Re: Tesla Coil Efficiency Test: Tungsten Rod

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

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <tb3-at-att-dot-net>

Hi Scott,

Could you help improve our designs by telling us where 
to get that 1/4" Tungsten?  Is it a pure alloy?  

McMaster-Carr has welding electrodes up to 5/32" thick 
and 7" long. They also have High-Density Tungsten Alloy 
Rods of many lengths and thicknesses.  But the Melting 
point is 2012° F, way below the pure Tungsten Melting 
point of 6192° F.  

That stuff was fine for my smaller coils, but I am 
nearing 10 KVA and am burning up rods fast.

I must have this 1/4" Tungsten Rod.

Terry Blake
> Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<Rscopper-at-aol-dot-com>
> 
> Dave, 
> 
> Keep in mind that larger coils are more efficient by design.  The reason
I say
> this is that we learn by our mistakes (sometimes), and design/built better
> coils each iteration.  The cheesy spark gap I used on my first coil would
be a
> puddle of molten copper if I used it on my latest design - in contrast, if I
> had then (1/4-in tungsten) what I have now, my small coils would have
been much
> more efficient.  Just my opinion.  I believe it is also easier to
overcome some
> of the environmental effects at higher power, i.e. breakdown of air in the
> spark gap, air density/humidity effects on tuning.  Some of this needs to be
> measured to be proven however.  None of the computer models I've seen so far
> take into account environmental factors (including my own [WinTesla]) because
> the equations are not available (yet). 
> 
> 
> Scott 
> 
> 
> 
>