Re: High voltage standing waves with a magnetron?

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Original poster: "Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net> 


 > Original poster: "mercurus2000" <mercurus2000-at-cox-dot-net>
 >
 > Hmm, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the voltage determine how much
 > force the elecrons are flung from the at? And the current determines how
 > many electrons are flung off?

Voltage determines how fast they'll be moving when the get going. It also
sets the field at the surface.  The temperature of the cathode/filament
determines how much emission there is (thermal movement of the atoms means
that some can break the molecular forces holding them in the cathode, so
some leap out of the surface, and then the E field takes over to move them
away.)

By and large both temperature and anode voltage affect the current. BUT,
current is a dependent parameter.  That is, you can't set it separately.

Run the filament hotter and you get more electrons coming off, BUT, you also
evaporate the metal that the filament is made of (i.e. you can also bounce
whole atoms off from the thermal motion), which is a bad thing, reducing
life.