Kudos, Scott. I think was one of the best explanations of this phenomenon that I've seen. I was somewhat "enlightened" by your explanation myself ;-)
David (Rieben)
Sent from my iPhone
> On Feb 5, 2015, at 11:38 AM, Scott Bogard <sdbogard@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> 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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