Not quite...
Pretend for a moment, you live in a perfect world. In this perfect world,
the spark gap arcs, at the precise moment where spark gap electrodes are
perfectly aligned. In this world, a Freu controller will allow us to
change the level of charge in the tank capacitor, by changing the point in
time where those electrodes align. Ideally we want that firing to occur
when the input AC cycle is at it's highest, because if we do it sooner, the
tank cap has more charging to do, and if we do it later, the tank cap is
discharging back into the transformers and hence the line. This has
nothing to do with the spacing that the arc stretches across.
But we don't live in a perfect world... In reality the electrodes do arc
early, because they are impatient, and as soon as they get close enough to
arc static gap style, they do. To compensate for this we use our Freu
controller to set the system out of phase by a degree or two, so that when
that premature arcing occurs, is exactly at the peak of the AC input
cycle. The adventurous (with a huge budget, and a strong will for
efficiency) will design spark gaps with enough gaps in series so that the
premature arc is almost not premature at all. This way as soon as your arc
occurs (at perfect alignment), it is getting stretched LONGER and can
quench faster, which traps more energy in the secondary. I hope this helps
clear things up a bit, and remember, there are no silly questions...
On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 11:36 AM, David <zipo@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hello every one - I just wanted to double check my understanding of how
> the electrodes "close" in a sync gap .
> If I understand this correctly, a sync gap fires as the moving electrode
> approaches the stationary electrode, by the arcing distance of the voltage
> on the cap and not when the the electrode is moving away? Right? And the
> John Freau phase controller delays the arrival of the moving electrode so
> as to increase the distance to the stationary electrode, there by
> increasing the voltage on the cap? Is this correct?
> I know these are silly questions but I just want to be absolutely sure I
> under stand this correctly.
>
> Thanks
> Dave
>
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