MOT Experiment

["Gregory R. Hunter" <ghunter-at-accucomm-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

Hi Coilers,

I conducted a simple MOT experiment yesterday. I hooked up a dimmer switch
with 7uF of series capacitance to the filament windings of two MOTs, and
then pulsed them with 115V/60Hz. Result? The two MOTs produced a 3/4
(20mm)inch spark--a feat that should be impossible for two MOTs. Since the
filament winding only has a few turns of thick wire, the MOTs should
saturate. They don't, because the sharp pulse from the dimmer "feels" like
a much higher frequency. I've re-invented the pulse transformer! I'm
intrigued by this development. I'd love to try this again with a 100uF
motor run capacitor for ballast insead of the dinky 7uF. Since USA dimmers
are rated for 600W, this could be a route to a "poor man's NST".

Cheers,

Greg