Hello there, my first post!

 

i really want a small tesla coil - but hearing that merely having one in the same room as a computer can kill it - including you, also the large price / risk involved in making one so i've gone a step down and i really want a large plasma ball!

 

the only problem is that they - cost - LOADS!

 

specially the large ones, so i was thinking, i can pick up a cheap little one for around £10.00, what would happen if i were to get a cheap plasma ball, dismantle it and put the "core" of it into another glass object - say a large bottle or something similar, does it have to be a vaccuum/special gas inside (i suspect it's argon or neon in there) or will it work fine on air? and would it have enough power to fill the area with little bolts of electricity or will it just sit there looking a bit dim and boring?

Microwave a match in acrylic glass. That's cool looking plasma.