Re: Spark Gaps

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

Original poster: "Jason Petrou by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jasonp-at-btinternet-dot-com>

CJ,
Something I wouldnt try at home!!! Basically, all of the energy from the
caps is being dumped through an essentially resistance/inductance free
circuit. With a whopping great 0.3uF maxwell i wouldnt be surprised if the
nails completely disintergrated. The point is when you use a cap for TC use,
the primary coil limits the current flow, because it is an inductor. That
way the 'bang size' as it is called is comparitively small. When you just
short out caps... welll bad stuff can happen. I wouldnt be surprised if the
circuit was ringing up to 50kV, if the cap was exactly the right resonance
for the transformer!!! Also, the noise produced will be because of the high
current flow. If the resistance of the circuit is say 0.1 ohms then 9000/0.1
= 90kA - thats a lot of current!!! Your gap of your coil will be a lot
quieter than that.. trust me!!

Regards,
Jason

Geek #1139 Rank G-1
www.thegeekgroup-dot-org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 4:11 PM
Subject: Spark Gaps


> Original poster: "CJ Moore by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<wizard1234-at-home-dot-com>
>
> I recently acquired both my transformers and the capacitor that I plan on
using
> in my next coil. In order to test them out I made a Jacob's ladder with
the
> transformers, but since I don't have any type of electrical tools. I
couldn't
> test to see if the capacitor was working etc. I made a really basic
version of
> what I consider the non coiled part of the tesla coil (no
primary/secondary
> coils). All it is, is the 2 transformers the capacitor and 2 screws. I
wired
> them all up and plugged it in. I got a spark that was very bright. (the
screws
> are about .25 inches apart.) Also it was extremely loud. I yanked out the
cord
> after probably 1/5 of a second, but my ears were ringing and I could smell
> ozone and burning wood. (it was mounted on 2 pieces of wood). I was only a
few
> feet away from the circuit, but I was shocked at how loud it was, much
much
> louder than my other coil. I am using 2x 9kv 60 ma transformers (in
parallel)
> and a .03 uf 35kv Maxwell cap, and hv wire rated at 35 kv in the circuit.
Is
> there any explanation as to why it is so loud, will it be any quieter if I
use
> a RSG, or an air blown static gap? Also, I was curious as to how loud
other
> peoples coils/spark gaps were.
>
> Thanks
> CJ
>
>
>