The Tesla Gun
hackerfriendly.com
hackerfriendly.com
http://www.appliedenergetics.com/downloads/product-offerings...
I guess that might spoil the steampunk theme, though...
Perhaps you meant "allegedly" or "apocryphally"?
This was a neat build though.
1 - http://wolfenstein.wikia.com/wiki/Tesla_gun_%28RtCW%29
2 - http://wolfenstein.wikia.com/wiki/Tesla_gun_%28WOLF_2009%29
If this hits your skin, you probably won't feel it due to the high frequencies involved, similarly to how you won't hear sounds over ~20khz. Your body wont' be able to process it neurologically. You will, however, get a really nasty burn from it, which can get bad if you don't sense the initial shock. If it hits your torso, you could potentially experience heart rhythm issues, but unlikely.
Voltage and frequency dangers are funny things. The most dangerous voltages are from about 50V to 1000V because it interferes with your nervous system -- lower and the current is too low to affect you, and higher causes you to reflexively release. The most dangerous frequencies are ~1Hz to ~10kHz. They're most likely to mess with your cardio rhythms in a bad way. Funny thing about this is that the most dangerous voltages and currents are found in household voltages -- 120V@60Hz (220V@50Hz in Europe).
Pretty cool to actually see it after months of noticing parts Rob left on tables at the local hackerspace...
I read a biography of him a while ago, but I can't recall which one, and it seemed too pulp-ey (which in a way was appropriate since so much of what he did seemed to spring from the pages of pulp sci-fi).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer:_Red_Alert
Q: "Can 0-point field energy be harnessed?"
A: "Have you ever heard of the Tesla coil? Use that more often, that's all it takes. Magnetic energy tapped into the planet's electromagnetic field produces more than sufficient energy to power the planet with approximately 258 trillion inhabitants on it. ..there is movements towards the technology but it is not yet truly being supported by governments. ..the financial, the technological aspects of it is alluding some of your scientists. ..we would suggest to them to simplify their mathematical equations rather than complexify them as they're trying to do."