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RE Toroids and noise

Subject:      RE Toroids and noise
       Date:  Mon, 05 May 1997 16:13:44 GMT
       From:  robert.michaels-at-online.sme-dot-org (Robert Michaels)
Organization:  Society of Manufacturing Engineers
         To:   tesla-at-pupman-dot-com


        Boy, you are doing a lot of things that make me nervous.
        (Don't do that to me!) ...


T>First, can I make a toroid (like a 3" outer ring diameter, with a
total
T>of 12" wide) by covering foam toroids they sell in craft store with
T>aluminum foil? I can't see why not? I think it would he a real good
one.

        Most such foam is heat-sensitive.  It will suffice for a
        toroid =only= if the point heating from a Tesla discharge
        does not melt or decompose the foam.

T>would first paint/coat the foam with something like polyeurythane
(sp?)

        polyurethane

T>and make sure its REAL smooth, then coat it with the chemicals and
metal
T>powders, anyone tried/thought about this?

        Are you doing electricity, or chemistry?


T>Why? I am trying to visualize covering a toroid with aluminum foil,
and
T>I
T>am finding it hard to see it smooth, there for giving points that may
T>only constantly emit corona/sparks.

        If you want utter smoothness, purchase yourself a factory-
        made torous.  (They can be had with a mirror finish).

        The slight surface irregularities which concern would be
        a major source of loss in much =electrostatic= work.  In Tesla-
        ing, the continuous input of large amounts of power mitigate
        against the ill effect of such irregularities.

        If you use =narrow= strips of aluminum foil and work in a
        craftsman-like way you can obtain sufficient smoothness.


T>Also, how loud are these spark gaps suppose to be!!

        Somewhere between loud and goddamn loud.  (Of course if it's
        a really big coil it should achieve goddamn motherf---ing
        loudness, which is equivalent to quite a few decibels)

        Tesla-ing with =open= spark-gap coils is not small-apartment
        stuff.   Enclose your gap in a sound-proofed box.  Else
        work with vacuum-tube coils.

                   |  Ear protection is mandatory   |
                   |  with all open-gap coils, and  |
                   |  with many larger coils, open  |
                   |  gap or not.                   |


        Better you should go out on a Saturday night without condoms
        than coil without ear protection.  In the former case you're
        taking a chance.  In the latter long-term damage is a given.


T>I made a very small rolled cap out of 2  .74mil white kitchen trash
T>bags,

        Oy!

        Don't use pigment-filled polyethylene for =anything= Tesla-wise.
        The pigment seriously degrades the electrical properties of
        the polyethylene.

        Black is especially to be avoided - it's conductive carbon,
        but white is not a big improvement.


T>sliced up and rolled to make a cap about 3" tall, and about 2"
diameter
T>(note: there was about 32x.74 mils on every turn), can someone
calculate
T>this out for me? If you can calculate these, can you find out how many
I
T>would need to complete 0.0047 uf?

        Tough, because the pigment in your polyethylene degrades the
        dielectric constant in an unknowable way -- both initially and
        also after it has been altered by the long-term effects of
        an electric field.

T>Also, does it mater if the material is biodegradable? Will it break
down
T>over time, or does it need sun light or bacteria for that?

        If you're a g-d tree-hugger then by all means use
        biodegradable.

        Otherwise, avoid the stuff like poison.  The biodegradability
        is achieved by fillers which render the film more porous and
        (bio)degrade its electrical properties -- and the long-term
        effects of electrical stress on the filler is unknown.

        What the H! do you want biodegradability for?  Are you going
        to be recycling your capacitors in a land fill?  (The oil
        [into which the capacitors ought] to be immersed is going to be
        a bigger problem in a land fill than non-biodegradable film!)

T>I had this going with no oil, kind of like a test run, and it scared
me T>it was so loud, I was jumping a 1/2" spark, it was so loud, If I
[ ... ]

        Welcome to the reality of Tesla-ing.

T>Also, can someone tell me what U.S.P stands for? I purchased some
T>mineral oil, and it is written on the container.

        United States Pharmacopia - a reference book which describes
        purity standards for substances used in medicine (also pre
        scribing information).

        It's of no consequence in Tesla-ing.  In fact many oils which
        are not U.S.P. (no medical uses) are far superior for insula-
        ting purposes.

T><Still shaken from the noise> Jeremy Bair.

        Really?  From a half-inch spark?  From a 360-watt trams-
        former?   What are you going to do when you "hear" a
        10 or 15,000-watt "pole pig"??   (Are you sure Tesla-ing
        is the right hobby for you  [ I understand flower-gardening
        can be quite exciting - quiet, too ] )?


                                        Still shaking from some of the
                                        things in your post,

                                        Robert Michaels - Detroit, USA