Re: RE- Test of 6" coil

To: tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: RE- Test of 6" coil
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 22:46:28 -0500
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

Subject:  Re: RE- Test of 6" coil
  Date:   Fri, 30 May 1997 19:46:31 Eastern Daylight Time
  From: "Mad Coile{" <ts5815-at-devrycols.edu>
    To:  Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>

>Subject:       RE- Test of 6" coil
>       Date:  Thu, 29 May 1997 17:31:38 GMT
>       From:  robert.michaels-at-online.sme-dot-org (Robert Michaels)
>Organization: Society of Manufacturing Engineers
>         To:  tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>
>
>        Hate to make you the target of my ire, Ed (especially you),
>        but I see this same foggy-bottomed thinking again, and again
>        (and again!) on This List:
>
>        -- If a capacitor is rated "X-volts, ac" that is r.m.s. volts
>           and  =not=  peak volts!   So your 20,000-v. capacitor is
>           good for 14,144-v.  ( that's 20,000/1.414 ) -- but not
>           quite.
>

Sorry guys but I think I might be missing something here. If a 
capacitor is rated for 20,000 V RMS then it must be able to take
a peak voltage of 28,280 V (RMS * 1.414 = PEAK). Is this not
correct?
  To convert from peak voltage to rms you divide by 1.414 (or
multiply by .707) To convert rms to peak you multiply by 1.414
if you dont believe me just hook a o-scope to the hotwire in an 
outlet (carefully) and you will see a peak of about 170V, that 
satisfies the equation.      
  In a Tesla Coil circuit however, I wouldn't go near the
max V rating. I go by the rule of thum: primary tank circuit caps
should be rated for atleast twice the input voltage. I know all 
about those transient voltage spikes - I have lost a few Xformers,
and not to mention something really weird: a couple days ago I 
fired up my small coil, after a little while when the safety gap 
arced I saw a spark come out of an outlet on the other side of 
my apartment.

T. Stewart