Peak Charge?

• To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
• Subject: Peak Charge?
• From: Gary Lau 04-Oct-1998 1219 <lau-at-hdecad.ENET.dec-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
• Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 17:46:50 -0600
• Approved: terryf-at-verinet-dot-com

>Original Poster: "Gregory R. Hunter" <ghunter-at-enterprise-dot-net> 
>
>Dear List,
>
>Please settle a minor but bothersome question for me.  In an AC powered
>Tesla tank circuit, what is the peak charge felt by the capacitor?  Some on
>the list say it's 1.4 x VAC, others say it is 2.8 x VAC.  This sounds like
>a "newbie" question, but after reading the mail for many months, it seems
>that newcomers and old heads alike are not sure about this basic issue.
>
>Greg

The answer depends upon a few variables.  If the tank capacitor and
the power transformer secondary's inductance do not resonate anywhere
near the 50/60Hz power supply frequency, then the answer is 1.4 x
VAC(RMS).  

If the cap and the transformer DO resonate, then the peak will go much
higher, and the value then depends upon the Q of the resonant circuit,
2.8X is typical.  The final result is further complicated by how often
the gaps fire to discharge the cap.  If the cap is not discharged every
half-cycle, then the peak voltage can go much higher still, to very
destructive levels.

Gary Lau
Waltham, MA USA

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