Stepping Down a Wimshurst

[Steven Dufresne]

I just found this Windows program that calculates the expected output for a Wimshurst machine. You feed it the specs and it tells you the output.
http://www.coe.ufrj.br/~acmq/programs/wmd.zip
I found the link to it at the bottom of this page:
http://www.coe.ufrj.br/~acmq/wimshurst.html
I just ran it and for 31 cm diameter disks, 32 sectors, 1 cm wide sectors, ... the output current should be 17 microamps. Change it to 62 cm diameter and the output current is 37 microamps. Instead change it to 2 cm wide sectors and the output current is 22 microamps. I don't have the formula they're using but I'm sure it can be found online somewhere. I also know that if it were high voltage and milliamps then it'd be very dangerous and yet the machines are typically quite harmless.
-Steve
http://rimstar.org   http://wsminfo.org

[Paul-R]

Awww man, you guys think I'm kidding huh?
Seriously, does anyone know a good cheap way to pulse High Voltage DC?

Thanks

If what you need is HV and high frequency, the Don Smith people are in this field, and some
are using the power supplies used for neon advertising set ups.

[darkspeed]

This is what I came up with.

There is a small spark gap between the machine and the input of this circuit.

It works really well.

I size the caps so every ten pulses the 20kv cap hits 130v and every 100 pulses the 400v cap hits 65v

[Foggy-Notion]

I just ran it and for 31 cm diameter disks, 32 sectors, 1 cm wide sectors, ... the output current should be 17 microamps. Change it to 62 cm diameter and the output current is 37 microamps.

Ok and this is the output (to) the layden jars?
Or is that the actual power of the jumping spark?
Cool links, Thank you, paul, speed and steve.

[mscoffman]

I just ran it and for 31 cm diameter disks, 32 sectors, 1 cm wide sectors, ... the output current should be 17 microamps. Change it to 62 cm diameter and the output current is 37 microamps.

Ok and this is the output (to) the layden jars?
Or is that the actual power of the jumping spark?
Cool links, Thank you, paul, speed and steve.

Most likely, the continous current to layden jar capacitors. This is sourced
at like 10KV->40KVdc static electric. I think you can find spark current
in other documents.

:S:MarkSCoffman