Really thick wire for Jacobs ladder

I keep melting 240V wire with the huge currents...so I need something a bit more beefy. Any suggestions?

get some of the thick wire used for the electricity meters ... most hardware stores selling mains electrical components (sockets etc) should have it ... that stuff should handle abit more voltage/current than the standard 240v wire ...

TOM

Whats a jacob's ladder?

Well, the kind he's making is 2 tall wires that are about 2" apart about maybe a few feet tall. You run a charge through then and a large spart runs up between the wires to the top. another kind of jacobs ladder is a toy made of 5 wood blocks put together with ribbons. One more jacobs ladder is a carnival game, a ladder suspended by ropes that can flip over, the idea is to climb from the bottom to the top and grab the prize. Google them for pics. Now you know 3 kinds of Jacobs ladder, and i've wasted some of my life..... cool.

Go to the High Voltage section of epanorama.net .You'll find a lot of high volatile info there. There's also a section for the old horror movies visual effects and in it you can find a lot of info on making jacobs ladders.

Back in high-school days (40yrs ago)
we built one of these in the lab using
an old high-voltage power supply and
some good old-fashioned coat-hangers!
The hanger wire held up just fine to
the current. No melting or sagging.
Maybe you can use this today?