RE: Hydrogen Spark Gaps

• To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
• Subject: RE: Hydrogen Spark Gaps
• From: "Payne, Will E" <will.e.payne-at-lmco-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
• Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 17:09:21 -0600
• Approved: terryf-at-verinet-dot-com

We used cold-cathode hydrogen thyratrons for dumping Blumlein PFNs into
lasers.  Thay are sealed units, a ceramic can about twice the thickness of a
hockey puck with metal flanges.  A trigger electrode goes into the center of
the bottom flange.  It is necessary to regulate the internal hydrogen
pressure by including an internal reservoir usually a supply of metal
hydride.  We bought ours from EG&G, and even after the trigger was destroyed
and it was useless as a triggered thyratron, it still makes a fine static
gap with amazing quenching ability.

Ours were usually discarded due to accidental catastrophic destruction of
the trigger, but the seal was unbroken and the main electrodes intact.  If
you find one surplus, get it.

Will

> > >
> > >    At work we have a hydrogen spark gap with operates at up to
> > >30atm pressure, it is not used with tesla coils, but it is in a
> > >capacitor discharge circuit, and the quenching is INCREDABLE, we can
> > >operate it with primary energies of 10's of joules per discharge with
> > >rep rates over 5KHz, and even then it is not the gap which is the
> > >limiting factor, but the system it is driving.
> >
> 

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