Content on this page supplied from the web site of Jim Lux

High Voltage Experimenter's Handbook 

[Table of Contents] [Downloads] jimlux@earthlink.net, especially as to organization or topics that you have curiosity about.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Basic Theoretical Stuff

• Basic Electrostatics
• Estimating maximum E-field
• Rogowski Profiles (and Bruce profiles)
• Breakdown of gaps and Paschen's Law
• Circuit theory (RC, RLC, etc.)
• Measuring Watts and Vars with a VOM
• Power Factor Correction

Components and Materials

• Insulators (Gases, Liquids, Solids)
• Resistors
• Capacitors (Medhurst Formulas)
• Inductors (Wheeler Formulas)
• Fuses
• Wire
• Semiconductors
• Vacuum tubes
• Transformers
  • 100% duty cycle sinusoid (power transformers)
  • shape preserving pulse transformers
  • energy preserving impulse transformers (e.g. auto ignition coils)

Measurements

• Voltage
  • Dividers (Resistor, Capacitor, RC)
  • Spark gaps
• Current
• Isolation
• Electro-optical (Kerr, Pockels, and Faraday effect)

 Construction Practices

• Corona
• Construction materials (silicones)
• Epoxy Prep

DC power supplies

• Multi-stage HV generators
  • Mechanical multistage
  • Greinacher cascades
  • Cockroft Walton voltage multipliers
  • some examples of multistage generators
• Electrostatic Generators
  • Van deGraaf
  • Vollrath dust machines
  • Pelletrons
  • Wimshurst, Toepler, & Holst machines

AC power supplies

• Resonance Transformers (not tesla coils, see below)
• Tesla Coils
• Cascaded transformers

Impulse generators

• Single Capacitor
• Marx generators
• Fitch generator
• Waveform shaping
• Impulse transformers

HV Square Pulse generators

• Tailbiter circuits
• Transmission line pulse forming networks
  • Coaxial Lines
  • Strip Lines
  • Lumped approximations
  • Blumlein voltage doubler

Spark Gaps

• Breakdown of gaps and Paschen's Law
• Uniform field gaps:
• Sphere gaps: procedure & construction, breakdown voltages
• Rod gaps: procedure & construction, breakdown voltages
• Spark gap correction factors (atmosphere, irradiation)

Switching devices

• Relays
• Triggered spark gaps
• Vacuum and gas tubes
• Semiconductors
• Rotary spark gaps (not even closed to being finished)
• John Pasley's wonderful paper on pulsed power

Regulatory issues

• OSHA
• FCC
• NEC/NESC

Suppliers

• Surplus Equipment
  • General considerations
  • Measuring transformer parameters
  • Measuring capacitor parameters
• Master list of suppliers including addresses, phone numbers, and electronic addresses with annotations

References

Copyright 1998, Jim Lux/ 3 May 1998 / Back to home page / Mail to Jim (jimlux@earthlink.net)