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Re: A Puzzle
From: Malcolm Watts[SMTP:MALCOLM-at-directorate.wnp.ac.nz]
Sent: Sunday, September 07, 1997 3:55 PM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: A Puzzle
Bert, Richard,
> From: Bert Hickman[SMTP:bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com]
> Reply To: bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com
> Sent: Friday, September 05, 1997 9:15 AM
> To: Tesla List
> Subject: Re: A Puzzle
<pretty big snip>
> A light bulb IS a current driven device. and is almost ideal for
> integrating the type of rapid, fast rise-time current spikes associated
> with streamer propagation (as long as the current doesn't take a "short
> cut" and jump around the inductance of the filament). And the bulb is
> operated in the "shielded" region of the top toroid, so ionization
> heating is not a factor. I am familiar with Duane Byland's LED's in
> various places along the resonator.. note that these will NOT permit you
> to measure the peak currents coming off the self-C of the charged toroid
> itself. Further, while the frequency response of LED's is not bad
> relative to a couple of hundred kilohertz, accurate measurement of
> current peaks going into discharges off the top would require much
> higher bandwidth than available with common LED's.
>
> While I might not be able to pick out the peaks using a tungsten
> filament, I have no doubt that the average current measurements are in
> the ballpark. Any thoughts from other coilers?? Are the hot discharges
> coming off big coils only demonstrating milliamp or microampere current
> levels?
I would like to second all of Bert's comments. Charged caps of any
size can deliver amperes into a low inductance. If you want an
indication, just look at spark colour and brightness. Current reaches
a maximum at T = PI(SQRT(LC)/2
Malcolm