Re: ribbon vs. tubing

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: ribbon vs. tubing
From: Malcolm Watts <MALCOLM-at-directorate.wnp.ac.nz>
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 1996 08:16:53 +1200

Hi Chip,
          The flashing should work very well. Even way back when 
Tesla himself stated that flashing was the best. I must say, those 
books Richard got together for me are absolute gems. And Richard
has also stated that he got the lowest RF impedance using flashing.
I don't know if anybody has tried this but you could get a very 
compact high inductance coil by using polyethylene sheet between the 
turns and tight-rolling it like a cap. The poly would have to overlap 
the sides of the flashing by a couple of inches to prevent 
flashovers.

Malcolm


> I have started making my next coil.  It will be a 6" model, certainly
> bigger than my garage :-)
> 
> I have been thinking about the primary and had a question.  I realized
> that the flashing that I use for capacitors comes in 4 or 6 inch widths.
> It is significantly cheaper than copper tubing, and I was wondering if I
> used ribbon of this flashing that had the same surface area as a tube of
> the proper diameter (say 1/2") if it would have the same current carrying
> capabilities and would work as well.  
> 
> I'm up for the experiment if no one knows, but I'd hate to just waste the
> money if someone has tried it before.