You’ve never seen speakers like these. Instead of a traditional speaker diaphragm, plasma arc speakers use a modified carbon arc lamp to produce sound. The best part? You can build them yourself, and ...

An early carbon arc lamp using two flat plates instead of the more common design using two rods. Touching the plates and then retracting them slightly initiates the arc as usual. The arc travels ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...

ELECTRIC lamps on the arc principle are almost as numerous as the trees in the forest, and it is somewhat fresh to come upon something that is novel. In these lamps the carbons are consumed as the ...

You’ve never seen speakers like these. Instead of a traditional speaker diaphragm, plasma arc speakers use a modified carbon arc lamp to produce sound. The best part? You can build them yourself, and ...