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Re: Glass Caps



Tesla List wrote:
> 
> Original Poster: NickandSim-at-aol-dot-com
> 
> To All,
>           I have just built my first glass plate cap.  I have been told that
> they are fine running in air.  Is this true or should I oil bath it?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Nick Field

Nick,

They will work OK in air, but will be somewhat more lossy than if
immersed in oil. However, since the glass dielectric is already quite
lossy, the additional corona losses are probably not of major concern.
However, operating your glass caps in air WILL generate a significant
amount of corona and ozone, so make sure you operate the system in a
well ventillated area. Also, you'll need to provide more "creep
distance" - the length of bare glass between one foil edge to the
opposing foil edge  - to prevent flashovers from shorting out the cap. 
You can also expect to lose glass plates every now and then. Keep your
run-times to reasonable length to prevent overheating and reduce the
probability of dielectric punchthrough. Also, stand away from the glass
plates while operating your coil - they've been known to shatter when
punchrhough occurs.  

Safe coiling to you!

-- Bert --