My project needs a 500,000 volt capacitor.
I need to either build or buy a capacitor with the following approximate specs: 500kV, 1 nF, cost under $300, no special timing or impedance requirements.
I can build one out of nested PVC pipe (4", 3", 2" schedule 80), and aluminum flashing. Such an effort is consistent with project goals: promoting hands-on fabrication of something consequential, using old technology to open up new science fields (especially non-local physics), and promotion of skills in STEM. Additionally, students/hobbyists can learn about capacitive grading, mechanical grading, corona suppression techniques, permittivity, dielectric constants, effects of dielectric thickness, molecular relaxation times, capacitance and impedance calculations, instrumentation, etc.
On the other hand, simply buying a capacitor has something to be said for it too. It is a faster way to move a project along. It also promotes finding vendors who are in the HV business (one of my weak points).
So I am looking for suggestions, comments, feedback. Thanks in advance.
@Aparna Murthy
Thanks for the info.
The pictures from Siemens are VERY impressive:
http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/pool/hq/power-transmission/high-voltage-products/capacitors/power-capacitors-capacitor-and-banks_en.pdf
Fortunately, my experiments require only 1000 microamps (max) to charge the capacitor and support a discharge repetition rate of about 20-30 Hz. Total power out of the wall socket should be less than 1 kilowatt overall.
*****
@Remi Cornwall
Thanks for the links. (Princeton has lots of interesting stuff listed.)
Piggott (see project documentation) apparently used a big glass leyden jar as his output capacitor.
I actually built a 200,000 volt single unit capacitor out of PVC pipe and aluminum flashing a few years ago. I can now come up with a better design, which I hope will handle 500,000 volts without a lot of leakage. So far, I don't see any other viable alternatives.
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