Two things that are always cool: Tesla coils and Nerf guns. One thing that’s cooler than those two things: a freaking Tesla coil Nerf gun. That’s right. Rob Flickenger converted a Nerf gun into a handheld Tesla coil. Freaking. Sweet.
Here’s how Flickenger and Rusty Oliver of the HazardFactory made the gun Tesla coil-ready:
He made an aluminium version of the plastic toy. He gathered cans, scrap metal, and even a bicycle fender and melted it all down. Then he and Oliver created a cast of the Nerf gun out of sand and clay and poured in the molten aluminium. After it hardened, Flickenger milled excess metal from the interior using a CNC machine and cleaned up the edges with a rotary tool.
Flickenger, who taught himself the physics of high-voltage electricity, used a transformer from an old TV, a battery from a power drill and a fan from an old computer server for the Tesla coil portion. Check out the video below and see the science behind the Tesla Coil Nerf Gun at PopSci. [Pop Sci]