Rocket Man

the photo looks fake, but i wouldn't give up on it. they wouldn't have that eqiupment set up if they weren't doing something big. especially those caps sunk into the table, you can see the size of their bank, when they said half a millifarad, they meant it.

by the looks of the photo, the plasmoid was rotating down in the middle. (not sure if that helps)

a study group in St. Petersburg successfully used electric discharges above water surfaces to produce spherical luminous formations

the plasma is formed on the surface of the water, the electrodes actually protrude from the surface (i think the diagram is wrong)

if you've still got the equipment set up, try a petri dish before you fork out for a bigger bank of caps.

i've settled on a blocking oscillator at 6V both sides of a 1k-1kct isolation transformer (if i find a suitable ac output plug pack it'd be ideal)

it is a different config, so the rules are slightly different.

i can see why the first diode would go in a cw, you're dropping an entire side through them. the collective tension must be huge!

this one however, has roughly even load through all the diodes. the worst case would be an over current in the last diode.

with this config, the input is the weakest link;

when you dump one side of the ladder, the cathodes of the entire other side need to discharge through the transformer coil to get to the output.

that's why i'm thinking about a breakdown shunt bypassing the transformer, i want this to last with minimal maintenence.

well, i don't want to buy new caps. i have the ladder already, i just needed a more surdy oscillator.

i don't doubt the series config is better, that's how i'd build the next one. i simply have one that i want to get working.

the parallel config can dish out higher continuous current so i tapped the string of diodes for variable output from input to 16x input.

i'm quite limited as far as power supplies go so i want to capitalise on cheaper transformers. (preferably without buying new equipment)

i really don't like the idea of re-building the oscillator after every misadventure so i need a fail safe.

i was unsure whether i could use an audio tansformer, thanks a bundle!

would i be able to shunt with zeners?

i'll still have one rail charged to 100v across the inductor, could i use opposing zener diodes to shunt the discharge from one rail to the other?

right, i found one.

http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/nakagawa/TRIZ/eTRIZ/epapers/eMorihisa010217/Image139.gif

that's the basic arrangement.

edit: in fact, that's pretty much the exact arrangement, the voltage source is ac.

can you suggest a website to post my schematic on?

i just had another thought, all capacitors in the ladder are actively boosting the voltage, that "osaka" company is making digital watches so the number of parts is critical to them.

look up "plasmoid" on wiki, it describes one as a magnetically self contained plasma.

the simplest one you can make is a toroid like a smoke ring.

i'd line the inside edge of a petri dish with alfoil, place a conductive spire in the exact middle, put a bit of water in it and run it like a mason plasmoid generator.

"powerlabs" has an experiment on water discharge, though he wasn't making plasmiods.

the image in your link looks thoroughly photoshopped with a flash offset top left. i didn't think water could have a green spectral emmission either. however, the shape and intensity distribution of the plasma is quite accurate to a toroidal plasmoid.

edit: the article stated 0.5 millifarad. 25uf is a factor of 20 too low

right, i've been scouring google and i couldn't find the schematic i started with.

i am using 16 caps.

i'm not sure it's a true cw, but it's quite similar

the diodes are all in series and the caps sit one lead between each with two rails either side of the diode string. alternating caps link to these in parallel with each other.

(two sides, caps in parallel, outer edges are uninterrupted conductors, inner line is a string of diodes)

the two rails are across the inductor and charge one cap through another cascading down the chain. each sucessive cap charges to the input potential plus the cap behind it connected to the other rail.

it's a parrallel config so the last cap is charged to the output voltage.

when i made the thing, i should have built it in series but i didn't know much about it when i built it.

i'll put a schematic up when i figure out how.

it may help if you opened it to all forms of coding. i for one can put a lot into vb but i've never heard of math.java

my code is all vb which is arguably a pseudo code. if i wanted to write a program that needed factorials, that would be the exact code i'd use word for word.

that algorythm is limited by the type of variable the output set up as.

if i said:

dim out as currency

it would allow me to calculate up to 922,337,203,685,447.

which isn't much in terms of factorials. i'm pretty sure it's anything under 18!

the eccentric should work. if all else fails, you can use counter rotating ones to nullify the lateral motion.

i noticed the down stroke was longer than the upstroke. if you chain drive it, you could use a shaped sprocket to get the right motion.

the hydrothopter has a lot of flex in it, that's what gives the strokes their effect. the tilt on the blade passes horisontal between each stroke. steeper upward but reasonably shallow downward. a rubber band and a stop gap for the down would allow a simpler design.

you'd be fiddling with ballast for hours to get the skimmer going...

i ended up scrapping the original oscillator, it was too big anyway.

it's a 100v output limit so i'm really only safe with a 12V input. could i use a 1k:1k ct isolation transformer and a blocking oscillator?

i've got parts for that at least. i'm just concerned that i'll be dropping the 100v through the coil somewhere on an output short and that could get nasty for the oscillator and the transformer (it's what kept cooking the original.. mmm, burnt silicon).

i built it with fast-ish discharge in mind so a current limiter isn't a big option.

to save the oscillator, could i put two opposing zener diodes in series across the transformer output? i have a few 12V ones lying around, i'm pretty sure that'd stop low voltage but shunt the output.

how would you make an autonomous model?

they're in series so the mA/hrs don't add for the AA size

check how long the standard AA lasts as an indicator for that size.

then divide the cost per mA/hr by the number of effective cycles (i'd say a fifth of the advertised cycles considering your description of the users)

cost / (cycles * cycle power)

if you're really keen on staging it, strike conversation with someone talkative and get distracted by someone else (only works if they notice and you don't do much talking)

it's the non verbal way of telling someone they're.. interesting.

but make sure you practice infront of the mirror or something:

http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/previews/preview_0008.html

the speed variation between front and back is necessary. the front wheels will always travel further in a turn.

the most efficient way to acheive this is with triple differentials. however, if one wheel leaves the ground, it spins under power and the others can coast in any direction.

the clutches on the transfer are just there to stop this happenning. if you go into a slide, you cant apply power without it.

using it independantly on the front and back gives you a more controllable car. the furthest you can take this is independant power control on each wheel through the standard tripple diff. that would ential an acive clutch of some sort inside every diff.

then you need to consider what the car needs to do.

if the car needs a diff lock, you can't use a fluid clutch inside it.

if it's for the local hoon, you need something that can handle more torque.

if it's a volvo, a fluid clutch is more efficient and has a more linear torque taper.

abs can't stop on gravel as a result of near sighted programming and slow response. the faster it can respond, the safer it is.

abs relies on torque sensing. if the torque drops off sharply, it opens the calipers then eases them back on to the last "safe" level. abs is there to put the highest force on the wheels which is just ahead of the skid point. abs holds your limit just back from there. the jittery brakes are a sign of a crappy system.

the questions that are burning on my mind are what are the electrodes made of? and how are they arranged?

iirc, the rechargable alkilines don't have the memory effect

other than that, if you completely flatten the batteries before you charge them they last longer. i can imagine most devices have quite a high "dead" voltage so if you eventually go rechargable AA size, try to be creative about the use of the remaining power. if you're feeling generous, you could donate the dregs to the hamster that powers the forum, he deserves a break.

i think 9v size is going to be a huge waste of money even if you manage to buy in bulk.

800mA/hr ought to last a week depending on how energy intensive these things are. buy a pack of standard AAs to get cycle length, rechargables should last a little longer

do you need to take the factorials over a certain limit? if not, it's three lines of code.

are you supplied with the mouse trap? or can you get a better one?

if not, buy two more similar ones and mount their springs on the original trap

a thin spindle and big wheels make for longer travel on flat ground with less total force

if you have access to some sort of lathe, you can actually modify the spindle raduis to different spring tensions throughout the travel, giving you finer control over the force curve in the spring and how that relates to the drive wheels.

nice, so the hydro foil angle comes up higher than it does down allowing an easier upward motion and points down only a little so as to support the riders weight better while applying forward thrust.

i need to make me one of those.

fact is the input variable

out is the output variable

out =1

for a = 1 to fact
out = a*out
next a

sorry about the shitty syntax, i use VB

just run a loop. i'll assume you know what factorial means and basic how to program. there's no simple short cut to factorials.

btw, what's it for?

the fuse isn't a problem unless you mess up the voltages and feed it substantially more than 120% it's rating. which is hard to do with only 7 cells

a 9V is a set of six cells in a convineint case. you pay for fiddly manufacturing. each cell is 1.5V, that goes for most commercial batteries (except nicad rechargables which are 1.2v each).

pros and cons of each are in terms of life, cycle length, cost.

a 9V will have a REALLY short cycle length. some stage crews put a new 9v in a radio mic every performance, and they cost way too much up front.

a AA is a reasonably cheap type of battery, but they do run down quite quickly.

rechargables are different. if you buy a nice, modern set you'll probably have a longer cycle length than the life of the AAs. if you keep away from the NiCads and a few others, you should be safe from the "memory effect" which ruins a good set of rechargables.

i don't think you can call one type of transfer better than another.

a design is a design but the fabrication is the important part.

certain types of clutches inherently last longer than others but some are necessary for sheer power transfer.

a fluid clutch is limited by the coolant where a mechanical clutch can handle higher temperatures.

an older toyota landcruiser has barely any electronics and it has a mechanical clutch. for relibility, it's proven itself several times over.

some 4wds have a torque converter, it's essesntially a self regulating, fluid based gear set with a variable slip. if you drop the clutch under high revs in a high gear, the torque converter can drop into a 10:1 ratio and vary according to the output shaft speed untill the internal pressures dictate a 1:1 ratio.

for actually taking 4wd into the scrub where it's meant to be, you want something sturdy.

for a 4wd being wasted in the city that might see the scrub once a year in the hands of an inexperienced driver, the raw power transfer is all important.

some cars simply have 4wd as a saftey feature boosting both efficiency and traction so basically anything goes if it's built right.

there's all sorts of technology going into cars these days, if your car has as much power as a mashing machine, you might just want to go with the research those engineers put in and fit it with a fluid clutch.

there's a thing called back torque which seems to put a fail grade on any magnetism based perpetual motion device.

it you repel one magnet with another expecting it to pass another, you'll have a repulsion force acting. the closest that's possible is a magnetic bearing in a vacuum where almost all the kinetic energy stays put.