[TCML] power losses through GTO wire

[Jim Lux]

On 2/18/12 5:02 PM, jeff mill wrote:
> Thank you all for the reassurance on the size of my secondary. This is
> actually my first small/medium sized tesla and even with all the
> resources out there, man and there is a lot, you still question
> yourself. I work with large UPS back up systems but have never
> experianced or worked with the high voltages / theory of the tesla but
> always wanted to learn.
> I guess what I reaaly wanted to know is will I see a large increase in
> performance when I actually shorten the 12ft x 2 wires to the primary
> down to , say 1ft.

Depends on where the capacitor is.  Is RF current flowing in those 
wires, or is it just AC..


I work with Higher currents and lower V in my trade,
> so be easy on me, here is how
> I picture it. If I'm pulsing say 200amps to my primary the dc resistance
> is very low in the primary with 8 turns of 1/4 inch copper, just to grab
> a number , say .1 ohms. Then say my gto , 24ft is .1 ohms then half of
> my power going to the primary is lost across the gto wire length ? I
> know this isn't correct in thinking, so help me see the light.

Losses in the primary winding itself are typically a small part of the 
total losses.  Spark gap losses are generally much larger.

While the peak currents are high, the duration of the current is low.


>