Nikola Tesla Books
Tongs of Copper or Bronze WELDING TRANSFORMER 219 Smooth jaws Fig. 12. These copper tongs are useful in the conduct of many experiments this stage the current should be turned off and the performer shoud place a pair of gloves on his hands, explaining to the audience that, as they have just seen, the current passing through his hands has no effect whatever upon him, but that the intense heat so near his hands is worse than unpleasant. The heavy gauntlet gloves in place, the experiment can be carried to the stage of white heat, at which point the steel is almost plastic and the rod can be bent easily into a U shape. A few minutes more and the steel actually burns up in the performer's hands, sending forth a shower of sparks in all directions. In order to protect the eyes and clothing from the sparks, it is well to wear a helmet and a large leather apron to completely cover the person. This dress has its psychological effect upon the audience also. The transformer may be used to weld together two
