Dielectrics

• To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
• Subject: Dielectrics
• From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
• Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 07:51:11 -0600
• Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

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From:  Hollmike [SMTP:Hollmike-at-aol-dot-com]
Sent:  Thursday, March 26, 1998 5:25 AM
To:  tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject:  Re: Dielectrics

Justin,
   First, yes you can use polystyrene as a dielectric.  It is not quite as
good as polyethylene or polypropylene, but does a nice job.  Second,
unfortunately, 1 cm thickness will require an incredibly larger area and/or a
very large number of plates.  The capacitance is inversely proportional to the
separation between the plates.   I would look for dielectric materials that
are not thicker than about  0.1" or you will wind up making a very large,
heavy capacitor. But, it can be done if you really want.
   Second, you should make a cap rated at a higher voltage than you expect to
need.   Most dielectric information is based on DC voltage.  You need your cap
to have a DC rating about three times the voltage output of your transformer
to be sure it won't suffer dielectric breakdown.  Ten times, as you ask,
won't hurt a bit.  It will just be bigger than you need.   
   Hope this helps,
 Mike Hollingsworth

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