[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: How should we measure coil efficiency
From: Robert W. Stephens[SMTP:rwstephens-at-headwaters-dot-com]
Reply To: rwstephens-at-headwaters-dot-com
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 1997 10:04 AM
To: Tesla List
Cc: MALCOLM-at-directorate.wnp.ac.nz
Subject: Re: How should we measure coil efficiency
> From: Malcolm Watts[SMTP:MALCOLM-at-directorate.wnp.ac.nz]
> Sent: Monday, July 21, 1997 10:29 PM
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: How should we measure coil efficiency
>
> Hi all,
> My two cent's worth on this topic. I am simply after the
> longest and hottest possible discharges for a _known_ primary power
> which is _easily_ and accurately measured as Ec x BPS. For a sync or
> static gap system this is very well defined. For an async, scoping
> using a HV probe can give an adjusted figure or a mean consumption
> figure depending on whether one wishes to extract peak based
> performance or mean power performance.
> Forget the transformer type I say and forget transformer losses
> in the gap. I know that this makes wallplug figures meaningless but
> let's face it, they are largely meaningless anyway. If we are to
> extract any meaningful figure of merit for different coils we simply
> have to know as accurately as possible just how much power is going
> into the primary. Failure to do this in the past has led to rules of
> thumb for power vs length that have been counterclaimed one after the
> other by actual working coil designs.
> I am not interested in how far a coil can throw sparks to a
> ground rod with a 100mph gale blowing around it. I am interested in
> how far it can demonstrably reach (even just 10% of runtime) and
> connect under favourable conditions. One of the magical qualities of
> Tesla Coils is the ability "to reach out where no induction coil can
> go". Let's use that quality and impress the hell out of the
> neighbours.
> BTW, congratulations to Bert Pool for his latest magnifier
> experiments.
>
> What do others think?
> Malcolm
>
Malcolm,
I'm with you buddy all the way on what you just eloquently said.
Your statement about the coil being able to reach out to extremes
only 10% of the time as being a meaningful and qualifying number of
merit is also representative of my own thoughts in this area but I
think I am even less demanding in this respect. I consider bonified
records made even if the long reachers are only occuring 1% or 2 % of
the time. This still ain't bad compared to the output efficiency of most lasers,
and I don't here any similar fuss from that camp!
BTW, I find I have moved to a location where it is very windy almost
all the time. As a consequence, until I get a higher ceiling in my
test room to allow indoor testing of medium large systems, I unfortunately do
now have an interest in how far the streamers can go in a 100 mph wind! : (
Ec x BPS sounds good to me.
rwstephens