Re: Spark gap metals

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Paul B. Brodie" <pbbrodie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Thank you Malcolm!
Paul Brodie
Think Positive

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tesla list" <<mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <<mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 10:30 PM
Subject: Re: Spark gap metals

> Original poster: "Malcolm Watts" 
<<mailto:m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> On 10 Apr 2005, at 15:17, Tesla list wrote:
>
> > Original poster: "Steven Steele" 
<<mailto:sbsteele@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>sbsteele@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > Why are ya'll so concerned about the metal your spark gaps are made
> > of? As long as your the metal has enough surface area( to radiate
> > heat) and you keep blowig air on it(like with a muffin man... I mean
> > fan), it won't melt and it would be fine. You could even make a fine
> > spark gap by replacing the copper pipes or tungsten rods with old heat
> > sinks from scrap computers.Besides, isn't tungsten expensive? Trust
> > me, I may be new at this, but I can tell you that fan cooled heat
> > sinks or at least copper pipe(the longer the better) will do just as
> > good, if not better, than tungsten rods. Also, the tungsten rods have
> > less surface area than a copper pipe and therefore more likely to get
> > really hot, and even though tungsten cand stand more heat, it doesn't
> > need to as long as you cool it right. Tungsten rods are just a waste
> > of money and tungsten.
> >
> >                     Steven Steele
>
> Steven,
>         A word of advice: before you go telling others what's good
> and bad it would be as well for you to know what you are talking
> about. A gap works at the boiling point of the metal. Soft, low
> melting point metals ablate and erode quickly. Who wants to be
> rebuilding gaps after every coiling session? Some metals will produce
> poisonous fumes when they evaporate (as they will with arc currents
> of hundreds of Amps). I am not saying that copper is bad: simply that
> your advice on the use of tungsten is not good. Tugsten electrodes
> have been used in multi-kVA coils many times by some of the most
> experienced coilers in the world.
>
>       Cooling is not a simple matter of running a small fan or even a
> large one. The gap material will spot heat far more quickly than a
> fan can get rid of the heat. A number of people have suggested you go
> and read information from various sources. With respect to Tesla
> Coils, this list's archives contain an enormous amount of information
> on every aspect of coiling and you would do well to start right there.
>
> Malcolm
>
>
>