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Re: Re: TC Secondary Electrostatic Charge

Hi Everyone,

>I think you are experiencing dielectric memory. The general rule I
>apply to capacitors is : _never_ assume the cap is fully discharged
>just because you have discharged it. A safe capacitor is one with
>a short applied to its terminals. I have been bitten more than once
>like this. What seems to happen is that the stressed dielectric slowly
>unstresses over a period of time.
>

Instead of dielectric memory could it also be the insulation on the wires
rubbing against each other when the secondary is in the magnetic field of the
primary? On my salt water coil I used to have a large electrostatic charge
built up on the secondary that would give me one hell of a belt when I
touched it after firing the coil - I only had a small doorknob on top of the
coil and to stop arcing from the top turns of the coil I covered it with a
liberal coating of silicone gutter sealant. I dont notice any electrostatic
buildup on my latest plastic cap coil which does not have any silicone
insulating it as I now use a large toroid.

Since electrostatic charges are usually due to rubbing I thought the charge
buildup might be due to the wires in the secondary flexing (as the secondary
carries a small current in a strong magnetic field it will have a magnetic
force on it) and rubbing up against the insulation and so generating a large
electrostatic charge?

Best Regards,
Mark


-- Mark
       _/_/_/   _/_/_/_/       Mark Conway
      _/    _/    _/          Deep Thought BBS, Auckland, New Zealand
     _/    _/    _/          A FirstClass(tm) Macintosh GUI BBS
    _/_/_/      _/          Internet: mconway-at-deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz