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160 kV Marx Generator
No High voltage lab would be complete without a Marx Generator. This
guy is also very Dangerous. You never know when those
spark gap might decide to brek down, but when they do... watchout. This
Marx
Generator is capable of generating 160 kV voltage pulses. I have the
sparkgaps set to breakdown at about 12 kV in stead of 20kV to protect the
caps (so 12kV x 8 caps = 96kV). The top picture is the marx generator
producing a 2 in. spark. Since the spark is so fast and bright the
cam-corder does not relibly reproduce the spark (it is actually very thin)
The caps are "door knob caps" about 5000 mmF 20 kV. The spark gaps are
acorn nuts all in line. A guy from NRL told me that if the sparkgaps are
all
in line, the UV from one will cause all the rest to rapidly break down
producing a pico second voltage pulse. (Of course marx generator spark
gaps all overvolt once one breaks down, but jitter in breakdown time can
cause the pulse to be wider). I individually tuned each spark gap
distance to break down at about the same voltage.
The four small tubes around the large
(PCV) tube are water resistors. They are hollow tubes filled with
de-ionized
water. I had to use DI water to get the high resistance required (~1Meg
Ohms). To charge the caps, I drilled+tapped and glued tapped threadded
rod through the tube to make the connection. (Note initally I tried using
carbon resistore, but they just arced over.) Have fun, and DON'T KILL
YOURSELF. (a good rule is to always keep one hand in your pocket)
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