Re: Radius of curvature and misc ramblings

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Radius of curvature and misc ramblings
From: Mike McCarty <mmccarty-at-dnaco-dot-net>
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 14:01:14 EST

> I have a friend who makes fibreglass items for a living. He has several 
> moulds for toroids. Is it possible to use a fibreglass toriod and cover it 
> with say aluminium kitchen foil? If there is any way to make use of these 
> please let me know. I am going to build a new TC from scratch thanks to the 
> help of one of our resident experts, Malcom Watts. If I can use the 
> fibreglass toroid I will have to design the new system to suit the toroid. 
> One of the moulds is 8" diameter of the hollow section. What is the ideal 
> TOTAL diameter of an 8" toroid? 
>  
> Paul Millott 


Try covering one with aluminum HVAC tape.  It can be found in most hardware
stores.  It's used for sealing joints on metal ductwork.  

You don't necessarily have to design the system around the toroid.  The function
of the toroid is to add capacitance to the secondary so it will resonate at a lower
frequency.  It also keeps the spark from breaking out prematurely, so when it does 
break out you get a longer arc.

There is no ideal diameter for a toroid.  The capacitance added to the secondary 
is a function of the surface area.  The larger the toroid the more you bring the 
frequency down.  I'd say a minimum of a couple feet would be a good start.  
although 3 or 4 feet would not be not out of the question for a medium size coil.
>From what I've seen if the toroid looks proportionate to the secondary it could
probably stand to be larger.

-Mike McCarty