Variac controlled "dimmer"

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

Original poster: "Sean Taylor by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <taylorss-at-rose-hulman.edu>

I was wondering if anyone knew about using a variac dimmer for controlling the
power to a TC.  I know they chop off a portion of the AC cycle to limit the
voltage, but maybe an LC filter could help to get rid of the high frequency
component that would probably destroy a transformer, or at least contribute
greatly to core losses . . . Anyone have any experience/ideas with this? It
would make controlling power a heck of a lot cheaper and lighter than a variac,
especially in the several KW range . . .
 
Sean Taylor