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Re: Compact Capacitor Idea (Take 2)
> Original Poster: <acmnovak-at-execpc-dot-com>
>
> Put a ~22 awg wire down the center of a piece of vinyl tubing(clear
> flexible material found at any hardware store - must have slightly thick
> walls), then fill it with saltwater (oh yeah, seal up one end first...),
> then coil it up very loosly and put it in a container full of saltwater
> (leave both ends of the tubing out of the water). Now, put a bolt in the
> remaining open end of the tubing and a bolt in the saltwater bath. There
> you have it...
> It could be made of 1/4" tubing in a cool whip container or whatever
> else you can get your hands on. It may be crap-tacular but it works ; )
Even with thinner-walled polyethylene tubing, this would not make a good
capacitor. For starters, salt water is inferior to metal as a conductor.
It relies on ions moving through the fluid to conduct electricity. As you
can imagine, this results in heating losses, and poor pulse performance.
Secondly, your coiled tube will have some *serious* inductance, probably
more than the tesla primary!!! Yikes, obviously not a good idea.
Thirdly, this design is not exactly "space-saving" as compared with more
conventional poly and metal plate designs. You will have a lot of salt water
for very few pico farads.
I would recommend continuing your brainstorming before spending money and
time buildng your prototype.
-Adam
adamsmith-at-mediaone-dot-net