Re: High Voltage Question

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

Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>

Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "S & J Young by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<youngs-at-konnections-dot-net>
> 
> Hi Irrelative (please use a real name on this list),
> 
> Cal Tech used to have a high voltage lab which had a million volt power
> transformer.  I witnessed the lab technicians draw amazing arcs which would
> flash over at about 3 feet and could be drawn out to over 20 feet!  There is
> no voltage limit in theory, just the practical limits of breakdown of
> insulation.  One could cascade a few transformers for several million volts
> if one had an almost unlimited budget
> --Steve

	When I went to Caltech (1948) the Kellog High Voltage lab did indeed
use a cascade of transformers to get HV AC.  By having the primary of
each transformer connected across a tap on the preceding one the problem
of primary-secondary voltage breakdown is essentially eliminated.  The
building is still there but suspect it is being used for something else
since power engineering isn't of much interest there these days.

Ed