[TCML] Best bottle cap electrolytes, was re:HV capacitors wanted

[FIFTYGUY@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 12/2/08 9:43:03 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
pslawinski@xxxxxxxxx writes:

>If you're stuck with glass bottle capacitors, you should try baking  soda and
>water instead of salt and water.  Supposedly baking soda  is more

>conductive.


    I found that hard to believe (I work for a company  that manufactures 
electrolytic cells for on-site generation of chlorine gas from  table salt). A 
saturated NaCl solution has a conductivity of around 0.25  S/cm.
    I've also used the electrolytic process for rust  removal, and it's 
generally agreed that sodium bicarbonate is one for the  slowest-working 
electrolytes for that application. Sodium Carbonate (baking  powder) works more quickly.
    Here's a science fair project where various salts  were evaluated for 
conductivity specifically for Tesla coil bottle capacitor  applications:
 
:http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0535.pdf
 
    BTW, Sodium Hydroxide would have 50% better  conductivity than NaCl, but 
it has a decreasing conductivity once you get over  20 percent concentration. 
    The conductivity of various salt solutions can be  highly dependent on 
temperature, are typically non-linear, and as in the case of  NaOH, can have a 
local maximum with regards to concentration.
    Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) at the 37% azeotrope would  have three times the 
conductivity of saturated NaCl. 
    
    It would be interesting to see if the conductivity  of the electrolyte in 
the bottle caps made any noticeable difference. After all,  they represent a 
pretty big surface area, and the spark gap has a  dynamic impedance in the 
neighborhood of a few Ohms. Using more  bottles that were smaller could  have 
just as large an effect as using a  different electrolyte, and the would also 
theoretically improve the AC impedance  of the cap bank as well. Probably also 
help mitigate heating of the glass in the  caps as well. 
 
-Phil LaBudde
Center for the Advanced Study of Ballistic  Improbabilities

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