[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Hydrogen gap
Tesla List wrote:
>
> Original Poster: "Steve Young" <youngs-at-konnections-dot-com>
>
> Mike,
>
> >From what I have read about Poulsen arc oscillators, if you don't use very
> strong magnets to quench the arc, or arcs in your case, you will not be able
> to get oscillations much above the audio range. I think it will be quite an
> engineering feat to design a magnet which will provide the proper magnetic
> field for all of your gaps. Possibly you should start with just one gap to
> experiment with, then try adding more. But it sounds fascinating - keep us
> posted!
>
> --Steve
I have built a very small (about 0.5 amps at 100 VDC) arc oscillator
here which will oscillate to 2 MHz (upper limit) and works pretty well
at 300 kHz. No magnetic quenching but the arc runs in a bath of
kerosene. Not the way to go, but as an experiment it is a partial
success. Magnetic quenching is needed for high powers and high
frequencies, and the hydrogen/hydrocarbon atmosphere helps always. I
have a reprint of an old article on "arc converters" which gives
empirical data on optimum magnetic field for a variety of parameters
including frequency. The main focus of the article was on operation at
"5000 meters" and longer wavelengths (60 kHz and less), with power
levels up to hundreds of kilowatts. Multi-gap designs are not mentioned
at all, nor have I seen them mentioned in any literature on the
subject. Arc oscillators work fine if properly adjusted, put out lots
of CW power at efficiencies of the order of 50%, and lots of noise to go
with it all. In the days before high-power vacuum tubes were available
they were great devices, but were mostly phased out when good power
tubes became available.
Note that these are quasi-CW devices and do not have any of the
switching characteristics of a conventional spark gap.
Ed