Re: flash tubes

• To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
• Subject: Re: flash tubes
• From: NickandSim-at-aol-dot-com (by way of Terry Fritz <twf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
• Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 18:09:52 -0600
• Approved: twf-at-verinet-dot-com

Hi All,
         I have to disagree with Reinhard over the life of the tubes.  All 
commercially made xenon flash/strobe tubes have a third electorde for the eht 
to ionize the gas, if you read a data sheet for a flash tube it wil quote a 
minimum trigger voltage, and all commercial strobe or flash units have a 
pulse transformer.  This is not easily reconisable - it is about the size of 
5 dimes stacked on top of each other and potted in resin.  
The factor which determines tube life is the size of the discharge cap (you 
can destroy a tube by putting a big cap on it ie. 680uF will shatter your 
tube all over the place and leave you picking glass out of your eyelids if 
you were stupid enough to look at it - he,he,he)
The tubes are totally unsuited to tesla work as even the high power strobe 
tubes are only rated at 45J per flash.  At the fast break rate and power 
levels used by coils they would heat up to glass melting type temperatures in 
a matter of minutes. 

Nick Field

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