Hey folks, my first post here. Thanks for having me.

Okay- so...

I’ve began work on developing a prototype- it was an idea I had in a cold sweat in the middle of the night- I simply had to try it- and so far, my results are... encouraging. But, I’ve run into some design issues— and my experience with high voltage is limited, so I wanted to reach out for some expert advice.

Without revealing too much of the design, here’s what I need to make this happen:

I need an insulative material, the thinner the better, which has a dielectric strength of around...
a Megavolt...

...I know.......

Heat strength is a must here, as well- but not as important as breakdown voltage.
Ideally, it should be able to be applied to a long, skinny cylinder, (picture a car antenna) and not need reapplication.

Anybody have any ideas? Am I dreaming? Does there exist such a material?

Anybody have any guesses for what I’m building? Let’s hear it!

Thanks for any help!

Cheers,

Tom Partin

 

A magic wand for a Tesla coil...??

 

Antigravity?

 

Totally.
Sci Fi, yes... Scientific impossibility, no. Lol. I’ll get right on my free energy project next....

 

A magic wand for a Tesla coil...??

Well, technically, yes- minus the magic part. The “car antenna” will be the electrode for the secondary of a high voltage transformer— not a resonant Tesla coil. But yes- electrically speaking, on the right track!

 

There are quite a few choices of self fusing tape for H.V. electrical applications, been in use for many decades.
One modern example https://www.uline.ca/BL_6608/3M-70-...Vuf_jBx1AfQZWEAAYASAAEgKvpPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Max.

 

Contact 3M, the industrial adhesives division. For that level of insulation it will probably take a few layers of standard tape.
But there is a problem, which is that there is a tendency for the air to break down and arcs start for no apparent reason at those voltage levels, so the sparks would avoid the insulation and just go through the air.

 

Contact 3M, the industrial adhesives division.

That is what is in the link I posted!
We have been using an older form of similar material since the 70's 80's
Any local electrical supplier should have a suitable option.
Max.

 

Excellent! An arc through the air is EXACTLY what I am looking for. A 3 foot long arc- hopefully that is predictable and controllable. I need the arc to jump ~3 feet from the spherical tip of the needle electrode to the base of the device, which will be connected to the other side of the isolated secondary.

 

On that note, should I design that ~3 foot arc as a repeating DC pulse, or as AC? I understand the nature of an inductor to create polarity change every half cycle, but since the device performs its intended task using the plasma from the arc and not the electron flow itself, should I force DC pulses or use an AC design to create "hotter" plasma?

 

There may not be enough power in the heat of that plasma to do whatever it is. Plasma cutters use a rather high current arc to generate a stream of hot plasma to cut steel and other stuff. The amps are a lot simpler to provide than the volts.

 

There may not be enough power in the heat of that plasma to do whatever it is. Plasma cutters use a rather high current arc to generate a stream of hot plasma to cut steel and other stuff. The amps are a lot simpler to provide than the volts.

This is the main issue/question I have- can I create enough POWER at the required voltage to jump a 3 foot gap? In theory, I need about a million volts to jump that far— if my math is right.

 

This is the main issue/question I have- can I create enough POWER

Not necessarily my question for this forum, but the main question around which the experiment is based.

 

There are quite a few choices of self fusing tape for H.V. electrical applications, been in use for many decades.
One modern example https://www.uline.ca/BL_6608/3M-70-...Vuf_jBx1AfQZWEAAYASAAEgKvpPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Max.

This stuff looks great, but it says it’s rated at 15kv max— which is certainly the highest rating I’ve ever seen in tape. Nonetheless, 15kv falls quite a bit short of what I need... Stupid question, is layering the tape as MisterBill2 suggests a reasonably effective method of increasing breakdown strength?

 

If I were you I would be calling companies like 3M and ask to speak with an applications engineer. One of my thoughts was Kapton Tape until I saw One Mega Volt. Kapton Tape can be applied in layers but 1,000,000 is not something easily insulated. You might find a corona dope compound but I doubt a single coating would do for a mega volt. Again, I would start with an applications engineer from someone like 3M or DuPont (DuPont Nomex Tape). Both Nomex and Kapton offer good heat resistance and there are likely others.

Good Luck
Ron

 

If I were you I would be calling companies like 3M and ask to speak with an applications engineer.”

This is probably the way to go- I am only hesitant to do so because... well... I’m what ya call a “living room engineer”— and money talks. Lol. Nonetheless, good solid advice.

Anybody have thoughts on ceramic wire blanket/shielding?

Also,
I’m still unsure whether I’ll need that much voltage to make that jump... I’m simply going by an air breakdown chart I found on google. The less voltage I need, the better, obviously!

Ideally I need to achieve just the minimum voltage to jump that 3’ gap, and the maximum current possible at that voltage within the limits of the psu.

All of that stuff is just going to have to be tried and discovered- hopefully without killing anyone. As long as I can insulate the outside of the electrode such that the spark cannot/will not jump to anywhere but the return path across the 3’ gap.

The more I think about this, the more I think I’m absolutely bonkers

 

One thing I've seen with Kapton tape - heat softens the sticky glue and the tape can shift/slide, and possibly expose the experimenter to high potential voltages. Keep in mind it's not the voltages that kill it's the amperage. If you're only pushing micro-amps then I wouldn't be so concerned. But at higher amperages - high voltages can be lethal. Take safety precautions. Then rinse and repeat. Several times. You only get one shot at life. Don't waste it in a rush to solve a problem.

 

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