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Re: Rotary Spark gap and Tesla Magnifier System



Hi all,
        I was interested to see this from Richard Hull...

> That is correct guys,  The series rotary type gap we developed a few years 
> back is perfect for magnifier work.  It is lousy for two coil systems 
> though, as it quenches too fast!!  It has become the mainstay of our 
> magnifier work here in Richmond.  The gap is the weakest point in any Tesla 
> system.  Most folks never quite get it right.  The magnifier demands heroic 
> efforts in this area with common couplings of 0.5 or more!

I am currently building such a gap for use with 2 and 3 coil systems. 
The intention is to add in as many series poles as the number of disk
electrodes will allow to reduce dwell time while keeping BPS constant
(given a constant disk speed). The wheel will have 12 rotating 
contacts allowing for a maximum of 24 series gaps.
    I have scoped and calculated a 2-coil system I have as needing an
optimum quench time of 25uS (k about 0.12) but have not yet had the 
luxury of reducing quench time to this optimum. I was wondering, can
you give us some details of your gap system and some idea of the 
quench times it can allow please?

Malcolm