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Re: The Two Capacitor Problem.



Phil,
        I had to reply to this....

> >How can nothing (the vacuum) do something (store energy)?
> >It can't.
> >
> >Therefore, since space has properties, it cannot be nothing.
> >(it's an AETHER/or thing!)
> >
> >This begs the question: What the &*%-at- is space, anyway?!
> >
> >Flames, brickbats, letterbombs etc. welcome...
> >
> >Jeffrey (I'm probably nuts, please help me) Wiggins.
> >
> >
>   
> You are right.  There is energy and there is matter, and an eternal process 
> of one being converted into the other.  I maintain that a vacuum would be 
> the worst dielectric because free space cannot store energy (or matter) or 
> it wouldn't be free space.  It can, however, conduct energy.  Like the 
> electromagnetic energy from the sun.  Or, from a microwave antenna on a 
> satellite.

Actually, a gapped inductor stores most of its energy in the airgap 
believe it or not. You can saturate a non-gapped inductor at quite a 
modest flux level but the reluctance of the gap vastly increases
its storage ability. This technique is commonly used in SMPS chokes
where high energy storage requirements are the norm. The thing that 
makes iron powder inductors a great choice in forward converters is
the inbuilt distributed airgap with a relatively small volume to 
boot.

Malcolm