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Gap voltages AC vs. DC
From: Adam[SMTP:absmith-at-tiac-dot-net]
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 1998 3:56 PM
To: tesla list
Subject: Gap voltages AC vs. DC
I know about the table for DC sparkgap voltage breakdown that is in the
CRC handbook. I decided to do a little gap experiment to see if 60Hz
voltages had similar breakdown voltages. My AC results turned out not to
be anywhere near the DC test results in the CRC handbook.
I used a Powestat 116 7.5A variac, a wavetek 27XT DMM measuring voltage
out of the variac, and a webster 10,000V 23mA transformer in brand new
perfect condition. My gap is made from two machine bolts, with 2.5cm
dia. round heads, in fairly still air, gapped using feeler gauges. I
used a muffin fan to air out the gap between tests, and averaged the
results of 4 measurements at each gap setting.
Note that since I do not have a 40kV probe, I am measing voltage input to
the OBIT and calculating ouput voltage, assuming on the OBIT to be
linear. I'm not sure if this is a good assumption or not.
Gap Variac Volts RMS Volts Peak
0.030 32 2667 3771
0.060 53 4416 6246
0.090 72 6042 8544
0.120 92 7667 10842
0.150 110 9167 12964
0.180 128 10667 15085
I am going to repeat this with sharp points later on.
-Adam
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Adam Smith
absmith-at-tiac-dot-net
Epoch, Inc. Digital Music Project
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