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So i bought a 15,000 volt franceformer for $160. This is used to power my CO2 laser that is also homemade. The power supply is the most expensive part by a landslide so I decided to ask around. I emailed the guy who built a laser like mine and he said, "based upon an electronic halogen lamp transformer and an ignition coil It will readily give You about 50 watts at 15..20 kv. I persannolly use such a thing more than five years and pretty satisfied with its simplicity and performance..." how can i make such a power supply with a halogen lamp and a ignition coil?

Reese Houseknecht
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  • This is more an engineering question than physics. 2. Messing with laser power supplies is the leading cause of death for physics grad students, so keep one hand in your pocket while working on this.
    • – The Photon Jan 15 '18 at 21:33
  • Ive been talking to a lot of people about this and i am absolutely terrified. I bought rubber gloves(which wont help that much) and yes i will keep my hand in my pocket. But if i do get shocked from just my hand to my foot i will be fine right? – Reese Houseknecht Jan 15 '18 at 21:35
  • Wear rubber-soled shoes and keep your hands off the high voltage. Or just leave this kind of project for people who like to live dangerously. 50 W at 15 kV is plenty enough to kill. Even a 1 W CO2 laser is also plenty enough to cook an eyeball before you can blink, so there's that risk too. – The Photon Jan 15 '18 at 21:38
  • So rubber shoes, rubber gloves. I already know not to get to close or to even attempt to touch anything while my laser is running – Reese Houseknecht Jan 15 '18 at 21:39
  • You'll probably not be able to stick to wearing the gloves. It just ruins your dexterity. Also watch out for capacitors that remain charged after the laser is powered off. – The Photon Jan 15 '18 at 21:40
  • Yep i already built my discharge rod with a meter stick so i dont even have to get close to anything. Also i typed up a check list of everything to discharge so that i know for sure i didnt miss anything. You can never be to safe with your life – Reese Houseknecht Jan 15 '18 at 21:42