A soccer fan demonstrates a special effect created with Tesla coils and chain mail gear in Changle, Fujian Province on June 12. Photo: CFP

An inventor in Changle, Fujian Province has made soccer even more electrifying by using Tesla coils to create long and dazzling arcs of lightning with every touch of the ball.

Wang Zengxiang, a soccer fan with a degree in electronics and information technology, has been working for years to blend the 19th century invention with the beautiful game.  

His design requires participants to stand on coils charged with over 1,000 kilovolts while wearing a suit of chain mail and specially-designed cleats that, when contacted with a similarly prepared ball, create perfect lightning arcs with each kick.  

"A bolt of lighting is generated each time the player kicks the ball, making it look like a comet with a long tail," said Wang.

Following his first successful lightning experiments in 2007, Wang began designing electrostatic effects for dancers and has shown off his system during a Chinese TV talent show appearance.

Wang said he hopes to invent an electrified football field so that players can actually "play with lightning."

fjsen.com