I should probably say this gap is worthless for 95% of Tesla Coils.
It works well on a very limited range of parameters and varies from poor to nonfuctional on others.
Lets say from 700 - 2000V and 1/4 - 1 microfarad cap. Outside of that it becomes fairly useless, and even under those conditions a tungsten gap with large diameter flat surfaces works better. The original Kinraide Coil I restored makes flaming arcs at only 1/4 KW with a (good) tungsten gap.
If I could ever get a 12 x 12 plate of tungsten sheet I would replicate Kinraides gap with that, but $$$$$$...
Sent via the Samsung GALAXY S® 5, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: David Thomson <tcbuilder@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date:06/25/2014 11:24 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: Jeff Behary <jeff_behary@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [TCML] Rescuing and loosing 2 Kinraide Coils and 16-plate Static Machine...
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the gap's operation.
So it would appear that a large, perfectly parallel, smooth surface is the
key to this gap's success?
I do not accept the "heat rises" explanation. Heat does not rise, it
radiates in all directions... the same as light; hot air will rise relative
to cool air in a gravitational field. However, these plates are so close
together that it is difficult to imagine convection could be at play with
such a small temperature gradient between them. Could it be that the plates
with a thin air gap are somehow acting like a Peltier Junction? After all,
some gases, such as oxygen, are metals, too.
This is giving me the idea that an effective spark gap in a DC coil can be
made with a flat plate and flat-bottomed heat sink. The larger the surface
area, the better.
Dave
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