Re: caps

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Ken Kanno by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <presence-at-churchofinformationwarfare-dot-org>

Tesla list writes: 

> Original poster: "Lau, Gary by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<Gary.Lau-at-compaq-dot-com> 
> 
> I think you may have missed my point.  I fully agree that there is no
> "universal" cap that is good for all applications.  My point was that
> one cannot conclude that a cap with an AC voltage rating is good for TC
> use, or that one with only a DC rating is not good for TC use.  Only by
> looking at the dielectric type, plate construction, and dV/dt ratings
> can a cap's suitability be judged.

I think you can with good certainty conclude that lots of things are not 
suitable for a second purpose. A cap in tesla coil use is not going to be 
hurt from the 60Hz charging cycle, but the discharge at hundreds of kHz. 
Coroni is a raelly big deal at thise frequencies. Mylar and paper cannot 
handle this. According to literature from one HV cap maker Any paper/mylar 
element they wind even if rated 5kVDC will show corona at 1.5kVAC -at-60Hz. 

The original use of the capacitor will tell you about the dielectric type 
and plate construction. 

KEN