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Registered Member #4107
Joined: Sun Sept 25 2011, 07:30PM
Location: London
Posts: 53
Wolfman, re your idea of sticking a 'one or 10 megohm resistor on the end to make sure it's safe' - forget it. The resistor will most likely be fried with any sort of current passing through it at this voltage. There's no way to make 60Kv at more than tiny milliamps safe. Be very careful if using a high current source such as a transformer. To answer your question, two neon sign transformers in series will provide the 60Kv. This is a dangerous configuration, be warned, that is One touch lethal!
Registered Member #2901
Joined: Thu Jun 03 2010, 01:25PM
Location:
Posts: 837
wolfman29 wrote ... My application is continuous, low current, high voltage. Basically, I am looking to make a continuous, 10cm arc or so.
It won't be high voltage, once the arc is formed the resistance is low (hell, it can be negative ;). There is a huge difference between the strike voltage and the sustaining voltage.
What kind of atmosphere do you want the arc in? Low current arcs aren't terribly stable.
Some kind of SMPS with an output inductor to keep the current even would be a better idea than a plain HV supply with ballast IMO. Alternatively, you can strike the arc with a HV pulse and maintain it with a different power supply (probably in the range of a couple 100 to a 1000 volt).
Registered Member #2893
Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242
Just to give you an idea duck, here is an x-ray transformer.
It's designed to supply 75kV at 7mA, but its open circuit voltage is about 150kV allowing the arc to strike at 8 inches or so. After the arc has struck the current is probably about 60mA at some low voltage. XRTs don't have a 100% duty cycle, but they certainly make awesome arcs.
Registered Member #2901
Joined: Thu Jun 03 2010, 01:25PM
Location:
Posts: 837
Here is an interesting paper about a low current arc in air at atmospheric pressure.
They mention that it can be done by using a HV source with a very high resistance ballast, but at the cost of putting a ton of power into the ballast ... instead they use a HV source with active current control.
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60KV Transformer.
