Zener Diode for air core binary primary

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Original poster: Harvey Norris <harvich-at-yahoo-dot-com> 

I had posted some time ago that I had constructed a
source frequency resonance circuit that can be used as
an air core transformer, but this is NOT exactly like
a Tesla coil, because it does not have a conversion to
a high frequency via an arc gapped primary. Instead
the circuits are simply based on a source frequency
resonance of 480 hz obtainable by an AC converted car
alternator. However with certain modifications I think
it might be possible to make the primary act similar
to that of a tesla coil,by using a step up transformer
to the primary and including an arc gap; but in that
situation there are many unknowns, and perhaps even
problematic issues that indicate it might not be
applicable to a source frequency resonance design in
the first place.  So what I wish to try next is to
make an experiment whereby I can try and determine
something that has been noted by others.

How many cycles does it take for the source resonant
frequency circuit to reach its fullest voltage rise?
Surely this does not occur in merely one cycle.

Let me digress somewhat further on the construction of
my primaries. They are ordinary 14 gauge coils of 500
ft on spools,~ 11 mh; obtainable at a hardware store.
In isolation they will resonate at 480 hz using 14 uf,
giving a decent q factor of around 17, for the
application I might wish to use. This means that when
they reach series resonance, the internal voltage rise
has risen 17 times what the alternator source of
voltage provides. But again I wish to understand what
time period is involved there for them to reach that
fullest voltage rise. So here I am contemplating the
use of a zener diode and scope to determine what this
time period might be.

In the air core transformer I use two of these
primaries, each coupled to a high induction coil. The
reason I use two of them is for a very specific
option, that of having a choice as to whether I use
series  or parallel resonance for the primary
resonance, and the possibility of using an arc gap
between them to fluxuate that functioning. The
transformer is very efficient when run with the
primaries operating in parallel resonance, as this
represents the analogy of a power factor corrected
primary, however the actual amount of power transfer
to those primaries is quite low for that situation, so
I wish to try a switching procedure so that instead I
can run the primaries instead at series resonance
until the final voltage rise is attained to, and then
that voltage rise will be shorted out to convert those
primaries back to an instantaneous tank circuit.

The reasoning for this is based on an experiment I did
that determined the following: the polarity of the
primaries magnetic fields in series resonance is
opposite to the polarity of those fields made in
parallel resonance. This means that if I have a
mechanism for instantly converting and making a
polarity change, the magnetic fields from the
primaries will be moving much faster through space to
get to the opposite polarity than what they ordinarily
move at when functioning at the source frequency of
480 hz. Faster magnetic field movement through space
should translate to better effects on the air core
secondaries themselves.

The mechanism for changing the series resonances into
a parallel functioning one is fairly simple. For the
series resonances each one is constructed inversely to
the other one, they are inversely phased series
resonances. What this means is that whenever one coil
is making a positive voltage rise, the other coil is
making a negative one, thus between the two opposite
series resonances, twice the voltage rise is
registered relative to each other, than what occurs on
just a single side. The moment we short those voltage
rises, this changes the entire circuit into a single
figure 8 tank circuit of maximum impedance. Thus as
one can imagine I want a selective technique whereby I
can apply that short in the proper timing, so that the
short only appears when the fullest voltage rise has
occured.

 >From that thinking I decided to use just an ordinary
diode on the midpoint short path between the inversely
phased series resonances. This means that the circuit
appears series resonant for 1/2 cycle, and then
parallel resonant for the second half of the cycle. A
scoping of the coils in that regimen showed that
practically no voltage rise occurs in that scenario,
thus it then seems sensible to conclude it may take
quite a few cycles for the coils to reach their
fullest voltage rise.

So having tried to explain the primaries construction,
and why I use two of them to give this resonance
switching option: my question becomes fairly simple,
why couldnt I use a diode that only turns on after a
specific voltage is reached, and I understand that a
zener diode does exactly that function.

Can I use a zener diode exactly like an ordinary diode
works, or do they work differently schematically? Some
information I read about them implies that they do
work somewhat differently then an ordinary diode, but
I may have misinterpreted things. Couldnt I merely
place a zener diode on the midpoint path, and when the
break down voltage for the zener  between the
resonances occurs it would allow for conduction? If
this were so, I could turn the scopes sweep rate down
to a low value so that many cycles occur in a single
sweep: thereby making a nice experiment to ascertain
how many cycles a source frequency resonant circuit
takes to reach its highest voltage point, for these
particular inductors.

Sincererly HDN

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