Re: Newcomer

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 09:49 PM 2/5/2007, you wrote:
> Original poster: Jim <branley1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Thanks for the advice. It sounds like cheap solutions for someone 
> cheap like myself. I like the "beer bottles with salt water in white 
> poly bucket." What is the science behind this?

Science? not a heck of a lot...

Glass is the dielectric, salt water on the inside of the bottle and 
filling the bucket serves as the capacitor "plates".  The bucket is 
just to conveniently hold it all.

There's several good descriptions of how to build these on the 
web.  Someone will likely pop up with the link.  Basically, you put 
half a dozen clear glass beer bottles (e.g. Corona or Pacifico) in a 
bucket.  You fill the bottles about 3/4 full with salt water.  Drop 
the end of a bare wire into each bottle and connect all the wires 
together.  Then, fill the bucket with salt water so that the level is 
the same outside the bottle as inside.  Drop a wire into the 
bucket.  The two wires (one bundled to the "inside" of the beer 
bottles, one to the salt water outside) are your capacitor 
leads.  There's lots of refinements possible... use allthread to poke 
into the bottles instead of wire, various sealing techniques (corks 
with holes, wads of ducttape, etc.), pouring some mineral oil on top 
of the salt water (both inside and out), different kinds of salt 
(copper sulfate won't corrode the copper wire as fast), wrapping the 
outside of the bottles with aluminum foil and connecting them 
together, instead of filling the bucket, etc.