Photo by Anton Olsen
ArcAttack and their singing Tesla coils made two appearances at the VEX World Championships this weekend. Their performance of the Star-Spangled Banner at the opening ceremony was totally cool, but the Faraday cage gave me the most memorable experience of the weekend.
I don’t know who first posed the question, but it was suggested that Grant Imahara take a turn in the Faraday cage. Being a true MythBuster, he was skeptical, but tentatively agreed on the condition he inspects the cage and is satisfied with its construction.
Photo by Anton Olsen
While I didn’t think to ask Grant about his experience later, I took a turn in the cage earlier in the day and found it to be exhilarating. I could catch glimpses of the faint leaders just before they connected with the steel cage, then everything would go bright as a series of arcs burnt across my retina, only to stop and repeat for the next note. The photo to the right is pretty close to what I actually saw except it is a lot brighter and louder in person.
Quite a few people snagged video, but ArcAttack’s own footage is the best so far. You can see the video complete with sound and audience reaction after the jump.
Related links:
ArcAttack @ Vex robotics 2010 National Anthem
Grant Imahara at the 2010 VEX Robotics Championship.
Sean takes a turn in the Faraday cage.
ArcAttack’s website.
