This strange looking abandoned structure was, as the English Russia website put it, "shot by some Russian guy in the forests of Russia". Anyone who knows what it is? A transformer station, props from the upcoming X-Files 2 movie?
According to this, they're giant Tesla coils used in electricity experiments. Seems like a plausible explanation, though I can't vouch for the link's authenticity.
It is not a Tesla coil, they are voltage multipliers. They take incoming AC ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternating_current ) and turn it into very high voltage DC ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_current ) they are probably Cockcroft-Walton generators ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockcroft-Walton_generator ). The single tower (the round one) shown on Dark Roasted Blend is a Marx Generator ( http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/marxgen.htm )
They are all very cool and I want one (a big one)!
Knock it off it's a Commie jungle jim for the children of dissidents and subversives. When the children climb up on it the authorities turn it on and electrocute the spawn of the malcontents.
Hey, thanks for the links that have cleared up a little mystery in my head now eight years old...
When i lived in St. Petersburg, there was a smaller version of this just behind my dorm. I looked at it every morning through the window. I knew that it was attached to the Technological University's high voltage lab, but i never saw anyone working. Then again, it was the late 90's in Russia, not many people were working.
http://www.sibniie.ru/experimental/complex.htm
Translated:
http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sibniie.ru%2Fexperimental%2Fcomplex.htm&langpair=ru%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternating_current )
and turn it into very high voltage DC
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_current )
they are probably Cockcroft-Walton generators
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockcroft-Walton_generator ).
The single tower (the round one) shown on Dark Roasted Blend is a Marx Generator
( http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/marxgen.htm )
They are all very cool and I want one (a big one)!
via the comments on englishrussia
More infos here:
http://205.243.100.155/frames/longarc.htm#Longspark
if they are tesla's,
them sure are some mean-ass coils!
:-P
We use them to generate lightning strikes to test the transformers. But these are huge. And strangely standing alone in a forest.
When i lived in St. Petersburg, there was a smaller version of this just behind my dorm. I looked at it every morning through the window. I knew that it was attached to the Technological University's high voltage lab, but i never saw anyone working. Then again, it was the late 90's in Russia, not many people were working.