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Re: Leyden jar caps (Not shooting for anything gloriuous,but...)
Tesla List wrote:
>
> Original Poster: "Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz" <acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br>
>
> Tesla List wrote:
>
> > A better way to make a Leyden Jar capacitor is to use salt water on the
> > outside as well as the inside of the bottles. It tends to eliminate
> > corona losses, and if a bottle breaks, the salt water is contained by
> > the outside container. It does make a series string more difficult
> > (outside containers must be separated and insulated) and may exacerbate
> > the shock hazard . . .
>
> Why not metal foil inside and outside, of course in a bottle with
> wide mouth? This is the classical design for a Leyden jar since more
> than 200 years.
I suggested the salt water primarily as a way of minimizing corona. My
own experience is that they last longer than foil alone (inside and
out). If you want a lot of ozone, loose foil is the way to go. Never
managed to get the inside foil to adhere uniformly to the inside of
bottles, without a lot of air gaps. Best method was to use aluminum
foil and inflate a toy balloon, inside the foil, to press it into the
plastic (and epoxy adhesive).
>
> And about using salt water, there is a possibility that I don't remember
> seing discussed in this list, that is to use the water level for
> tuning, in the simplest way by changing the level of the water at the
> outer side of the bottles. A particularly convenient disposition
> could be to use two capacitors in series with the center grounded,
> in parallel with the power transformer and filter, having also in
> parallel the spark gap and the primary coil, both in series.
> The two capacitors would be bottles with salt water inside and
> outside, with the outside water common and grounded. A pump, or
> something simpler, as a bucket with water that is rised or lowered,
> connected to the water around the capacitors by a syphon tube,
> could be rather safely used for tuning, even with the system powered.
I did try a device to raise and lower the (glass - in this case) bottles
in the tank. Works really well as a tuning device, particularly if you
are searching for the ideal capacitor - inductor combination, or trying
for pinpoint tuning in a coil. The crank handle was a piece of nylon
bar for safety.
Salt water presents some unique hazards. I found if I got salt water on
wood, I could wipe it off, and dry it, but if it had a chance to
penetrate the wood, it would become conductive again when the ambient
humidity was high.
The siphon or pump idea to raise and lower the electrolyte would take
some designing to make it safe. Mechanical methods are probably easier.
Take care
bob misiura