[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: Poulsen arc gap / Magnetic blow-out spark gaps....



Mike Nolley wrote:

>     What function does the large inductance play?  What would be the
> characteristics of a Tesla coil driven by such a circuit?  Would the
> discharge be
> CW, like hydrogen thyratron driven coils, or disruptive?

I will answer without looking at references (a good one is Fleming's
book, mentioned in the list some time ago), so I may not be precise.

The large inductance insulates the RF circuit from the DC power
supply. Apparently, the same (?) inductances formed also an 
electromagnet with the poles creating a magnetic field at the gap. Why 
I don't know.

The discharge would be continuous, as in a "tube coil".
Note that the discharge of a tube coil may be not so continuous.
I would expect an energy buildup in the resonator until breakout is
reached, the energy being quickly drained, and the process
repeating. Has someone taken a look with an oscilloscope at a
tube coil?

I am not sure if this would be a convenient driver for a Tesla coil.
For radio, it was what could be done before the invention of
vacuum tubes, was full of problems, and was abandoned soon after 
something better was developed (tubes).

Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz