The "Diode"

[IcyBlue]

About the function of the 'caps' I only can guess at the moment. Based on the highres images wich were posted here too you can at least see half of the innards. I thought I would see something shining through so I took a image processing program to see if I can work it out a little better and suceeded.
So far I don't see any insulation layer, but I can see the next inner grid, having a much wider mesh and being probably of brass, due to it's color. The outer layer might be aluminium or tinplate. This setup seems to work like a ion-accelerator, but as such, it is a DC component.

The only thing that does not fit in very well here is that you still have a too high impedance to directly drive a load. But in this configuration a load would actually cause a ion acceleration effect, thus causing more ions to flow the more current is drawn. But since this cannot be done in a symetrical setup, the construction of the other cap must be differnt inside.

[IcyBlue]

and actually, if you look closely at the image of the other cap, you see a different kind of electrode. No widespace mesh, but either a rather fine one or a solid plate !

So the conclusion this leads me to is that

* the current (the ions !) flows from right to left
* the right device utilizes a divergent current
* the left device utilizes a convergent current

Ions in air are usually positiv charged, and the positive side is denoted 'hot'. The common color scheme used is blue = (-), red = (+). I just checked this against the images and this is exactly what you can see on the 3KW model.

This all fits nicely together with Everts ether-theory - if the testatica is real and not just a fake, if Prof. Evert is right with his theory and I am in understanding his theory.

[Steven Dufresne]

You wouldn't see an insulation layer if it was made of transparent material (e.g. acrylic).

I think the difference in what you see in the two caps (see your attached pictures methcap.png and methcap2.png) may be due to reflection onto the outermost aluminium (silver colored) grid. That's what I see by looking at the original file, testabig.jpg. Also, again using testabig.jpg, there also appears to be different shades of copper behing the grid holes. However I'm with you in that there should be assymetry. I achieved this by having the polarities be different for each 'cap' (i.e. center electrode is positive for one and negative for the other).

See attached image which I think describes what we are both thinking about. This image uses free electrons rather that ions but the idea is the same. The wiring is different than with the 3kW testatika in that with the 3kW testatika the outer grid cylinders appear to be connected together. I say 'appears' because it is possible that they are wired through the two tall grid cylinders in the back (often refered to as chokes).

-Steve

[IcyBlue]

I agree, this is what I thought too - except for one: since the system uses moving charges there must not be any solid inbetween the inner and outer electrode. Baumann too said: "It only works with grids, not solid planes".

The outer electrodes should be somehow connected together and provide the center potential. That there is a center potential you see on the machine with the 3-pole power outlet, while it has been ommited on all others. However, this potential must be kept below zero (or common ground), or the charges simply would take the shorter route over the load and the accelleration stops.
I think a good book on electron valve desing from the old days could give some more clues.

Since both of these devices are fed by RFAC and LVDC is drawn off them they must provide some rectifying mechanism inside to. I think I remind having read somewhere that the charges are 'sprayed on' somehow (but im not certain about this); so the inside configuration could consist of a combination of a faraday cup (the most inner grid) with a field emitter cathode inside. But I have no idea whats in the other one.

Last but not least, the whole thing seems to be either a vacuum device or one operating at low pressure. If you look carefully at the pictures you can see a slight gleam at a small distance around the outer grid - which is either a glass tube or perspex. This would not be necessary if it would operate at athmosphere pressure. If you remind what I have said about the supressor grid and it's position some posts above, this all makes up a rather round theory. The outer grid in the larger machines or the complete housing of the device serves one purpose: to hold back the splitters if the device happens to implode due to the underpressure it has.

PS: the attachement is a datasheet of a device that converts a ion beam into current bu using a faraday cup. Something similar might be in the center of the ML-converter device.

[Steven Dufresne]

I agree they are likely in vacuum. That's what I was eluding to in my first post when I said they are all enclosed in a glass/clear plastic container.

There are basically two approaches: electron multiplication in a vacuum by collision against aluminum grids (like Farnsworth's patent), electron multiplication by ion and electron collision. The second one may not need grids at all so I agree with you that it is more likely in vacuum.

I think our ideas are fairly close, but there is still the problem of the second 'cap'. I think both caps are needed in order to produce low voltage DC for a load. I'm definately not happy the the cap on the left in the diagram in my previous post above. The electron multiplication going to the outer grid will decrease the positiveness of the HVDC+ coming from the power supply. You also mention that the outer cylinders should be connected but I don't see how that can be and still have the needed assymetry.

Just to be clear on what I'm thinking... In the 'cap' on the right in my diagram the outer cylinder is negative and the inner loose wire coil is positive. Together they produce the e-field gradient across all the other cylinders, going from negative to positive. With no load, as long as the inner coil is more positive than any of the grids, the electrons will end up at the coil. With a load, some of the electrons will be taken from the pickup cylinder and sent to the load. The percentage of electrons going to the load would depend, I think, on the resistance of the load. Yuck.

Since we are producing free electrons at each of the grids, there may be a danger of an inner grid becoming more negative than an outer grid and causing the whole thing to reverse or fail. There may be a danger of the electrons impacting an inner grid so strongly that some electrons will bounce back to an outer grid. (this is all guesswork) That is where a suppressor grid would be used but I don't see how. Hopefully experiment will show that this isn't an issue.

I'm hoping to lead up to an experiment where multiple runs are done, each with a different number of floating grids, measuring the current across a load. But I don't think we have necessary circuit figured out yet.

-Steve