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Re: Theory vs. Measurement



Hi everyone,
             I'd just like to say that I also like to be able to do
at least ballpark predictions for coils I wind etc. One of my prime 
motivations in writing my article (whatever its flaws) was my 
discovery of Medhurst's self-C formula for single-layer coils. While
I've subsequently learned of my shortcomings on Tesla coil theory (one 
of the reasons I joined the list), I spent months hunting out a 
formula that I could use to _always_ design a coil for a given 
frequency. I found no such formula that worked with such consistency 
anywhere else. In fact most predicted completely incorrect 
frequencies for _all_ of my coils. In the same breath I have to say
that Ed Harris synthesized one that works rather well.
     Also, I found that a burning curiosity to know how things worked 
after some hands-on inevitably led to murky theoretical waters, many 
of which bore fruit. This is simply carrying on from when I wound my 
first "shocking" coil when I was 8. Valves and transistors followed 
very shortly afterward. I have always been a strong experimentalist 
and will willingly toss out bad ideas if either experiment shows them 
up or someone shows me I am demonstrably wrong. I feel I too have made 
much progress, although not without countless hours of mental 
anguish.
     Finally, one of my hopes was that by measuring and posting data,
others who are more mathematically astute than I would have something
useful to work with that would ultimately be to the benefit of us all.

Many regards everyone,
Malcolm