Re: Alternative capacitor materials

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

Original poster: "Christopher Boden by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <chrisboden-at-hotmail-dot-com>


>Original poster: "zachary rohrer by way of Terry Fritz 
><teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <zcroh-at-comcast-dot-net>
>
>A few more silly questions from a beginner...

It's those silly questions that have a knack for causeing marked changes in 
our technologies :) Keep 'em coming.

>Has anyone tried using paraffin or a paraffin/oil potting compound
>instead of the mineral oil floating on top of the electrolyte in a
>saltwater cap(so as to make a spillproof/more durable cap)?

I'm sure someone has, but it's something we've never done in our setups so 
I don't know personally. Geek Group Bucket Caps are spillproof if properly 
built. We load/unload them from vehicles regularly so this was an important 
design spec for us. If you've ever spilled a gallon or so of mineral oil in 
the back of a van you'd understand.

Geek-0 is STILL slimy......for the record it wasn't a cap that spilled 
either :) it was an early prototype of one of our Marx banks.


>Is there any chance of improving the "lossy" characterisitcs of glass by
>coating it with a thin layer of something else, possibly PE or the like?

I could be wrong here, but I know a fair bit about caps. Someone please 
correct me if this isn't right. But I would think that coating the bottles 
in PE or anything else would actually make them even MORE lossier (albeit 
only slightly). because anything you put on the bottles is just another 
layer that the charge has to penetrate. Given that no matter what you do 
loss rules out (2nd law of TD and all that jazz).

Entropy, it's the way of the future :)

>A thin layer could be layered on by dipping in molten PE or PE/wax
>compound. Or even a coat of polyurethane? Would anything be gained by this?

A couple of degrees F possibly. Remember, dielectric loss creates heat.

>Also, are there any readily available kinds of tubing that have a high
>dielectric rating to make HV wire with? I haven't found a listing for
>clear vinyl tubing's puncture voltage yet. If anyone knows this please
>tell me.

Contact your local Neon sign repair shop. If you ask nicely he'll give you 
plenty of HV rated wire that will withstand 15kV all day long. DO NOT THINK 
THAT THIS MEANS YOU CAN TOUCH IT WHILE IN OPERATION. A tiny pinhole leak in 
the side and you're in for an intersting experiance.


Christopher "Duck" Boden Geek#1
President / C.E.O. / Alpha Geek
The Geek Group
www.thegeekgroup-dot-org
Because the Geek shall inherit the Earth!

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change 
the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.


The ability to learn is older - as it is also more widespread - than is the 
ability to teach.
     - Both from Margaret Mead, 1901 - 1978







_________________________________________________________________
The new MSN 8 is here: Try it free* for 2 months 
http://join.msn-dot-com/?page=dept/dialup