PULSE
What is it?
PULSE was an Transient Electromagnetic Pulse (TEMP) cannon. It was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of a “sub-$3000” electromagnetic weapon and to help test methods to stop it.
What did you do?
We built a Marx Generator from scratch - capacitors and all. This was then to be linked into our custom antenna. However, we ran into some trouble with the school shortly before we were supposed to demonstrate it. We could not finish the whole device in time for Engineering Open House (and wouldn’t have been able to use it if we had).
What was the result?
The best project at Engineering Open House that year - we had nonstop crowds for two days straight. I spoke to groups of 75-100 every 8 to 10 minutes for 15 hours. We would talk about the system, and then draw 1 - 2 foot long arcs of plasma off of our main coils. Fun!
Oh, and Bill Nye (yes, that Bill Nye) said he thought our project was the best in the entirety of Engineering Open House and spent so much time with us he was late for his speech.
Can I learn more?
