Peter Terren made a similar tree two years ago, but he upped the ante this year with a 30-foot tree using a Tesla coil. Nikola Tesla is well known as the father of electricity.

The invention of the Tesla coil goes back to 1891. Today, these coils are mainly used for entertainment displays and educational purposes.

On his blog, Terren details how exactly he constructed this incredible looking tree. With that much electricity going around, you can bet that this won’t be popular inside homes, but it just looks plain amazing outside in the dark. I just wonder what kind of presents Santa will leave Peter Terren underneath this strange tree.

[via Neatorama via Make, photos by Peter Terren]

This DIY Tesla coil was built entirely from items found in the garbage. The project was conceived partially to prove just how many useful items are throw away, but the result will blow your mind… or a fuse.

Just follow his easy steps (and pack a pair of rubber gloves for the trash-digging), and then you’ll be ready to reenact this scene from 2003′s Coffee and Cigarettes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[Trashy Tesla Coil via HackNMod]