Deep Down Inside,

I think many of us harbour a mad scientist trying to get out,

perhaps I did not quite word that correctly, let’s try again, this year it is the 85th anniversary of monster movie the original Frankenstein with Boris Karloff, in the film and most other movies of the monster since there have been fantastical machines with electrical sparks flying from them, one that always seems to be featured is a Jacob's ladder, a must have for all aspiring mad scientists, Jacob's ladders work by ionizing the air and drawing an electrical arc at the bottom of the ladder, soon, the ionized air gets much too hot to stay in the same spot so it rises bringing the arc with it and creating the effect, so for this weekend’s project this is how to make one,

Stats:

• Time: 4 hours
• Cost: $125
• Difficulty: Easy to medium

Tools:

• Screwdriver
• Soldering iron

Materials:

• 9,000- to 15,000-volt neon-sign transformer
• Three-position terminal strip
• No. 10 terminal screws
• Plywood board, 24-inch-by-12-inch-by-1⁄2-inch
• Two 14-inch-long No. 10 bare copper wires
• Two 1-megaohm resistors
• 16-gauge insulated wire
• 1-inch-long No. 10 bolt with screw head cut off
• 22-quart clear polycarbonate container

Instructions:

1. Make sure the transformer is unplugged before starting.
2. Attach the terminal strip to the center of the plywood with the No. 10 screws.
3. Attach the 10-gauge copper wires to the terminal strip, leaving one terminal between them. The wires will act as the electrodes.
4. Remove the screw from the terminal between the electrodes and replace it with the No.10 headless bolt.
5. Position the wires vertically so they’re about 1 centimeter apart at the end of the bolt, and then angle out to a maximum separation of 6 centimeters at the top.
6. Solder together the two resistors in series. Attach one end to one of the electrode terminals and the other to the bolt terminal.
7. Connect the positive trans- former terminal to one elec- trode terminal and the negative transformer terminal to the other with 16-gauge wires.
8. Make sure the transformer case is grounded: If it has a grounding screw, connect the screw to the electrical plug’s ground conductor.
9. For safety, cover the electrodes with the clear container.
10. Standing well clear of the electrodes, plug in the transformer. An arc will form at the bolt, travel up the electrodes, and reappear at the bottom. 

who would have thought being a mad scientist could be so much fun! but a word of caution, WARNING: Use in a well-ventilated area, never touch or go within a foot of the electrodes when the transformer is plugged in, it could cause injury or death, just like the movie then! all of the above was taken from this article originally published in the March/April 2016 issue of Popular Science, under the title “Unleash Your Inner Mad Scientist with a Jacob’s Ladder.”