Re: [TCML] RSG disks - who can make them ?

[FutureT@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 11/21/2007 11:04:33 A.M. US Eastern Standard Time,  
list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

>I think if the spark is being drawn out more than this is a  additional 
loss. 
>How are you looking at the setup though, if dwell  time is not effecting 
>spark output ( in theroy it should as talked  about before) but as the 
quench 
>is always the same speed ( arc  drawing) then it counteracts any attempt at 
>dwell times. Though if you  can go form 16amps to 13amps and still get the 
>same spark output, then  this must be a good thing ?

Chris


Chris,
 
Yes, long drawn sparks are more loss, but if the spark jumps "ahead" of  the
electrode presentations as it will do anyway, then there's loss anyway  in
a typical system.  In any case the system did not reduce my spark  length
but reduced the input current and as you said, that's a good thing.   It's
possible that without the offset, the gap was occasionally "refiring"  
(firing more than once per gap presentation), and that may have  been
causing the extra current draw.  I suggest this because not only  was
the current draw higher without the offset, it was also less  steady.  
"Refiring" is a bad thing.  It causes inefficiency.  There was  a good writeup
on this subject by Robert Jameson in the past.  
 
I would also say (as I said before) that generally speaking,  mechanical
dwell time does not affect spark lengths.  There is no reason why it  should.
Of course a very long dwell time can cause refiring (this is  affected by
various factors), and this can hurt coil performance.  
 
Consider though an accidental experiment performed by Robert
Stephenson of Canada.  He was setting up his large twin coil  and
he forgot to turn on the rotary gap.  The electrodes just happened  to
be at a distance (based on the position of the rotor) where the arc
was able to jump the gap.  He ran the coil and it ran  perfectly.  He
didn't even realize the rotary wasn't spinning.  The rotary gap  was
behaving as a static gap!  Consider the dwell time of a static  gap.
It is infinitely long since the electrodes don't move.  This shows  that
a gap quenches when the system runs out of energy, not when
the electrodes try to tell the gap to quench.  
 
John 
 
 









**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)
_______________________________________________
Tesla mailing list
Tesla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.pupman.com/mailman/listinfo/tesla