RE: SSTC hits 66"

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

Original poster: "Steve Conner" <steve.conner-at-optosci-dot-com> 

 >If I didn't want Steve W. to succeed, I would have suggested
 >adding a series
 >resistor instead of capacitor :-P

ROTFLMAO :D but would Steve have fallen for it...

 >Maybe we should find a way to work together and build an electrum sized
 >coil :-)

Don't laugh... I reckon it is possible in theory to build a DRSSTC or OLTC
of that size. And some mad b*****d will do it sooner or later. In fact I
heard that Greg Leyh had decided to build his ALF monster twin coil as an
OLTC, using banks of 6.6kV 3000A IGBTs or similar. I suppose the "line" he's
running "off" would be a 12kV three-phase feeder ::)

Nobody knows what topology will be best for the really big coils. The 6.6kV
3000A bricks are probably too slow for a DRSSTC, but an OLTC has less speed
requirements so might still be able to use them. The smaller, faster bricks
could be assembled into an array for a DRSSTC, but this can only be made so
big before current sharing becomes a problem.

Having said this, I reckon the DRSSTC is extensible to 10-15 foot arcs,
using a full bridge of four CM600 type bricks, careful low impedance
construction, and a 600V DC bus (derived from rectified 3-phase 480V line,
or failing that, from 240 single phase through a boost converter PFC) with a
massive low impedance electrolytic cap bank.

I think the main obstacles are cost of film/electrolytic cap banks,
shielding the drive circuits from the colossal E-M fields, space for testing
it, power supply (not everyone has a 32A 3-phase service, or a 15kW boost
converter) and getting it all to work without blowing out 20 sets of bricks
:(

Steve C.