how do these yellow transformers work?

[thebucketmouse]

I have several of these heavy yellow-tape-wrapped transformers, how do they transform voltage? Could I just connect a battery to one of the wire coils and expect a different voltage to be across the other two wires?? Please enlighten me

 

[carulli]

No you will need a driver circuit that is ac, transformers wont work unless there ids an ac input.

 

[pseudolobster]

They work by magnetism.

When you first pulse a current through a wire it gives off a burst of magnetic energy... Wrap that magnetic energy in a coil around a ferrite core and put a second coil winding on that core and any time there's a magnetic pulse in the ferrite core an electric pulse will be induced in the secondary coil proportionate to the number of windings in each coil and the frequency of the pulses.

The thing with this is it only works with pulses, so you'll have to use AC current or build some sort of driver, otherwise it'll just act as an inefficient electromagnet with a continuous source of DC.

 

[thebucketmouse]

ahh ok thanks. I was wondering why it did nothing but spark when I hooked DC current up to it What would happen if one were to use wall transformer but connect the 110v wall power to the opposite wires on the transformer? Would it up the voltage instead of lower it?

 

[FireMyLaser]

I think it would blow up. ;D

The coil must be able to handle 110V.

 

[jamilm9]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/553603/do_try_this_at_home_episode_6_a_shocking_experiment/