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RE: What efficiency?!
If you sparked into water contained within
a chamber then the energy could be
ascertained from the water temperature
maybe. The capacitive loading of the
water would have to be accounted for in the
coil's tuning.
Barry
----------
|From: "tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com"-at-PMDF-at-PAXMB1
|To: Benson Barry; "Tesla-list-subscribers-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com"-at-PMDF-at-PAXMB1
|Subject: What efficiency?!
|Date: Friday, November 01, 1996 3:11AM
|
|<<File Attachment: 00000000.TXT>>
|From hullr-at-whitlock-dot-comThu Oct 31 22:40:51 1996
|Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 15:46:00 -0800
|From: Richard Hull <hullr-at-whitlock-dot-com>
|To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
|Subject: What efficiency?!
|
|All,
|
|This is my second pass at this posting. Our power died just as I was
|about to hit the "send" button and all was lost! The mail server
|was crapped out on powerup and more work needed to be done. Oh well,
|here goes...
|
|The classic definition of effeciency is total energy output of a system
|divided by total energy input It would be virtually impossible to
|measure all the little and major power losses and output energies which
|are actually part of the finished output of the Tesla coil as we normally
|operate it.
|
|We should define what WE CONSIDER to be the output. is it to be every
|form of radiant EM energy emitted from the system? If so, we will
|probably never have a handle on this form of efficiency. To much
|instrumentation would be required to accurately chase down and measure
|every form of output energy. Resonator energy is a close mime of what
|much really be out total output but still doesn't address losses in same.
|
|Jack Couture and others are probably close to the mark when they attempt
|to address the relationship of output spark to input energy. However the
|spark length is a terrible analog of SPARK ENERGY! I think that since
|spark is the #1 output for us Tesla coilers it must be considered out
|energy out defining characteristic. This means that the efficiency will
|by nature be low as we are not including energy in the resonator which
|never makes it to spark and RF output energy which is invisibly radiated
|away, as well as a few more little energy leaks which really go by us as
|non-output forms.
|
|This is what I have always considered the real output of the operating
|Tesla system as used and operated by we "spark heads". Make no mistake
|about it, the spark lengths can be identical at identical powers but one
|can contain much more energy within the spark. (as mentioned on a former
|posting by me) Likewise, far less power can be used by an advanced
|amateur and achieve similar spark length to mere average systems operated
|by the less experienced parties! Not only can the spark length be just
|as long as lower powers, but it can be hotter! Why? Better efficiency!
|And, not based on spark length at all. The eye and ear are pretty good
|inputs when attached to the integrating brain.
|
|The bottom line is that the arcs all wind up as air heaters. Some small
|energies are also dissapated in the form of light and noise. But for the
|most part, the arc rips through the air heating it and does so based on a
|very large number of factors from power input and operator know how
|(major factors), to barometric pressure and temperature (minor factors).
| In between are many, many other factors (gap losses, cap losses, input
|power circuit losses, transformer losses, coupling losses, reisitive
|losses, resonant energy losses, etc.) The list could go on and on.
|regardless of all these, the spark is the real output! A coil can be
|made to utilize 6 KVA and never spark! I have done this! This is a zero
|percent efficient system by my "true sparker" definition. To a radio
|engineer the system is at or near peak efficiency (RF producer).
|
| With the same 6 KVA, an advanced Tesla builder will produce 8-10 foot
|arcs and his spark will be at least blue white if not blindingly white.
| A rank amateur will get sometimes 4-5 feet of spark from is 3" brass
|ball terminal which might range from red-purple to blue with this same
|input energy. These systems are more or less efficient by my proposed
|criteria.
|
|Thus, a calorimetric reading would be required to really, truly,
|determine relative spark output efficiency.
|
| I think we are all agreed that all energy is conserved through out the
|system regardless of operator or anything else for that matter. We are
|mainly concerned with sparks, therefore the more, the Longer and the
|hotter, they are with less and less input energy, the more efficient we
|concider our system.
|
|I must try this in a sealed, thermally insulated chamber and mesure the
|temperature rise over time to compute the spark energy. Naturally this
|would demand that only the toroid extend into this chamber and not the
|resonator. It would, by nature, require a small system, which would tend
|to be a bit more efficient than a large one, but should be a real eye
|opener and I believe would show that we are only putting out about 10-20%
|of our input energy in air heating spark.
|
|Richard Hull, TCBOR
|