Re: Hurray, I destroyed my homemade cap!

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: Hurray, I destroyed my homemade cap!
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 20:38:21 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

From: 	Alfred A. Skrocki[SMTP:alfred.skrocki-at-cybernetworking-dot-com]
Sent: 	Saturday, November 29, 1997 5:17 AM
To: 	Tesla List
Subject: 	RE: Hurray, I destroyed my homemade cap!

On Thursday, November 27, 1997 12:56 PM Adam
[SMTP:absmith-at-tiac-dot-net] wrote;

> ... So then, how about solid corona protection, like paraffin wax?  I could 
> get this cheaply at the grocery store, melt it in a double boiler and pot 
> the cap.  This would make the cap a lot more difficult to repair, but if 
> I over engineered it in the first place it should survive a few years of 
> Tesla use, right?.  I am using 120mil of very high quality LDPE (4 x 
> 30mil) and operating at 9kV, so my cap is not likely to blow anytime 
> soon.  Mostly I just want to make something without that horrible oil!!! 

With mineral oil's dielectric constant being 2.2 - 2.7 and it's dielectric 
strength being about 200 volts per mill and with paraffin's dielectric 
constant being 2.1 - 2.5 and it's dielectric strength being 250 - 450 volts
per mill, it would seem that paraffin may be a possible good choice 
ASSUMING you can keep out any bubbles when pouring in the paraffin. BTW 
paraffin and mineral oil can be mixed to change the viscosity to anything 
from solid to liquid and everything in between! I would suggest that after 
you pour in the paraffin that you keep the capacitor at the melting point 
for the parafin for a while (like several hours) to let any bubbles rise 
out.

                               Sincerely

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                           Alfred A. Skrocki
                   Alfred.Skrocki-at-CyberNetworking-dot-com
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