Violet wall

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Glass probe and housing with Tesla transformer

A Violet wall ( engl. Purple rod purple bar ) is a part on the Tesla transformer based device for administration of high-frequency alternating currents with very high voltage and low amperage. The sometimes controversial devices were sold under various trade names and have been used since the beginning of the twentieth century as part of the high frequency therapy propagated at the time .

The devices have also been used for erotic electrical stimulation since the 1990s .

The application causes light electric shocks at a distance to the skin and a warming feeling on skin contact.

history

Inside of a device with a Wagner hammer , a kind of ignition coil (left) and a capacitor (right). The current consumption can be adjusted with the adjusting screw via the distance between the magnet armature.

Violet Wands were originally designed and sold by Nikola Tesla in the early 20th century . As a result, several other providers began to copy and develop the design. However, Tesla did not take action against these copies.

Violet Wands are coveted by collectors of historical technology as collector's items and because of their aesthetic appearance.

Layout and function

Different electrode shapes

A Violet Wand, for example, consists of a plastic handle with a switch and power cord. The intensity is changed via an adjusting screw and the distance between the armature of the Wagner hammer. The electrical circuit consists of one or two coils and a capacitor .

In devices with two coils, one serves as an electromagnet for a switching contact on a magnet armature; A capacitor is charged via them. As soon as no more current flows, the armature drops out, closes the contact and discharges the capacitor into a second coil, which is constructed like an ignition coil . At the front of the handle is a contact sleeve connected to the high-voltage output of the ignition coil, into which an electrode can be inserted. For electrical safety, the device is partially connected via an isolating transformer .

Devices with only one coil contain an ignition coil that also operates the magnet armature.

The high voltage or the high frequency are created by a resonance transformer , the natural resonance of which results from the ignition coil, capacitor and also the external load. These are damped vibrations with a few hundred kilohertz and voltages in the double-digit kilovolt range. The principle is similar to both the pulse Tesla transformers and the ignition coil in a car with capacitor ignition .

Glass probe with violet glowing argon

A violet rod electrode usually consists of a hermetically sealed gas-filled glass vessel. The gas or gas mixture that glows in the form of a glow discharge when the device is used determines the color, the shape of the discharge is also determined by the internal pressure, see Geissler's tube . Common are purple , red , yellow , blue or pink . The glass electrodes have different shapes and sizes, for example spheres, pears, mushrooms, snakes, combs or penis-like shapes. The glass electrodes have a metallic contact point that can be inserted directly into the contact sleeve of the handle.

The use of purely metallic electrodes (mostly in the form of medical probes) increases the effect considerably, and constructions based on aluminum foil in strip form are sometimes used.

safety

The use of Violet Wands by people with pacemakers , insulin pumps, or other electrically powered implants can be dangerous. People with any kind of heart condition or nerve damage should not use violet bars. Mucous membranes and especially the eyes are particularly at risk. Long-term use on the same part of the body can cause reddening and burns of the tissue. The sparks can ignite flammable liquids. The devices are often not disconnected from the mains, so touching the contact sleeve can be life-threatening. Some devices are for (safer) battery operation. There is a risk of injury if the glass electrodes are broken.

Violet Wands produce small amounts of ultraviolet light. They are therefore also called ultraviolet rods. The UV radiation generated inside is largely absorbed by the glass wall and cannot cause sunburn on the skin. External pre-discharges on the glass electrodes form small amounts of ozone and nitrogen oxides , so that an ozone odor occurs.

Others

Similar devices are also used as test devices to check a vacuum in a closed glass body (e.g. an incandescent lamp ) via the resulting luminous phenomenon and to estimate the level of the vacuum approximately. In addition, the discharges from such devices can also be used to check the absence of pores in powder coatings .

The printability of polar plastics (e.g. polyethylene ) is improved and electrostatic charges are dissipated ( ionizer ). This means that similar devices can be found in plastics processing plants.

See also corona treatment .

See also

literature

  • NM Eberhart: Handbook of high frequency therapy. 1912.
  • Hans Leo Stieböck: Internship in high frequency therapy (diathermy). Springer, 1926.
  • Werner Christian Simonis: The high frequency therapy from Arsonval to lineis. Gmelin, 1930.
  • Neumann: High Frequency - For the sick and healthy: a medical advisor. Thuringian Publishing House, 1928.

Web links

Commons : Violet Wand  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Robert Metelmann, Thomas von Woedtke (ed.): Plasmamedizin: Kaltplasma in dermedizinischen Praxis , Springer Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3662526446 . P. 41
  2. ↑ a b http://hotstreamer.deanostoybox.com/stk/tc/SAFEWAND.HTM Stefan Kluge: Safety hints for experimenting with violet wands , private contribution
  3. ↑ Collection User: Ulfbastel