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The Lightning Foundry

By Greg Leyh
First created

The Lightning Foundry

An ambitious project to re-create an amazing electrical effect that's only been observed in natural lightning... until now.

An ambitious project to re-create an amazing electrical effect that's only been observed in natural lightning... until now. Read more

$35,787 pledged of $348,000 goal
backers
0
seconds to go
Funding Unsuccessful
This project's funding goal was not reached on .
Project We Love
Design
San Francisco, CA
Rewards Campaign FAQ Updates 5 Comments 14 Community
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About this project

What is the Lightning Foundry?   The Lightning Foundry is a project to re-create super-long discharge effects normally found only in lightning.  Two 10-story Tesla Coil towers will fill an area the size of a football field with lightning-like discharges hundreds of feet in length. If we trigger super-long discharge effects the arcs could strike considerably further.

Final Update --- Although our project didn’t get funded, rest assured that we’ll continue to scour the surplus markets for obtainium and build as we can. Check our website from time to time for progress updates.

Thanks again to everyone for supporting this fundraiser and getting the word out there.  Just over 36,000 people visited this page during the campaign!  We actually achieved 10% of the funding goal, which is *by far* the closest the Lightning Foundry has ever come to reality.  It was great to experience how many people out there value the pure research potential of this project and the mysteries it might help resolve.

And a special thanks to Kickstarter, for revolutionizing how new projects are funded.  Cutting-edge advances in scientific research are returning to the hands of independent scientists, engineers, and inventors.

A ‘Million Volt Ride’ in the top electrode of the 40kW experimental coil in San Francisco… G. Leyh directing an arc at a 10ft stepladder.

Jamie Hyneman directing an arc at a test subject from the top of the 40kW experimental coil, using his custom salt-water cannon.

Mike Kennan and his ‘Tesla Roadster,’ the world’s first [and currently only] vehicle powered completely by wireless power.  [Click here for video]

Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ

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  1. Select this reward

    Pledge $10 or more About $10

    Access to the monthly project construction updates and our thanks for helping to make this project a reality.

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  2. Select this reward

    Pledge $25 or more About $25

    Everything included above, plus a beautiful high resolution 8x10 action shot of the Lightning Foundry twin prototypes in operation.

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  3. Select this reward

    Pledge $75 or more About $75

    Everything included above, plus two general admission tickets to a Lightning Foundry public performance. This special Kickstarter offering is about half of the retail ticket price.

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  4. Select this reward

    Pledge $125 or more About $125

    Everything included above, plus a Kickstarter exclusive: For the first time on DVD -- Electrum, by Alberta Chu. A documentary on the construction and installation of the largest Tesla Coil in the world. You’ll also get a commemorative Lightning Foundry 12” etched stainless-steel ruler, featuring dual units. [32nds and mm.] Please read the 'Important Notes on Rewards' for shipping details.

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  5. Select this reward

    Pledge $195 or more About $195

    Everything included above, plus two special ‘Major Lightning Foundry Backer’ invitations to a Lightning Foundry public performance. The two Major LF Backer invites will have preferred seating and access to the strike zone after the performance, so come say hello and visit the machinery. The public performances will feature first-ever demonstrations of multi-hundred foot arc discharges and their effects on objects. Please read the 'Important Notes on Rewards' for shipping details.

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  6. Select this reward

    Pledge $295 or more About $295

    Everything included above plus a beautiful high energy electrical discharge, trapped in a 2" solid acrylic block. [Please see the photo to the left] These figurines are made by using a multi-megavolt particle accelerator to trap high speed electrons in an acrylic block, then explosively releasing the charge with a grounded spike. The fractal discharge patterns continue all the way down to the molecular level. Please read the 'Important Notes on Rewards' for shipping details.

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  7. Select this reward

    Pledge $595 or more About $595

    The ‘Enthusiast Pack.’ Everything included above, plus an invite to transform an item of your choice with a multi-megawatt electrical discharge. Visit our San Francisco lab and personally fire our ½-ton high-energy capacitor bank into your item to help it achieve a high state of division. Optionally, you can send the item to us and we’ll energize it for you, plus provide you with a slow-motion video. Please add the appropriate return postage to the pledge for this option and see the 'Important Notes on Rewards' for shipping details.

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  8. Select this reward

    Pledge $9,600 or more About $9,600

    The ‘Experimenter Pack.’ Everything included in the Enthusiast Pack, plus three exclusive offerings:

    *****A) A lifetime ‘Principal Lightning Foundry Backer’ membership, providing free admission(+1) to all Lightning Foundry public performances, access to the strike zone after performances, plus invites to special testing events. Please read the 'Important Notes on Rewards' for shipping details.

    *****B) A ‘Million Volt Ride’ on our large experimental coil in San Francisco CA. Personally throw 25ft electric arcs at any item you wish to bring along, and live to tell about it. Jamie Hyneman climbed this coil with his custom salt-water cannon and fired a plasma discharge at the 'bad guy' in the water-jet stun-gun episode of Mythbusters.

    *****C) An invitation to place an item of your choice inside the strike zone of the completed, full-scale Lightning Foundry. This could be either a machine that intentionally uses the ambient fields for power [you’ll receive a special award if you can outrun our ‘Tesla Roadster’, pictured at left] or it could be an item that receives the electrical energy in an uncontrolled fashion, and is inevitably consumed.

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Funding period

- (36 days)