Re: Marx generator (fwd)

["High Voltage list" <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxxxx>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 17:54:03 -0700
From: Gomez Addams <gomez@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Marx generator (fwd)


On Dec 15, 2005, at 10:34 AM, High Voltage list wrote:

> Original poster: Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 16:51:51 +0000
> From: Mike Harrison <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Marx generator (fwd)
>
> On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 08:56:13 -0700 (MST), you wrote:
>
>> Original poster: Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 10:27:43 -0700
>> From: Gomez Addams <gomez@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: Re: Marx generator (fwd)
>>
>>
>> On Dec 13, 2005, at 8:56 AM, High Voltage list wrote:
>>
>>> Original poster: Steven Roys <sroys@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 20:49:03 +0000
>>> From: Mike Harrison <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Subject: Re: Marx generator (fwd)
>>>
>>>> Getting all the
>>>> gaps to fire together is real important, so you want a good optical
>>>> path
>>>> from the first gap (which can be slightly smaller, so it fires  
>>>> first)
>>>> to
>>>> all the rest. The strong UV from the spark on the first gap helps
>>>> breakdown
>>>> the rest of the gaps.
>>>
>>> I'm not at all convinced that UV is of any help for the sort of  
>>> scale
>>> of marxgens we are talking
>>> about.
>>
>> I've read white papers which suggest otherwise.
>>
>
> I can see that it is probably an issue for larger marxgens, but  
> thinking about the amount of UV, and
> the distance, I have a hard time believing there would be enough  
> energy to have much, if any, effect
> on ionisation on a smaller scale device.

  Well, you don't need to take my word for it.  I suggest that,  
rather than developing beliefs based on thought experiments and  
assumptions, go to your local college technical library, look up  
white papers on Marx generators, and read (as I have) what  
professional scientists have found out through experimentation.

  Maybe you're talking about marx banks that are a lot smaller than  
what I'm thinking of, and a lot smaller than the ones in the papers  
I've been reading.  The smallest one for which I have a white paper  
is about two feet long and 4 inches in diameter, contains 8 stages  
and uses 500pf stage caps charged to 50kV.  I don't know what kind of  
Marx banks you guys are thinking of, but this does not strike me as a  
very large amount of stage energy - 0.63 J / stage.

  I can't find the white paper where I originally found this  
particular design, but the patent # is 5,311,067.  If you refer to  
column 5, section 19, you will find UV illumination of unfired gaps  
is specifically mentioned.

  There was more on that mentioned in the white paper which lead to  
this patent, but I can't find it right now, I have a nasty head cold,  
and I'm not going to look for it.

  My point is, rather than waving your arms and talking about how  
bright the gap arcs look, you should be using facts and numbers.

  - Gomez

...................................
"Patience comes to those who wait."
          - Too Much Coffee Man