Most of the teams that entered into the TI Analog Design Contest were seniors and about to graduate. Not Adam Munich, a physics major from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Adam created his design without the help of a team, and was just a freshman when he entered the contest. His improved Tesla coil beat 46 other designs to capture the 2013 Engibous Prize.
The improved Tesla coil stands eight feet tall, and given enough power, could make lightning bolts up to 13 feet away and also play music.
What is perhaps most impressive of all – the improved Tesla coil was not a mandatory class assignment or senior design project – it was something Adam did for fun.
“I’ve made many things in the past from X-ray machines to particle accelerators and I’ve never built a tesla coil before, so I figured it would be a fun project,” he said.
Adam hopes others will see the TI Analog Design Contest as an opportunity to enjoy science, math, technology and engineering.
“It gives people a chance to have fun. Not often do students have the ability to enter contests like this and have fun with their senior design project or whatever they are being assigned,” he said.
To learn more about Adam’s improved Tesla coil, watch the video below.
