Re: New Capacitor (fwd)

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Tesla List Moderator <mod1-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 09:40:24 -0800
From: Jim Lux <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>
To: Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: New Capacitor

you can probably figure out the type of capacitor by just comparing against the Maxwell catalog..  The high rep rate caps are significantly larger for the voltage/capacitance than the usual 1pps energy storage units.  An example of analyzing some data for Maxwell caps is at http://home.earthlink-dot-net/~jimlux/hv/caplife.htm, where I look at the difference in size between similar ly rated caps, except for life.

And, as Bert points out, Maxwell makes both polypropylene and mylar pulse caps.

I should also note that Maxwell makes (or made.. it's hard to tell these days http://www.ga-dot-com/energy/comp_syst/products/index.html is the new site.. flashy "mouseovers" but remarkably content light) large(>50 kg) energy storage capacitors using castor oil dielectric with a kraft paper spacing.  Castor oil has a high dielectric constant compared to mineral oil or polypropylene, roughly doubling the energy you can store in a given volume .  I don't recall the RMS ratings on these, but I'll bet it's low.  Peak current is high, though....

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: Tesla729-at-cs-dot-com
> 
> Hi Mike, JW, Bert,
> 
> Mike Novak wrote:
> 
> <
> And Bert Hickman wrote:
> 
> <<<Based upon the small physical size of the cap, it MAY actually be a
> Mylar energy storage cap... Maxwell makes both types, and the low duty
> cycle of a Marx generator does not require the low RF loss
> characteristics of a Polypropylene cap. Do you happen to have a Maxwell
> part number? >>>
> 
> Yes, I was afraid this could be a possibility but unfortunately, I don't have
> the part number or serial number available. It has the standard Maxwell
> label, but none of the info is printed in the appropriate blanks. I figured at
> the reasonable cost that I paid, I could afford to risk this possibility.
>