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Re: Weird ideas




From: 	Edward V. Phillips[SMTP:ed-at-alumni.caltech.edu]
Sent: 	Sunday, December 07, 1997 10:35 AM
To: 	tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: 	Re: Weird ideas

"  What I meant was when using a certain wallplug input to a tube type TC
would you get a longer or shorter controlled spark length compared to a
classical TC using the same wallplug input ? A controlled spark length being
a horizontal continuous spark from the secondary terminal to a ground point,
using standard air corrections if necessary. This type of rating leaves a
lot to be desired but is the simplest and makes good sense from a scientific
standpoint compared to the rare extra long spark normally used."
	
	I think that a spark-excited coil would win this race every time,
due to the very much higher peak powers which would initiate the
streamer.  A CW tube exiter might have, at most, a few kW of power, while
the spark can run  into the 10's of megawatts.  On the other hand, if you
started the streamer from a CW coil by some means such as bringing
a grounded rod near it, you might be able to draw it out to a pretty
long one.

	I have wanted to experiment here with a pulsed tube exciter,
using old radar transmitter tubes which can put out of the order
of 100 kW each at 20 kV on the plates, but can't work up the ambition!
While that would not have the same peak power as the spark, it might
be enough to make an interesting difference.

Ed