardinals (2013–2017)
46,247

13
Testaverde, VinnyVinny Testaverde
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987–1992)
Cleveland Browns (1993–1995)
Baltimore Ravens (1996–1997)
New York Jets (1998–2003, 2005)
Dallas Cowboys (2004)
New England Patriots (2006)
Carolina Panthers (2007)
46,233

14
Bledsoe, DrewDrew Bledsoe
New England Patriots (1993–2001)
Buffalo Bills (2002–2004)
Dallas Cowboys (2005–2006)
44,611

15
Fouts, DanDan Fouts^
San Diego Chargers (1973–1987)
43,040

16
Ryan, MattMatt Ryan*
Atlanta Falcons (2008–present)
41,796

17
Collins, KerryKerry Collins
Carolina Panthers (1995–1998)[a])
New Orleans Saints (1998)
New York Giants (1999–2003)
Oakland Raiders (2004–2005)
Tennessee Titans (2006–2010)
Indianapolis Colts (2011)
40,922

18
Montana, JoeJoe Montana^
San Francisco 49ers (1979–1992)
Kansas City Chiefs (1993–1994)
40,551

19
Unitas, JohnnyJohnny Unitas^
Baltimore Colts (1956–1972)
San Diego Chargers (1973)
40,239

20
Rodgers, AaronAaron Rodgers*
Green Bay Packers (2005–present)
38,502

21
Krieg, DaveDave Krieg
Seattle Seahawks (1980–1991)
Kansas City Chiefs (1992–1993)
Detroit Lions (1994)
Arizona Cardinals (1995)
Chicago Bears (1996)
Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
38,147

22
Esiason, BoomerBoomer Esiason
Cincinnati Bengals (1984–1992)
New York Jets (1993–1995)
Arizona Cardinals (1996)
Cincinnati Bengals (1997)
37,920

23
McNabb, DonovanDonovan McNabb
Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2009)
Washington Redskins (2010)
Minnesota Vikings (2011)
37,276

24
Hasselbeck, MattMatt Hasselbeck
Green Bay Packers (1998–2000)
Seattle Seahawks (2001–2010)
Tennessee Titans (2011–2012)
Indianapolis Colts (2013–2015)
36,638

25
Flacco, JoeJoe Flacco*
Baltimore Ravens (2008–present)
35,780

26
Kelly, JimJim Kelly^
Buffalo Bills (1986–1996)
35,467

27
Cutler, JayJay Cutler
Denver Broncos (2006–2008)
Chicago Bears (2009–2016)
Miami Dolphins (2017)
35,133

28
Everett, JimJim Everett
Los Angeles Rams (1986–1993)
New Orleans Saints (1994–1996)
San Diego Chargers (1997)
34,837

29
Stafford, MatthewMatthew Stafford*
Detroit Lions (2009–present)
34,749

30
Hart, JimJim Hart
St. Louis Cardinals (1966–1983
Washington Redskins 1984)
34,665

31
DeBerg, SteveSteve DeBerg
San Francisco 49ers (1978–1980)
Denver Broncos (1981–1983)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1984–1987, 1992–1993[b])
Kansas City Chiefs (1988–1991)
Miami Dolphins (1993)
Atlanta Falcons (1998)
34,241

32
Romo, TonyTony Romo
Dallas Cowboys (2003–2016)
34,183

33
Hadl, JohnJohn Hadl
San Diego Chargers (1962–1972)
Los Angeles Rams (1973–1974[c])
Green Bay Packers (1974–1975)
Houston Oilers (1976–1977)
33,503

34
Simms, PhilPhil Simms
New York Giants (1979–1993)
33,462

35
Young, SteveSteve Young^
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1985–1986
San Francisco 49ers (1987–1999)
33,124

36
Aikman, TroyTroy Aikman^
Dallas Cowboys (1989–2000)
32,942

37
Anderson, KenKen Anderson
Cincinnati Bengals (1971–1986)
32,838

38
Warner, KurtKurt Warner^
St. Louis Rams (1998–2003)
New York Giants (2004)
Arizona Cardinals (2005–2009)
32,344

39
Jurgensen, SonnySonny Jurgensen^
Philadelphia Eagles (1957–1963)
Washington Redskins (1964–1974)
32,224

40
Brunell, MarkMark Brunell
Green Bay Packers (1993–1994)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995–2003)
Washington Redskins (2004–2006)
New Orleans Saints (2008–2009)
New York Jets (2010–2011)
32,072

41
Smith, AlexAlex Smith*
San Francisco 49ers (2005–2012)
Kansas City Chiefs (2013–2017)
Washington Redskins (2018–present)
31,888

42
Brodie, JohnJohn Brodie
San Francisco 49ers (1957–1973)
31,548

43
McNair, SteveSteve McNair
Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans (1995–2005)
Baltimore Ravens (2006–2007)
31,304

44
Snead, NormNorm Snead
Washington Redskins (1961–1963)
Philadelphia Eagles (1964–1970)
Minnesota Vikings (1971)
New York Giants (1972–1974, 1976)
San Francisco 49ers (1974–1975)
30,797

text: Note: Y. A. Tittle passed for 33,070 yards in his professional career. However, 4,731 of those yards came in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The NFL does not recognize statistics and records accrued in the AAFC.[1][2] As such, his career passing yards total in the NFL stands at 28,339.[3]

tag: ul

text: Active players with 25,000–29,999 yards[edit]

text: Through end of 2017 season; numbers in yards

text:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, 26,991
Andy Dalton, 25,756
Cam Newton, 25,254

text: Historical passing yards leaders[edit]

text: Nine players are recognized as having held the record as the NFL's career passing yardage leader.[4] The longest record holder was Fran Tarkenton who held the record for 19 years.

text:
Reign
Player
Team(s) by season
Yards

1932–1943
(11 years)
Arnie Herber^
Green Bay Packers (1930–1940)
New York Giants (1944–1945)
8,041

1943–1959
(16 years)
Sammy Baugh^
Washington Redskins (1937-1952)
21,886

1959–1964
(5 years)
Bobby Layne^
Chicago Bears (1948)
New York Bulldogs (1949)
Detroit Lions (1950–1958)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1958–1962)
26,768

1964–1967
(3 years)
Y. A. Tittle^
Baltimore Colts (1948–1950)
San Francisco 49ers (1951–1960)
New York Giants (1961–1964)
28,339

1967–1976
(9 years)
Johnny Unitas^
Baltimore Colts (1956–1972)
San Diego Chargers (1973)
40,239

1976–1995
(19 years)
Fran Tarkenton^
Minnesota Vikings (1961–1966)
New York Giants (1967–1971)
Minnesota Vikings (1972–1978)
47,003

1995–2007
(12 years)
Dan Marino^
Miami Dolphins (1983–1999)
61,361

2007–2015
(8 years)
Brett Favre^
Atlanta Falcons (1991)
Green Bay Packers (1992–2007)
New York Jets (2008)
Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010)
71,838

2015–present
(2 years)
Peyton Manning
Indianapolis Colts (1998–2011)
Denver Broncos (2012–2015)
71,940


document_title: Tesla coil

question_text: where do you usually find a tesla coil

question_tokens: where do you usually find a tesla coil

text: Tesla coil

text: Operation[edit]

text: A Tesla coil is a radio frequency oscillator that drives an air-core double-tuned resonant transformer to produce high voltages at low currents.[10][15][16][17][18][19] Tesla's original circuits as well as most modern coils use a simple spark gap to excite oscillations in the tuned transformer. More sophisticated designs use transistor or thyristor[15] switches or vacuum tube electronic oscillators to drive the resonant transformer.

text: Tesla coils can produce output voltages from 50 kilovolts to several million volts for large coils.[15][17][19] The alternating current output is in the low radio frequency range, usually between 50 kHz and 1 MHz.[17][19] Although some oscillator-driven coils generate a continuous alternating current, most Tesla coils have a pulsed output;[15] the high voltage consists of a rapid string of pulses of radio frequency alternating current.

text: The common spark-excited Tesla coil circuit, shown below, consists of these components:[16][20]

text:
A high voltage supply transformer (T), to step the AC mains voltage up to a high enough voltage to jump the spark gap. Typical voltages are between 5 and 30 kilovolts (kV).[20]
A capacitor (C1) that forms a tuned circuit with the primary winding L1 of the Tesla transformer
A spark gap (SG) that acts as a switch in the primary circuit
The Tesla coil (L1, L2), an air-core double-tuned resonant transformer, which generates the high output voltage.
Optionally, a capacitive electrode (top load) (E) in the form of a smooth metal sphere or torus attached to the secondary terminal of the coil. Its large surface area suppresses premature air breakdown and arc discharges, increasing the Q factor and output voltage.

text: Resonant transformer[edit]

text: The specialized transformer used in the Tesla coil circuit, called a resonant transformer, oscillation transformer or radio-frequency (RF) transformer, functions differently from an ordinary transformer used in AC power circuits.[21][22][23] While an ordinary transformer is designed to transfer energy efficiently from primary to secondary winding, the resonant transformer is also designed to temporarily store electrical energy. Each winding has a capacitance across it and functions as an LC circuit (resonant circuit, tuned circuit), storing oscillating electrical energy, analogously to a tuning fork. The primary coil (L1) consisting of a relatively few turns of heavy copper wire or tubing, is connected to a capacitor (C1) through the spark gap (SG).[15][16] The secondary coil (L2) consists of many turns (hundreds to thousands) of fine wire on a hollow cylindrical form inside the primary. The secondary is not connected to an actual capacitor, but it also functions as an LC circuit, the inductance of (L2) resonates with stray capacitance (C2), the sum of the stray parasitic capacitance between the windings of the coil, and the capacitance of the toroidal metal electrode attached to the high voltage terminal. The primary and secondary circuits are tuned so they resonate at the same frequency, they have the same resonant frequency. This allows them to exchange energy, so the oscillating current alternates back and forth between the primary and secondary coils.

text: The peculiar design of the coil is dictated by the need to achieve low resistive energy losses (high Q factor) at high frequencies,[17] which results in the largest secondary voltages:

text:
Ordinary power transformers have an iron core to increase the magnetic coupling between the coils. However at high frequencies an iron core causes energy losses due to eddy currents and hysteresis, so it is not used in the Tesla coil.[23]
Ordinary transformers are designed to be "tightly coupled". Due to the iron core and close proximity of the windings, they have a high mutual inductance (M), the coupling coefficient is close to unity 0.95 - 1.0, which means almost all the magnetic field of the primary winding passes through the secondary.[21][23] The Tesla transformer in contrast is "loosely coupled",[15][23] the primary winding is larger in diameter and spaced apart from the secondary,[16] so the mutual inductance is lower and the coupling coefficient is only 0.05 to 0.2.[24] This means that only 5% to 20% of the magnetic field of the primary coil passes through the secondary when it is open circuited.[15][20] The loose coupling slows the exchange of energy between the primary and secondary coils, which allows the oscillating energy to stay in the secondary circuit longer before it returns to the primary and begins dissipating in the spark.
Each winding is also limited to a single layer of wire, which reduces proximity effect losses. The primary carries very high currents. Since high frequency current mostly flows on the surface of conductors due to skin effect, it is often made of copper tubing or strip with a large surface area to reduce resistance, and its turns are spaced apart, which reduces proximity effect losses and arcing between turns.[25][26]

text: The output circuit can have two forms:

text:
Unipolar - One end of the secondary winding is connected to a single high voltage terminal, the other end is grounded. This type is used in modern coils designed for entertainment. The primary winding is located near the bottom, low potential end of the secondary, to minimize arcs between the windings. Since the ground (Earth) serves as the return path for the high voltage, streamer arcs from the terminal tend to jump to any nearby grounded object.
Bipolar - Neither end of the secondary winding is grounded, and both are brought out to high voltage terminals. The primary winding is located at the center of the secondary coil, equidistant between the two high potential terminals, to discourage arcing.

text: Operation cycle[edit]

text: The circuit operates in a rapid, repeating cycle in which the supply transformer (T) charges the primary capacitor (C1) up, which then discharges in a spark through the spark gap, creating a brief pulse of oscillating current in the primary circuit which excites a high oscillating voltage across the secondary:[18][20][23][27]

text:
Current from the supply transformer (T) charges the capacitor (C1) to a high voltage.
When the voltage across the capacitor reaches the breakdown voltage of the spark gap (SG) a spark starts, reducing the spark gap resistance to a very low value. This completes the primary circuit and current from the capacitor flows through the primary coil (L1). The current flows rapidly back and forth between the plates of the capacitor through the coil, generating radio frequency oscillating current in the primary circuit at the circuit's resonant frequency.
The oscillating magnetic field of the primary winding induces an oscillating current in the secondary winding (L2), by Faraday's law of induction. Over a number of cycles, the energy in the primary circuit is transferred to the secondary. The total energy in the tuned circuits is limited to the energy originally stored in the capacitor C1, so as the oscillating voltage in the secondary increases in amplitude ("ring up") the oscillations in the primary decrease to zero ("ring down"). Although the ends of the secondary coil are open, it also acts as a tuned circuit due to the capacitance (C2), the sum of the parasitic capacitance between the turns of the coil plus the capacitance of the toroid electrode E. Current flows rapidly back and forth through the secondary coil between its ends. Because of the small capacitance, the oscillating voltage across the secondary coil which appears on the output terminal is much larger than the primary voltage.
The secondary current creates a magnetic field that induces voltage back in the primary coil, and over a number of additional cycles the energy is transferred back to the primary. This process repeats, the energy shifting rapidly back and forth between the primary and secondary tuned circuits. The oscillating currents in the primary and secondary gradually die out ("ring down") due to energy dissipated as heat in the spark gap and resistance of the coil.
When the current through the spark gap is no longer sufficient to keep the air in the gap ionized, the spark stops ("quenches"), terminating the current in the primary circuit. The oscillating current in the secondary may continue for some time.
The current from the supply transformer begins charging the capacitor C1 again and the cycle repeats.

tag: ol

text: This entire cycle takes place very rapidly, the oscillations dying out in a time of the order of a millisecond. Each spark across the spark gap produces a pulse of damped sinusoidal high voltage at the output terminal of the coil. Each pulse dies out before the next spark occurs, so the coil generates a string of damped waves, not a continuous sinusoidal voltage.[18] The high voltage from the supply transformer that charges the capacitor is a 50 or 60 Hz sine wave. Depending on how the spark gap is set, usually one or two sparks occur at the peak of each half-cycle of the mains current, so there are more than a hundred sparks per second. Thus the spark at the spark gap appears continuous, as do the high voltage streamers from the top of the coil.

text: The supply transformer (T) secondary winding is connected across the primary tuned circuit. It might seem that the transformer would be a leakage path for the RF current, damping the oscillations. However its large inductance gives it a very high impedance at the resonant frequency, so it acts as an open circuit to the oscillating current. If the supply transformer has inadequate leakage inductance, radio frequency chokes are placed in its secondary leads to block the RF current.

text: Oscillation frequency[edit]

text:
To produce the largest output voltage, the primary and secondary tuned circuits are adjusted to resonance with each other.[17][18][21][28]  Since the secondary circuit is usually not adjustable, this is generally done by an adjustable tap on

L
1

{\displaystyle L1\,}

, the primary coil.

text:
If the two coils were separate, the resonant frequencies of the primary and secondary circuits,

f

1

{\displaystyle f_{1}}

 and

f

2

{\displaystyle f_{2}}

, would be determined by the inductance and capacitance in each circuit

text:
However, because they are coupled together, the frequency at which the secondary resonates is affected by the primary circuit and the coupling coefficient

k

{\displaystyle k}

, and occurs at its antiresonant frequency while the original resonant frequency acts as an antiresonant frequency. The frequency at which the coil has to be driven is the serial resonant frequency.[29][30]

text: So resonance, and the highest voltages occur when

text: Thus the condition for resonance between primary and secondary is

text:
However the Tesla transformer is very loosely coupled, and the coupling coefficient

k

{\displaystyle k\,}

 is small, in the range 0.05 to 0.4.  So the factor

1
−

k

2

{\displaystyle {\sqrt {1-k^{2}}}\,}

 is close to unity, 0.917 to 0.999, so the two resonant frequencies differ by 8% at most.  Therefore, most sources[17][18][21]  state the transformer is resonant when the resonant frequencies of primary and secondary are equal.

text: The resonant frequency of Tesla coils is in the low radio frequency (RF) range, usually between 50 kHz and 1 MHz. However, because of the impulsive nature of the spark they produce broadband radio noise, and without shielding can be a significant source of RFI, interfering with nearby radio and television reception.

text: Output voltage[edit]

text:
In a resonant transformer the high voltage is produced by resonance; the output voltage is not proportional to the turns ratio, as in an ordinary transformer.[23][31] It can be calculated approximately from conservation of energy. At the beginning of the cycle, when the spark starts, all of the energy in the primary circuit

W

1

{\displaystyle W_{1}}

 is stored in the primary capacitor

C

1

{\displaystyle C_{1}}

. If

V

1

{\displaystyle V_{1}}

 is the voltage at which the spark gap breaks down, which is usually close to the peak output voltage of the supply transformer T, this energy is

text:
During the "ring up" this energy is transferred to the secondary circuit. Although some is lost as heat in the spark and other resistances, in modern coils, over 85% of the energy ends up in the secondary.[18] At the peak (

V

2

{\displaystyle V_{2}}

) of the secondary sinusoidal voltage waveform, all the energy in the secondary

W

2

{\displaystyle W_{2}}

 is stored in the capacitance

C

2

{\displaystyle C_{2}}

 between the ends of the secondary coil

text:
Assuming no energy losses,

W

2

=

W

1

{\displaystyle W_{2}\;=\;W_{1}}

. Substituting into this equation and simplifying, the peak secondary voltage is[17][18][23]

text:
V

2

=

V

1

C

1

C

2

=

V

1

L

2

L

1

.

{\displaystyle V_{2}=V_{1}{\sqrt {C_{1} \over C_{2}}}=V_{1}{\sqrt {L_{2} \over L_{1}}}.}

text:
The second formula above is derived from the first using the resonance condition

L

1

C

1

=

L

2

C

2

{\displaystyle L_{1}C_{1}\;=\;L_{2}C_{2}}

.[23] Since the capacitance of the secondary coil is very small compared to the primary capacitor, the primary voltage is stepped up to a high value.[18]

text: The above peak voltage is only achieved in coils in which air discharges do not occur; in coils which produce sparks, like entertainment coils, the peak voltage on the terminal is limited to the voltage at which the air breaks down and becomes conductive.[18][23][25]  As the output voltage increases during each voltage pulse, it reaches the point where the air next to the high voltage terminal ionizes and coronas, brush discharges and streamer arcs, break out from the terminal. This happens when the electric field strength exceeds the dielectric strength of the air, about 30 kV per centimeter.  Since the electric field is greatest at sharp points and edges, air discharges start at these points on the high voltage terminal.  The voltage on the high voltage terminal cannot increase above the air breakdown voltage, because additional electric charge pumped into the terminal from the secondary winding just escapes into the air.  The output voltage of open-air Tesla coils is limited to around several million volts by air breakdown, but higher voltages can be achieved by coils immersed in pressurized tanks of insulating oil.

text: The top load or "toroid" electrode[edit]

text: Most Tesla coil designs have a smooth spherical or toroidal shaped metal electrode on the high voltage terminal.  The electrode serves as one plate of a capacitor, with the Earth as the other plate, forming the tuned circuit with the secondary winding.  Although the "toroid" increases the secondary capacitance, which tends to reduce the peak voltage, its main effect is that its large diameter curved surface reduces the potential gradient (electric field) at the high voltage terminal, increasing the voltage threshold at which air discharges such as corona and brush discharges occur.[32] Suppressing premature air breakdown and energy loss allows the voltage to build to higher values on the peaks of the waveform, creating longer, more spectacular streamers.[23]

text: If the top electrode is large and smooth enough, the electric field at its surface may never get high enough even at the peak voltage to cause air breakdown, and air discharges will not occur. Some entertainment coils have a sharp "spark point" projecting from the torus to start discharges.[32]

text: Types[edit]

text: The term "Tesla coil" is applied to a number of high voltage resonant transformer circuits.

text: Tesla coil circuits can be classified by the type of "excitation" they use, what type of circuit is used to apply current to the primary winding of the resonant transformer:[33][34]

text:
Spark-excited or Spark Gap Tesla Coil (SGTC) - This type uses a spark gap to switch pulses of current through the primary, exciting oscillation in the transformer. This pulsed (disruptive) drive creates a pulsed high voltage output. Spark gaps have disadvantages due to the high primary currents they must handle. They produce a very loud noise while operating, noxious ozone gas, and high temperatures which often require a cooling system. The energy dissipated in the spark also reduces the Q factor and the output voltage.
Static spark gap - This is the most common type, which was described in detail in the previous section. It is used in most entertainment coils. An AC voltage from a high voltage supply transformer charges a capacitor, which discharges through the spark gap. The spark rate is not adjustable but is determined by the line frequency. Multiple sparks may occur on each half-cycle, so the pulses of output voltage may not be equally-spaced.
Static triggered spark gap - Commercial and industrial circuits often apply a DC voltage from a power supply to charge the capacitor, and use high voltage pulses generated by an oscillator applied to a triggering electrode to trigger the spark.[15] This allows control of the spark rate and exciting voltage. Commercial spark gaps are often enclosed in an insulating gas atmosphere such as sulfur hexafluoride, reducing the length and thus the energy loss in the spark.
Rotary spark gap - These use a spark gap consisting of electrodes around the periphery of a wheel rotated at high speed by a motor, which create sparks when they pass by a stationary electrode. Tesla used this type on his big coils, and they are used today on large entertainment coils. The rapid separation speed of the electrodes quenches the spark quickly, allowing "first notch" quenching, making possible higher voltages. The wheel is usually driven by a synchronous motor, so the sparks are synchronized with the AC line frequency, the spark occurring at the same point on the AC waveform on each cycle, so the primary pulses are repeatable.
Switched or Solid State Tesla Coil (SSTC) - These use power semiconductor devices, usually thyristors or transistors such as MOSFETs or IGBTs,[15] to switch pulses of current from a DC power supply through the primary winding. They provide pulsed (disruptive) excitation without the disadvantages of a spark gap: the loud noise, high temperatures, and poor efficiency.  The voltage, frequency, and excitation waveform can be finely controllable. SSTCs are used in most commercial, industrial, and research applications[15] as well as higher quality entertainment coils.

text: Single resonant solid state Tesla coil (SRSSTC) - In this circuit the primary does not have a capacitor and so is not a tuned circuit; only the secondary is. The pulses of current to the primary from the switching transistors excite resonance in the secondary tuned circuit. Single tuned SSTCs are simpler, but don't have as high a Q and cannot produce as high voltage from a given input power as the DRSSTC.

text:
Dual Resonant Solid State Tesla Coil (DRSSTC) - The circuit is similar to the double tuned spark excited circuit, except in place of the spark gap semiconductor switches are used.  This functions similarly to the double tuned spark-excited circuit.  Since both primary and secondary are resonant it has higher Q and can generate higher voltage for a given input power than the SRSSTC.
Singing Tesla coil or musical Tesla coil - This is a Tesla coil which can be played like a musical instrument, with its high voltage discharges reproducing simple musical tones. The drive current pulses applied to the primary are modulated at an audio rate by a solid state "interrupter" circuit, causing the arc discharge from the high voltage terminal to emit sounds. Only tones and simple chords have been produced so far; the coil cannot function as a loudspeaker, reproducing complex music or voice sounds. The sound output is controlled by a keyboard or MIDI file applied to the circuit through a MIDI interface. Two modulation techniques have been used: AM (amplitude modulation of the exciting voltage) and PFM (pulse-frequency modulation). These are mainly built as novelties for entertainment.
Continuous wave - In these the transformer is driven by a feedback oscillator, which applies a sinusoidal current to the transformer. The primary tuned circuit serves as the tank circuit of the oscillator, and the circuit resembles a radio transmitter. Unlike the previous circuits which generate a pulsed output, they generate a continuous sine wave output. Power vacuum tubes are often used as active devices instead of transistors because they are more robust and tolerant of overloads. In general, continuous excitation produces lower output voltages from a given input power than pulsed excitation.

text: Tesla circuits can also be classified by how many coils (inductors) they contain:[35][36]

text:
Two coil or double-resonant circuits - Virtually all present Tesla coils use the two coil resonant transformer, consisting of a primary winding to which current pulses are applied, and a secondary winding that produces the high voltage, invented by Tesla in 1891. The term "Tesla coil" normally refers to these circuits.
Three coil, triple-resonant, or magnifier circuits - These are circuits with three coils, based on Tesla's "magnifying transmitter" circuit which he began experimenting with sometime before 1898 and installed in his Colorado Springs lab 1899-1900, and patented in 1902.[37][38][39] They consist of a two coil air-core step-up transformer similar to the Tesla transformer, with the secondary connected to a third coil not magnetically coupled to the others, called the "extra" or "resonator" coil, which is series-fed and resonates with its own capacitance. The presence of three energy-storing tank circuits gives this circuit more complicated resonant behavior. It is the subject of research, but has been used in few practical applications.

text: History[edit]

text:
Electrical oscillation and even resonant air-core transformer circuits had been explored and developed before Tesla,[47][46] including Joseph Henry in Leyden jars (1850), and resonant transformers developed by Henry Rowland (1889)[41] and Elihu Thomson (1890).[48][49][50]
[40] Tesla patented his Tesla coil circuit April 25, 1891.[51][2] and first publicly demonstrated it May 20, 1891 in his lecture "Experiments with Alternate Currents of Very High Frequency and Their Application to Methods of Artificial Illumination" before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers at Columbia College, New York.[52][53][44] Although Tesla patented many similar circuits during this period, this was the first that contained all the elements of the Tesla coil: high voltage primary transformer, capacitor, spark gap, and air core "oscillation transformer".

text: Modern-day Tesla coils[edit]

text: This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Modern high-voltage enthusiasts usually build Tesla coils similar to some of Tesla's "later" 2-coil air-core designs. These typically consist of a primary tank circuit, a series LC (inductance-capacitance) circuit composed of a high-voltage capacitor, spark gap and primary coil, and the secondary LC circuit, a series-resonant circuit consisting of the secondary coil plus a terminal capacitance or "top load". In Tesla's more advanced (magnifier) design, a third coil is added. The secondary LC circuit is composed of a tightly coupled air-core transformer secondary coil driving the bottom of a separate third coil helical resonator. Modern 2-coil systems use a single secondary coil. The top of the secondary is then connected to a topload terminal, which forms one 'plate' of a capacitor, the other 'plate' being the earth (or "ground"). The primary LC circuit is tuned so that it resonates at the same frequency as the secondary LC circuit. The primary and secondary coils are magnetically coupled, creating a dual-tuned resonant air-core transformer. Earlier oil-insulated Tesla coils needed large and long insulators at their high-voltage terminals to prevent discharge in air. Later Tesla coils spread their electric fields over larger distances to prevent high electrical stresses in the first place, thereby allowing operation in free air. Most modern Tesla coils also use toroid-shaped output terminals. These are often fabricated from spun metal or flexible aluminum ducting. The toroidal shape helps to control the high electrical field near the top of the secondary by directing sparks outward and away from the primary and secondary windings.

text: A more complex version of a Tesla coil, termed a "magnifier" by Tesla, uses a more tightly coupled air-core resonance "driver" transformer (or "master oscillator") and a smaller, remotely located output coil (called the "extra coil" or simply the resonator) that has a large number of turns on a relatively small coil form. The bottom of the driver's secondary winding is connected to ground. The opposite end is connected to the bottom of the extra coil through an insulated conductor that is sometimes called the transmission line. Since the transmission line operates at relatively high RF voltages, it is typically made of 1" diameter metal tubing to reduce corona losses. Since the third coil is located some distance away from the driver, it is not magnetically coupled to it. RF energy is instead directly coupled from the output of the driver into the bottom of the third coil, causing it to "ring up" to very high voltages. The combination of the two-coil driver and third coil resonator adds another degree of freedom to the system, making tuning considerably more complex than that of a 2-coil system. The transient response for multiple resonance networks (of which the Tesla magnifier is a sub-set) has only recently been solved.[54] It is now known that a variety of useful tuning "modes" are available, and in most operating modes the extra coil will ring at a different frequency than the master oscillator.[55]

text: Primary switching[edit]

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text: Modern transistor or vacuum tube Tesla coils do not use a primary spark gap. Instead, the transistor(s) or vacuum tube(s) provide the switching or amplifying function necessary to generate RF power for the primary circuit. Solid-state Tesla coils use the lowest primary operating voltage, typically between 155 and 800 volts, and drive the primary winding using either a single, half-bridge, or full-bridge arrangement of bipolar transistors, MOSFETs or IGBTs to switch the primary current. Vacuum tube coils typically operate with plate voltages between 1500 and 6000 volts, while most spark gap coils operate with primary voltages of 6,000 to 25,000 volts. The primary winding of a traditional transistor Tesla coil is wound around only the bottom portion of the secondary coil. This configuration illustrates operation of the secondary as a pumped resonator. The primary 'induces' alternating voltage into the bottom-most portion of the secondary, providing regular 'pushes' (similar to providing properly timed pushes to a playground swing). Additional energy is transferred from the primary to the secondary inductance and top-load capacitance during each "push", and secondary output voltage builds (called 'ring-up'). An electronic feedback circuit is usually used to adaptively synchronize the primary oscillator to the growing resonance in the secondary, and this is the only tuning consideration beyond the initial choice of a reasonable top-load.

text: In a dual resonant solid-state Tesla coil (DRSSTC), the electronic switching of the solid-state Tesla coil is combined with the resonant primary circuit of a spark-gap Tesla coil. The resonant primary circuit is formed by connecting a capacitor in series with the primary winding of the coil, so that the combination forms a series tank circuit with a resonant frequency near that of the secondary circuit. Because of the additional resonant circuit, one manual and one adaptive tuning adjustment are necessary. Also, an interrupter is usually used to reduce the duty cycle of the switching bridge, to improve peak power capabilities; similarly, IGBTs are more popular in this application than bipolar transistors or MOSFETs, due to their superior power handling characteristics. A current-limiting circuit is usually used to limit maximum primary tank current (which must be switched by the IGBT's) to a safe level. Performance of a DRSSTC can be comparable to a medium-power spark-gap Tesla coil, and efficiency (as measured by spark length versus input power) can be significantly greater than a spark-gap Tesla coil operating at the same input power.

text: Practical aspects of design[edit]

text: This section contains instructions, advice, or how-to content. The purpose of Wikipedia is to present facts, not to train. Please help improve this article either by rewriting the how-to content or by moving it to Wikiversity, Wikibooks or Wikivoyage. (June 2018)

text: High voltage production[edit]

text: A large Tesla coil of more modern design often operates at very high peak power levels, up to many megawatts (millions of watts[56]). It is therefore adjusted and operated carefully, not only for efficiency and economy, but also for safety. If, due to improper tuning, the maximum voltage point occurs below the terminal, along the secondary coil, a discharge (spark) may break out and damage or destroy the coil wire, supports, or nearby objects.

text: Tesla experimented with these, and many other, circuit configurations (see right). The Tesla coil primary winding, spark gap and tank capacitor are connected in series. In each circuit, the AC supply transformer charges the tank capacitor until its voltage is sufficient to break down the spark gap. The gap suddenly fires, allowing the charged tank capacitor to discharge into the primary winding. Once the gap fires, the electrical behavior of either circuit is identical. Experiments have shown that neither circuit offers any marked performance advantage over the other.

text: However, in the typical circuit, the spark gap's short circuiting action prevents high-frequency oscillations from 'backing up' into the supply transformer. In the alternate circuit, high amplitude high frequency oscillations that appear across the capacitor also are applied to the supply transformer's winding. This can induce corona discharges between turns that weaken and eventually destroy the transformer's insulation. Experienced Tesla coil builders almost exclusively use the top circuit, often augmenting it with low pass filters (resistor and capacitor (RC) networks) between the supply transformer and spark gap to help protect the supply transformer. This is especially important when using transformers with fragile high-voltage windings, such as neon sign transformers (NSTs). Regardless of which configuration is used, the HV transformer must be of a type that self-limits its secondary current by means of internal leakage inductance. A normal (low leakage inductance) high-voltage transformer must use an external limiter (sometimes called a ballast) to limit current. NSTs are designed to have high leakage inductance to limit their short circuit current to a safe level.

text: Tuning[edit]

text: The primary coil's resonant frequency is tuned to that of the secondary, by using low-power oscillations, then increasing the power (and retuning if necessary) until the system operates properly at maximum power. While tuning, a small projection (called a "breakout bump") is often added to the top terminal in order to stimulate corona and spark discharges (sometimes called streamers) into the surrounding air. Tuning can then be adjusted so as to achieve the longest streamers at a given power level, corresponding to a frequency match between the primary and secondary coil. Capacitive "loading" by the streamers tends to lower the resonant frequency of a Tesla coil operating under full power. A toroidal topload is often preferred to other shapes, such as a sphere. A toroid with a major diameter that is much larger than the secondary diameter provides improved shaping of the electrical field at the topload. This provides better protection of the secondary winding (from damaging streamer strikes) than a sphere of similar diameter. And, a toroid permits fairly independent control of topload capacitance versus spark breakout voltage. A toroid's capacitance is mainly a function of its major diameter, while the spark breakout voltage is mainly a function of its minor diameter. A grid dip oscillator (GDO) is sometimes used to help facilitate initial tuning and aid in design. The resonant frequency of the secondary can be difficult to determine except by using a GDO or other experimental method, whereas the physical properties of the primary more closely represent first-order approximations of RF tank design. In this schema the secondary is built somewhat arbitrarily in imitation of other successful designs, or entirely so with supplies on hand, it's resonant frequency is measured and the primary designed to suit.

text: Air discharges[edit]

text: While generating discharges, electrical energy from the secondary and toroid is transferred to the surrounding air as electrical charge, heat, light, and sound. The process is similar to charging or discharging a capacitor, except that a Tesla coil uses AC instead of DC. The current that arises from shifting charges within a capacitor is called a displacement current. Tesla coil discharges are formed as a result of displacement currents as pulses of electrical charge are rapidly transferred between the high-voltage toroid and nearby regions within the air (called space charge regions). Although the space charge regions around the toroid are invisible, they play a profound role in the appearance and location of Tesla coil discharges.

text: When the spark gap fires, the charged capacitor discharges into the primary winding, causing the primary circuit to oscillate. The oscillating primary current creates an oscillating magnetic field that couples to the secondary winding, transferring energy into the secondary side of the transformer and causing it to oscillate with the toroid capacitance to ground. Energy transfer occurs over a number of cycles, until most of the energy that was originally in the primary side is transferred to the secondary side. The greater the magnetic coupling between windings, the shorter the time required to complete the energy transfer. As energy builds within the oscillating secondary circuit, the amplitude of the toroid's RF voltage rapidly increases, and the air surrounding the toroid begins to undergo dielectric breakdown, forming a corona discharge.

text: As the secondary coil's energy (and output voltage) continue to increase, larger pulses of displacement current further ionize and heat the air at the point of initial breakdown. This forms a very electrically conductive "root" of hotter plasma, called a leader, that projects outward from the toroid. The plasma within the leader is considerably hotter than a corona discharge, and is considerably more conductive. In fact, its properties are similar to an electric arc. The leader tapers and branches into thousands of thinner, cooler, hair-like discharges (called streamers). The streamers look like a bluish 'haze' at the ends of the more luminous leaders. The streamers transfer charge between the leaders and toroid to nearby space charge regions. The displacement currents from countless streamers all feed into the leader, helping to keep it hot and electrically conductive.

text: The primary break rate of sparking Tesla coils is slow compared to the resonant frequency of the resonator-topload assembly. When the switch closes, energy is transferred from the primary LC circuit to the resonator where the voltage rings up over a short period of time up culminating in the electrical discharge. In a spark gap Tesla coil, the primary-to-secondary energy transfer process happens repetitively at typical pulsing rates of 50–500 times per second, depending on the frequency of the input line voltage. At these rates, previously-formed leader channels do not get a chance to fully cool down between pulses. So, on successive pulses, newer discharges can build upon the hot pathways left by their predecessors. This causes incremental growth of the leader from one pulse to the next, lengthening the entire discharge on each successive pulse. Repetitive pulsing causes the discharges to grow until the average energy available from the Tesla coil during each pulse balances the average energy being lost in the discharges (mostly as heat). At this point, dynamic equilibrium is reached, and the discharges have reached their maximum length for the Tesla coil's output power level. The unique combination of a rising high-voltage radio frequency envelope and repetitive pulsing seem to be ideally suited to creating long, branching discharges that are considerably longer than would be otherwise expected by output voltage considerations alone. High-voltage, low-energy discharges create filamentary multibranched discharges which are purplish-blue in colour. High-voltage, high-energy discharges create thicker discharges with fewer branches, are pale and luminous, almost white, and are much longer than low-energy discharges, because of increased ionisation. A strong smell of ozone and nitrogen oxides will occur in the area. The important factors for maximum discharge length appear to be voltage, energy, and still air of low to moderate humidity. There are comparatively few scientific studies about the initiation and growth of pulsed lower-frequency RF discharges, so some aspects of Tesla coil air discharges are not as well understood when compared to DC, power-frequency AC, HV impulse, and lightning discharges.

text: Applications[edit]

text: Today, although small Tesla coils are used as leak detectors in scientific high vacuum systems[9] and igniters in arc welders,[57] their main use is entertainment and educational displays.

text: Education and entertainment[edit]

text: Tesla coils are displayed as attractions at science museums and electronics fairs, and are used to demonstrate principles of high frequency electricity in science classes in schools and colleges.

text: Since they are simple enough for an amateur to make, Tesla coils are a popular student science fair project, and are homemade by a large worldwide community of hobbyists.  Builders of Tesla coils as a hobby are called "coilers". They attend "coiling" conventions where they display their home-made Tesla coils and other high voltage devices.  Low-power Tesla coils are also sometimes used as a high-voltage source for Kirlian photography

text: The world's largest currently existing Tesla coil is a 130,000-watt unit, part of a 38-foot-tall (12 m) sculpture titled Electrum owned by Alan Gibbs and currently resides in a private sculpture park at Kakanui Point near Auckland, New Zealand.[58]  A very large Tesla coil, designed and built by Syd Klinge, is shown every year at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, in Coachella, Indio, California, USA.  Austin Richards, a physicist in California, created a metal Faraday Suit in 1997 that protects him from Tesla coil discharges. In 1998, he named the character in the suit Doctor MegaVolt and has performed all over the world and at Burning Man nine different years.

text: Tesla coils can also be used to generate sounds, including music, by modulating the system's effective "break rate" (i.e., the rate and duration of high power RF bursts) via MIDI data and a control unit. The actual MIDI data is interpreted by a microcontroller which converts the MIDI data into a PWM output which can be sent to the Tesla coil via a fiber optic interface.[59][60] The YouTube video Super Mario Brothers theme in stereo and harmony on two coils shows a performance on matching solid state coils operating at 41 kHz. The coils were built and operated by designer hobbyists Jeff Larson and Steve Ward. The device has been named the Zeusaphone, after Zeus, Greek god of lightning, and as a play on words referencing the Sousaphone. The idea of playing music on the singing Tesla coils flies around the world and a few followers[61] continue the work of initiators. An extensive outdoor musical concert has demonstrated using Tesla coils during the Engineering Open House (EOH) at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The Icelandic artist Björk used a Tesla coil in her song "Thunderbolt" as the main instrument in the song. The musical group ArcAttack uses modulated Tesla coils and a man in a chain-link suit to play music.

text: Vacuum system leak detectors[edit]

text: Scientists working with high vacuum systems test for the presence of tiny pin holes in the apparatus (especially a newly blown piece of glassware) using high-voltage discharges produced by a small handheld Tesla coil. When the system is evacuated the high voltage electrode of the coil is played over the outside of the apparatus. At low pressures, air is more easily ionized and thus conducts electricity better than atmospheric pressure air.  Therefore, the discharge travels through any pin hole immediately below it, producing a corona discharge inside the evacuated space which illuminates the hole, indicating points that need to be annealed or reblown before they can be used in an experiment.

text: Health hazards[edit]

text: The high voltage radio frequency (RF) discharges from the output terminal of a Tesla coil pose a unique hazard not found in other high voltage equipment: when passed through the body they often do not cause the painful sensation and muscle contraction of electric shock, as lower frequency AC or DC currents do.[62][17][63][64]  The nervous system is insensitive to currents with frequencies over 10 – 20 kHz.[65]  It is thought that the reason for this is that a certain minimum number of ions must be driven across a nerve cell's membrane by the imposed voltage to trigger the nerve cell to depolarize and transmit an impulse.  At radio frequencies, there is insufficient time during a half-cycle for enough ions to cross the membrane before the alternating voltage reverses.[65]  The danger is that since no pain is felt, experimenters often assume the currents are harmless.  Teachers and hobbyists demonstrating small Tesla coils often impress their audience by touching the high voltage terminal or allowing the streamer arcs to pass through their body.[66][67][17]

text: If the arcs from the high voltage terminal strike the bare skin, they can cause deep-seated burns called RF burns.[68][69]  This is often avoided by allowing the arcs to strike a piece of metal held in the hand, or a thimble on a finger, instead.  The current passes from the metal into the person's hand through a wide enough surface area to avoid causing burns.[17]   Often no sensation is felt, or just a warmth or tingling.

text: However this does not mean the current is harmless.[70]  Even a small Tesla coil produces many times the electrical energy necessary to stop the heart, if the frequency happens to be low enough to cause ventricular fibrillation.[71][72]  A minor misadjustment of the coil could result in electrocution.  In addition, the RF current heats the tissues it passes through. Tesla coil currents, applied directly to the skin by electrodes, were used in the early 20th century for deep body tissue heating in the medical field of longwave diathermy.[63]  The amount of heating depends on the current density, which depends on the power output of the Tesla coil and the cross-sectional area of the path the current takes through the body to ground.[64]  Particularly if it passes through narrow structures such as blood vessels or joints it may raise the local tissue temperature to hyperthermic levels, "cooking" internal organs or causing other injuries.  International ICNIRP safety standards for RF current in the body in the Tesla coil frequency range of 0.1 - 1 MHz specify a maximum current density of 0.2 mA per square centimeter and a maximum power absorption rate (SAR) in tissue of 4 W/kg in limbs and 0.8 W/kg average over the body.[73]   Even low power Tesla coils could exceed these limits, and it is generally impossible to determine the threshold current where bodily injury begins.  Being struck by arcs from a high power (> 1000 watt) Tesla coil is likely to be fatal.

text: Another reported hazard of this practice is that arcs from the high voltage terminal often strike the primary winding of the coil.[62][70] This momentarily creates a conductive path for the lethal 50/60 Hz primary current from the supply transformer to reach the output terminal.  If a person is connected to the output terminal at the time, either by touching it or allowing arcs from the terminal to strike the person's body, then the high primary current could pass through the conductive ionized air path, through the body to ground, causing electrocution.

text: Skin effect myth[edit]

text: An erroneous explanation for the absence of electric shock that has persisted among Tesla coil hobbyists is that the high frequency currents travel through the body close to the surface, and thus do not penetrate to vital organs or nerves, due to an electromagnetic phenomenon called skin effect.[71][17][74][75]

text: This theory is false.[76][77][78][62][72][79]  RF current does tend to flow on the surface of conductors due to skin effect, but the depth to which it penetrates, called skin depth, depends on the resistivity and permittivity of the material as well as the frequency.[80][81]   Although skin effect limits currents of Tesla coil frequencies to the outer fraction of a millimeter in metal conductors, the skin depth of the current in body tissue is much deeper due to its higher resistivity and lower permittivity.  The depth of penetration of currents of Tesla frequency (0.1 - 1 MHz) in human tissues is roughly 24 to 72 cm (9 to 28 inches).[81][80][62]  Since even the deepest tissues are closer than this to the surface, skin effect has little influence on the path of the current through the body;[79] it tends to take the path of minimum electrical impedance to ground, and can easily pass through the core of the body.[82][62][81]  In the medical therapy called longwave diathermy, carefully controlled RF current of Tesla frequencies was used for decades for deep tissue warming, including heating internal organs such as the lungs.[82][63]  Modern shortwave diathermy machines use a higher frequency of 27 MHz, which would have a correspondingly smaller skin depth, yet these frequencies are still able to penetrate deep body tissues.[77]

text: Related patents[edit]

text:
"Electrical Transformer Or Induction Device". U.S. Patent No. 433,702, August 5, 1890[83]
"Means for Generating Electric Currents", U.S. Patent No. 514,168, February 6, 1894
"Electrical Transformer", Patent No. 593,138, November 2, 1897
"Method Of Utilizing Radiant Energy", Patent No. 685,958 November 5, 1901
"Method of Signaling", U.S. Patent No. 723,188, March 17, 1903
"System of Signaling", U.S. Patent No. 725,605, April 14, 1903
"Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy", January 18, 1902, U.S. Patent 1,119,732, December 1, 1914 (available at U.S. Patent 1,119,732

text:
J. S. Stone, U.S. Patent 714,832, "Apparatus for amplifying electromagnetic signal-waves". (Filed January 23, 1901; Issued December 2, 1902)
A. Nickle, U.S. Patent 2,125,804, "Antenna". (Filed May 25, 1934; Issued August 2, 1938)
William W. Brown, U.S. Patent 2,059,186, "Antenna structure". (Filed May 25, 1934; Issued October 27, 1936).
Robert B. Dome, U.S. Patent 2,101,674, "Antenna". (Filed May 25, 1934; Issued December 7, 1937)
Armstrong, E. H., U.S. Patent 1,113,149, "Wireless receiving system". 1914.
Armstrong, E. H., U.S. Patent 1,342,885, "Method of receiving high frequency oscillation". 1922.
Armstrong, E. H., U.S. Patent 1,424,065, "Signalling system". 1922.
Gerhard Freiherr Du Prel, U.S. Patent 1,675,882, "High frequency circuit". (Filed August 11, 1925; Issued July 3, 1928)
Leydorf, G. F., U.S. Patent 3,278,937, "Antenna near field coupling system". 1966.
Van Voorhies, U.S. Patent 6,218,998, "Toroidal helical antenna"
Gene Koonce, U.S. Patent 6,933,819, "Multifrequency electro-magnetic field generator". (Filed October 29, 2004; Issued August 23, 2005)[84]