1.25" diameter Tungsten Spark Gap with 6" diameter Heat Sinks (fwd)

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:39:59 +0000
From: Jeff Behary <jeff_behary@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: 1.25" diameter Tungsten Spark Gap with 6" diameter Heat Sinks

Hey All,

We're back into our research full-throttle after a few months of disorder 
rearranging the museum and workshop.

The first project on hand was to build a quenched gap similar to the one 
seen in Thomas Stanley Curtis' "High Frequency Apparatus".  Ours is a much 
simplified version (hopefully though we will be making the cast copper 
version within the next year...) and uses 1.25" diameter tungsten instead of 
silver.

http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com/2007/InchAndAQuarterQuenched/index.htm

More trials will be done with this gap this week, and the page updated to 
reflect them periodically.  These initial tests were done with a 2000V 
1000mA microwave oven transformer (no ballast).  Normally the circuit uses a 
series of 1/2" tungsten gaps to operate, spaced at around .002" each.  With 
the single test gap, the voltage output of the coils was decreased but the 
temperature of the discharge was much hotter.  (At close distances of 2-3", 
the discharges looked like those of a low frequency high voltage 
transformer, but were white yellow instead of orange).  Upon opening the gap 
the discharge grew longer and showed both violet and orange streamers around 
6-8" in length much like the original setup - but with only a single gap.

The next test gap in order will be a super heavy duty 3" diameter tungsten 
disk rotating at 3600 RPM between two 3/4" diameter stationary tungsten 
gaps.  This next project should be able to handle a few thousand mA's for 
extended periods of time.  We'll see in the next day or two...

Also in the works is a stationary series of 3/4" diameter gaps.  I know from 
past experiments that such large spark gaps spaced very close (.001 - .002" 
apart) in series produce discharges that can become as bright as welding 
arcs when fine-tuned.  The goal here to produce this effect again on a large 
scale.

Cylindrical secondaries are also going to be used for these tests, not just 
Pancake Coils (for once)!

The Pancake research is continuing however, and late this year we should 
have a high-current table top system of around 4000 watts capacity.

Jeff Behary, c/o
The Turn Of The Century Electrotherapy Museum
http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com

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