Re: [TCML] polystyrene MMC

[G Hunter <dogbrain_39560@xxxxxxxxx>]

Polystyrene film is one of the "good" capacitor dielectrics for Tesla coil use, along with polypropylene and polyethylene.  However, these polystyrene caps you cite on ebay are another matter.  Are they film & foil, with extended foil construction?  How are the connections made to the plates?  What's the dv/dt and how many pulses-per-second (pps) can they tolerate?  The ebay ad says they are for "dc impulse" use, not for RF AC.  The ad gives lots of information, but no information of use to coilers.  I'm no gambler, but if I were, I'd wager their Tesla coil service life will be measured in minutes or seconds.

The time-tested solution is to use lots of 1 to 2kv film & foil caps in series to spread out the HV stress, with a number of series strings wired in parallel to achieve the desired capacitance--the classic MMC.  I'm still looking for a cheaper, easier way to make a Tesla coil capacitor.  Haven't found it yet!

Greg

--- On Fri, 12/25/09, stork3264@xxxxxxxxxxx <stork3264@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: stork3264@xxxxxxxxxxx <stork3264@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [TCML] polystyrene MMC
> To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Friday, December 25, 2009, 8:27 PM
> Polystyrene HV caps from ebay caught
> my eye for a MMC.  See ebay # 360220837031
> What are the advantages vs disadvantages of HV polystyrene
> caps for TC use in a MMC?  Are they self healing? 
> Dissipate too much heat?
> 
> Rick
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