coil and output electrode from the supply transformer at the mains frequency. Because two identical capacitors in series have half the capacitance of a single capacitor, the resonant frequency of the Oudin circuit is Use The high voltage terminal of the coil was attached through a wire to various types of handheld electrode which the physician used to apply the high voltage to the patient's body. The treatment was not painful for the patient, because alternating current in the radio frequency (RF) range, above 10 kHz in frequency, does not generally cause the sensation of electric shock. The Oudin coil was a "unipolar" generator, with the lower end of the coil grounded, so sometimes only one electrode was applied to the patient and the return path for the currents was through the ground. However usually a ground wire from the bottom of the coil was used; attached to a ground electrode which the patient held. A drawback of the Oudin coil was that movement of the electrode and wire during use changed the capacitance of the top terminal of the secondary coil, and thus its resonant frequency. This threw the secondary coil out of resonance with the primary, causing a reduction in voltage. So the tap point on the primary coil had to be constantly adjusted during use to keep the primary and secondary in "tune" (seen in left image above). Many specialized types of electrodes were used to apply the current to various parts of the patient's body. These generally fell into two types. To apply brush discharges (called "effluves") to the outside of the patient's body, electrodes consisting of one or more metal points on an insulating handle were used. Care had to be taken to keep these far enough from the body to prevent a continuous arc to the skin, which could cause painful RF burns. To apply current directly to the body surface, as well as to tissues inside the patient's body through the mouth, rectum, or vagina, a vacuum tube "condensing" electrode was used. This consisted of a partially evacuated glass tube of various shapes, with an electrode sealed inside, attached to the high voltage wire. This produced a dramatic violet glow when energized. The glass envelope of the tube formed a capacitor with the patient's body through which the current had to pass, limiting it to safe values. To apply current to the whole