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Re: Power versus Spark Length
From: FutureT-at-aol-dot-com[SMTP:FutureT-at-aol-dot-com]
Sent: Friday, July 18, 1997 3:40 AM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Power versus Spark Length
<< John -
> Note that the square law relationship may only hold for a particular coil
> at a certain wattage. This relationship would vary when the following
> parameters are changed:
John C,
I agree that the square law relationship will not hold for all coils. In my
square law conjecture, I'm assuming that each coil is built to be of a
similar efficiency...preferably near optimum efficiency...within practical
construction limits. Coils that are poorly designed will of course fall
short.
> 1. Increasing/decreasing the Tesla primary voltage would
increase/decrease
> the spark length.
I am under the impression that a somewhat lower/higher voltage can be
compensated for to a large degree by using a larger capacitor. Yes losses
will tend to be higher, but this can be dealt with to a degree by using
heavier
wiring, etc. I have not found much difference in efficiency between similar
coils of different voltages.
>
> 2. Increasing/decreasing the secondary coil inductance would
> increase/decrease the spark length.
I'm assuming that all coils are optimized for best spark output and use
whatever amount of sec inductance is needed for best performance.
>
> 3. Increasing the length of the secondary wire beyond a certain length
> would overload the power transformer and reduce the spark length.
This would be an example of poor coil design.
> 4. The spark length is longer with pole type transformers compared to
neon
> transformers because the pole type can be changed to produce a variety of
>short circuit wattage outputs.
IMHO the main reason that pole transformer coils give longer sparks is
because they generally handle more power and have lower losses.
> There are other parameter changes that affect the spark length. The
JHCTES
> TC computer program changes the spark length to agree with these
> possibilities. The program uses more complex equations than the square law
> so it will agree with the different combinations of TC parameters. The
> program is based on empirical data and needs to be updated so your research
> is helpful. To my knowledge this is the only program available to date that
> shows spark length with the above
> completeness.
Yes, many parameters can affect spark length. Again, my square law
conjecture simply suggests that properly designed coils of various power
inputs will produce a spark length that is determined by the square law.
The
square law may be found to not perfectly fit coils of extreme sizes, since
certain unknown non-linearities, etc, may be found. I offer it simply as a
possibility for discussion and experiment. But it is interesting that many
well designed coils do seem to fit the square law.
Your program which takes many factors into account, is in some ways
analyzing coils of different design "qualities". If a person decides to plug
less than optimal specifications into the program, he will obtain less than
optimal results. I see no connection between this and my square law
suggestion which assumes optimal specifications.
John Freau
> John Couture
>>