Series rotary gap

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Series rotary gap
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 20:36:07 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net


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From:  richard hull [SMTP:rhull-at-richmond.infi-dot-net]
Sent:  Monday, February 23, 1998 9:01 PM
To:  Tesla List
Subject:  Re: Modeling a magnifier

Snip

>I haven't seen much mention on the List regarding 
>the design and performance of multiple-swept gaps;
>usually its all about 2-gap rotaries in series with
>an array of static quench gaps.
>
>Realistically, most rotary gap systems have actual
>mechanical dwell times of many hundreds of usec's,
>if you consider the edge speeds, electrode widths,
>and the distance the electrodes must travel before
>the arc can be broken.  There is little chance that
>_any combination_  of rotary and static gaps could
>quench in tens of usec's strictly _by themselves_;
>that is without a big arc hanging off the top of
>the output coil, stealing away most of the energy 
>before it can bounce back to the primary.
>Even the finest and best thought out rotary/static
>gap combinations will ring for hundreds of usec's 
>_if_ the toroid is large enough to prevent breakout.
>
>
>-GL
>
>
>Have you ever seen a working series rotary!  We use those exclusively with
our maggeies for years now (since 1992).  Dave Sharpe and I designed the
first model and Dave has designed two more additional types on his own which
he has used.

In these, up to twelve series gaps are included on one wheel.  We use .180"
diameter tungsten rod for our electrodes (to 12KW).  This helps a lot.  The
real biggey is that the effective recessional velocity, off the points, are
12x other rotary systems, as the entire 12 gaps are opening up
simulataneously! Based on the linear velocity of a good fast rotary wheel of
reasonable size, times under 100us are easy to acquire.

It is really nice to see 12 pinpoint arcs without the "follow around"
flaming in K=6 systems.

Richard Hull, TCBOR