RE: Personal intro, 4,062 joule thumper, what to do with it (fwd)

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Gerry Reynolds <greynolds@xxxxxxxxxx>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:28:21 -0800
From: Jim Mora <jmora@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: 'Tesla list' <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Personal intro, 4,062 joule thumper, what to do with it (fwd)

That was quite a find! Out the box and ready to go. A utility guy was
telling me about these!

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 3:03 PM
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Personal intro, 4,062 joule thumper, what to do with it (fwd)

Original poster: Gerry Reynolds <greynolds@xxxxxxxxxx>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:33:58 -0600
From: Igor Chudov <ichudov@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Personal intro, 4,062 joule thumper, what to do with it

Recently a thumper followed me home. It is described here.

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/High-Voltage/Hell-Machine-THUMPER/

Associated Research cable fault locator mdl 8613 also known as
"thumper". It is labeled HyJoule. Its purpose is to help locate
insulation faults in high voltage buried cable, by inducing giant DC
pulsed discharges that blast through faulty insulation. The lineman
would walk along the buried cable path and feel the "thumps" with his
feet.

The way it works is this. The first device is a DC source, it uses
about 10A of 120 VAC as supply and produces up to 25 kV DC as
output. For safety when NOT in operation, when high voltage is
switched off, high voltage side is grounded by a contactor. The second
device is comprised of a high voltage capacitor, and a special high
voltage contactor to produce periodic discharges. There is also high
voltage cable that is supposed to be connected to the cable being
tested. I would guesstimate the size of it as 7/8" in diameter and 50
feet in length.

With voltage up to 25 kV, and capacitance of 13 uF, my thumper is
designed to deliver up to 4,062 joules, or approximately the energy
carried by bullets from a burst of assault rifle fire. 

With generous prodding from Bert, I got it to work. 

Now the question is what can I do with it.

My immediate plans are to a) try to shrink coins and b) try to make
lightnings by burning up thin wire and hoping that the exploding wire
is hot enough to ionize air to carry the bulk of the discharge. 

If so, I would like to hear some relevant experiences. 

Specifically is blowing up copper wire for lightning a long term
health hazard (I am afraid so, and thus want to explode steel wire). 

As for coin shrinking, I want to build a sturdy steel box for
containing explosions.

i