Re: HV cap ver 1.1

To: tesla-at-grendel.objinc-dot-com
Subject: Re: HV cap ver 1.1
From: ed-at-alumni.caltech.edu (Edward V. Phillips)
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 17:21:43 -0800
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I personally use a screw driver or clip lead, but capacitors
are not large.  For discharging really large capacitors such
as in a hv transmitter power supplies, a 10k, 10 watt wire wound
should do just fine.  It will dissipate as much as a hundred
watts for a few seconds.  For example, an 0.1 ufd capacitor
charged to 20 kV only has 20 watt-seconds stored.  Enough\
to blow someone to smithereens (whatever they are), but not
enough to blow up a 10 watt wire wound resistor, provided
the insulation is good enough.  I happen to have a big bank
of 10 k, 10 watt resistors mounted on a circuit board and h ave
never crumped one yet.
Ed Phillips