Re: toroid height adjustment - what does it really do?

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Hollmike-at-aol-dot-com>

Hi curious John,
   You pretty much got it.  Raising/lowering the toroid will change the 
capacitance and alter the e-field.  What I noticed most myself is that it 
must be at the proper height above the top windings of the coil or you will 
get corona off those top windings which will end  up burning off the enamel 
coating sooner or later.  
Mike


> I am curious about what raising or lowering the height of the toroid
>  actually changes on a functional tesla coil.  What are we talking here?  A
>  change in the shape of the field (sending sparks in a different direction) 
,
>  altered capacitance (and thus frequency) of the secondary system of a coil,
>  or what?  Obviously it increases the distance from the breakout point to 
the
>  primary coil and depending on your arc length may thus help reduce primary
>  strikes.  But what else does it really do???
>  
>  Thanks much,
>  Curious John
>