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Copyright Dr. Eng. Jan Pająk
Chapter F: The Oscillatory Chamber
F3. The principle of operation of the Oscillatory Chamber
The electric current flowing through a wire is not the only source of a controlled magnetic field. The other well-known source is the phenomenon manifesting the flow of electric energy in its purest form, i.e. an electric spark. There are many different methods for the creation of electric sparks, but the purpose considered here is best served by the so-called "oscillatory circuit with a spark gap". The unique property of such a circuit is its ability to absorb, total and utilize the energy supplied to it. This energy then appears in the form of a gradually diminishing sequence of oscillatory sparks created by the circuit.
The discovery of the oscillatory circuit with a spark gap was achieved in 1845 by the American physicist, Joseph Henry, who noticed that when a Layden jar was discharged through coils of wire, the discharge and a spark were oscillatory. A few years later Lord Kelvin, the great English physicist and engineer, proved mathematically that the discharge in a circuit so constituted must manifest itself in the oscillatory form.
At this point it should be stressed that Henry's circuit was the first circuit discovered on our planet which produced electrical oscillations. Thus its completion had the same revolutionary consequences for our civilization as for example the development of a first steam engine. This is because Henry's circuit provided the foundations for the formulation of a number of scientific disciplines which are based on electric oscillations, such as electronics or cybernetics. Furthermore, the principle of electric oscillations is utilized presently in a vast number of technical devices, for example in radio, television, computers, measuring instruments, and many more. Thus we should honestly recognise and acknowledge that if not for Henry's discovery, our civilization would not be at the level it is now.
F3.1. The electrical inertia of an inductor as the motive force for oscillations in aconventional oscillatory circuit with a spark gap
Img.012 (F1a) shows a conventional configuration of the oscillatory circuit with a spark gap, i.e. the configuration discovered by Joseph Henry. The most distinctive characteristic of this configuration is that it is constituted by connecting together into one closed circuit the configuration of three vital elements, i.e. L, C1 and E, which have the form of separate devices. These elements are: (1) inductor L, containing a long wire wound into many coils, which provides the circuit with the property called an "inductance"; (2) capacitor C1, whose property, called a "capacitance", allows the circuit to accumulate electric charges; (3) electrodes E, whose two parallel plates ER and EL, separated by a layer of gas, introduce a "spark gap" to the circuit.
When the electric charges "+q" and "-q" are supplied to the plates PF and PB of the capacitor C1, this forces the flow of an electric current "i" through the spark gap E and the inductor L. The current "i" must appear in the form of a spark "S" and must also produce the magnetic flux "F". The mechanisms of consecutive energy transformations occurring within the inductor L (which apart from this subsection is also described in numerous books on electronics and physics) causes the spark "S", since once created between electrodes E, to continue oscillating until the energy involved is dissipated.
The oscillatory circuit with a spark gap represents an electric version of the device which produces one of the most common phenomena of nature, an oscillatory motion. The mechanical analogy of this device, well-known to everyone, is a swing. In all devices of that type, the occurrence of oscillations is caused by the action of the Conservation Energy Principle. This principle compels the initial energy provided to such an oscillating system to be bound in a continuous process of repetitive transformations into two forms: potential and kinetic. In the case of an oscillatory circuit the "potential energy" is represented by the opposite electric charges "+q" and "-q" carried within both plates of a capacitor - see Img.012 (F1a). The electric potential difference introduced by the presence of these charges causes the flow of an electric current "i" through the circuit. In a swing, the same potential energy is introduced by slanting the arm of it away from the vertical position. As a result, a load (e.g. a swinging child) is raised to a particular height, later forcing its own acceleration down into the equilibrium position. The second from of energy, the "kinetic energy", within the oscillatory circuit manifests itself in the from of a magnetic flux "F" produced by the inductor L. In a swing this kinetic energy appears as the speed of a load's motion.
The mutual transformation of the potential form of energy into a kinetic one, and vice versa, requires the involvement of an agent which activates the mechanisms of energy conversion. This agent is introduced by the element possessing the property called "inertia". Inertia is a motive force maintaining the oscillations within any oscillating system. It works as a kind of "pump" which forces the transformations of energy from a potential form, through a kinetic one, back into a reversed potential form. This "pump" always restores the initial amount of potential energy existing at the beginning of the oscillation's cycle, decreased only by its dissipation occurring during the transformations. Therefore the inertial element is the most vital component of every oscillating system. In the oscillatory circuit its function is performed by the inductor L, whose inductance (expressed in units called "Henry") represents electrical inertia. In the swing, mechanical inertia is provided by the mass of a load (expressed in kilograms). This is the reason why the inductance in the electric oscillations is considered to be the equivalent of the mass from the mechanical oscillations.
To increase mechanical inertia it is necessary to join additional mass to that which is already involved in the energy transformations. The increase of electrical inertia requires the extending of the length of an electric current flow, exposed to the action of its own magnetic field. Practically this is obtained by building an inductor containing many coils of the same wire, closely wound, so that each of them is within the range of the magnetic field produced by the other coils.
Let us review the mechanism of oscillations within the oscillatory circuit shown in Figure F1 (a). We assume that in the initial time t=0 the plates PB and PF of the capacitor C1 carry the opposite electric charges "-q" and "+q", and that the current "i" within the inductor L is zero. At this instant the whole energy of the circuit is stored in the potential form in the capacitor C1. The opposite charges accumulated on the plates of the capacitor C1 create an electromotive force which activates the current flow "i". To facilitate the interpretation of the sparks' behaviour, in this publication the electric current is defined as a movement of electrons from negative to positive. The current "i" appears on the electrodes E in the form of a spark "S", whereas in the inductor L it produces a magnetic flux "F". As the difference of charges "q" on the plates of the capacitor C1 decreases, the potential energy stored in the electric field also decreases. This energy is transferred to the magnetic field that appears around the inductor because of the current "i" that is building up there. Thus in the first phase of oscillation, which we can call the active phase, the electric field decreases, the magnetic field builds up and energy is transformed from the potential to the kinetic form flowing from the capacitor C1 to the inductor L.
When all the charge on the capacitor C1 disappears, the electric field in the capacitor will be zero, and the potential energy stored there will be transferred entirely to the magnetic flux "F" of the inductor L. The electromotive force which before caused the current "i" to flow is now eliminated. But the current in the inductor continues to transport the negative charge from the PB plate of the capacitor C1 to the PF plate, because of the electrical inertia. This inertia preserves the current "i" (therefore also the spark "S") from extinction and maintains its flow at the cost of the kinetic energy contained in the magnetic field. Thus in this second phase of oscillation, which we can call the inertial phase, energy now flows from the inductor L back to the capacitor C1 as the electric field there builds up again. Eventually, the energy will have been transferred back completely to the capacitor C1. After this transfer is completed, at the time t=(1/2)T the situation reached now is like the initial situation at the time t=0, except that the capacitor is charged in the reverse way. In the next phase of oscillation the capacitor will start to discharge again, and the whole process will repeat itself, this time in the opposite direction. After the time t=T (where "T" is the so-called "period of pulsations" of a given circuit) the situation returns to the original state as it was at the moment t=0. Thus once started, such oscillations continue until the resistance of this process dissipates the energy involved.
F3.2. In the modified oscillatory circuit with a spark gap, the inductance of a stream of sparks replaces the electrical inertia of an inductor
It is known that an electric spark alone introduces a high electric inertia. Therefore a spark is able to replace the inductor in providing the inductance to the oscillatory circuit. But there are two conditions of such a replacement, i.e. (1) that the spark must possess the appropriate active length, and also (2) that its path must follow a course within the range of its own magnetic field. To achieve both these conditions, it is impossible to repeat the solution used in the inductor, for the simple reason that an electric spark is reluctant to wind itself into the form of consecutive coils. However, the same effect can be achieved in another way. The required inductance can be supplied by a whole stream of sparks jumping simultaneously along parallel paths. Each single spark in such a stream will be the equivalent of one coil of wire within an inductor. Therefore, if the number of sparks reaches the required level, all sparks will together provide the necessary inductance to the circuit.
Img.012 (F1b) shows the author's modified version of the oscillatory circuit with a spark gap, which makes use of the electrical inertia of the stream of parallel jumping sparks. The most distinctive characteristic of this version is that all three vital components of Henry's circuit, i.e. inductance L, capacitance C1 and spark gap E, are now provided by a single physical device, which simultaneously performs three different functions. The modified device consists of only a couple of conductive plates PF and PB, attached to the inner surfaces of two opposite walls of a cubical chamber made of an electric insulator and filled with a dielectric gas. Each of the plates is divided into a number of small segments each insulated from the other (in the diagram marked by 1, 2, 3, ..., p). Each pair of facing segments marked by the same number, e.g. "3" or "p", forms a single elementary capacitor. In turn, after receiving a sufficient electric charge, this capacitor transforms itself into a couple of electrodes exchanging the electric spark, e.g. "S3" or "Sp". The total number of all electric sparks jumping simultaneously in the form of a single compact stream provides the device with the required inductance.
To summarize the modification described above, one can say that the three separate devices, each of which has provided the conventional circuit with one selected property, are now replaced by the single device (i.e. a pair of plates each subdivided into a number of small segments) simultaneously providing all three vital properties, i.e. L, C and E.
If the principle of operation of this modified oscillatory circuit is considered, it becomes obvious that it is identical to Henry's circuit. After all segments of both plates are uniformly charged, the potential energy of the circuit is built up. When the difference of potentials between plates overcomes the breakdown value "U", the discharge is initiated. This discharge will take the form of a stream of parallel sparks S1, S2, S3, ..., Sp, joining segments of the plates which face each other. Thus in the first, active phase of the oscillations' cycle, the magnetic field produced by these sparks will gradually absorb the energy stored initially within the electric field. When both plates PF and PB reach the equilibrium of potentials, the electrical inertia of sparks will continue the transmission of the charge between them, transforming the kinetic energy contained within the magnetic field back into the potential energy of the electric field. Therefore at the end of the second, inertial stage of the oscillation of sparks, the plates will again contain the initial charge, but of the opposite kind. Then the whole process repeats itself but in the reverse direction. If the slight dissipation of energy occurring in this device is somehow compensated for, the process described above will be repeated endlessly.
Operation of the modified oscillatory circuit liberates all the electric phenomena from material ties. In effect the electric current does not need to flow through a wire and its value is not the subject of limitation by the properties of the materials used. Also the electric phenomena are exposed to a controlling action that allows them to be channelled into the desired course. These are very important achievements, and as will be proved later, they are the source of many of the advantages of this device.
The sequence of sparks that oscillate in the device shown in Img.012 (F1b), will produce an alternating magnetic field. Because the stream of sparks follows the same path in both directions, this field will also be a vortex - similar to that formed around a segment of a straight wire (i.e. have all force lines lying on parallel planes). Such a field will not display clear polarity, because its magnetic poles N and S are not fixed. To create a bipolar magnetic field with the steadily positioned magnetic poles N and S, it is necessary to continue one step further in the development of this modified oscillatory circuit.
F3.3. The combining of two modified circuits forms an "Oscillatory Chamber" producing a bipolar magnetic field
The final form of the circuit considered here is shown in Img.012 (F1c). This is the form to which the name "Oscillatory Chamber" has been ascribed. The Oscillatory Chamber is constituted by combining together two circuits indicated as C1 and C2, both identical to the one presented in the previous subsection and illustrated in Img.012 (F1b). Therefore it consists of four segmented plates, i.e. twice as many as in the modified oscillatory circuit in Img.012 (F1b), indicated as PF, PB, PR and PL (i.e. front, back, right and left). Each of these plates contains the same number of segments "p", and faces the other identical plate, together with this other plate forming one of the two cooperating oscillatory circuits. Both of these circuits produce the four streams of sparks marked as SR-L, SF-B, SL-R, and SB-F, which oscillate between opposite plates. These sparks appear in succession, one after the other, having the mutual phase shift between them equal to one quarter (1/4) of a period "T" of their entire sequence of pulsations (i.e. "(1/4)T").
Before the mechanism of the discharges in this final configuration is analyzed, we should remind ourselves of the action of the electromagnetic containment forces which will try to deflect the sparks away from the range of the bipolar magnetic field. They are the same forces which cause the explosion of coils in powerful electromagnets (we already discussed them in item #1 of subsection F1.). In the case of the Oscillatory Chamber, these forces will push the stream of sparks against the left plate along which the discharge occurs. For example all sparks within the stream SR-L jumping from the plate, let say, PR to the plate PL will be pushed to the surface of the plate PF (at this moment the plate PF increases its own negative charge). For this reason the individual sparks forming consecutive streams SR-L, SF-B, SL-R, and SB-F, instead of crossing the paths of the other sparks, will bend themselves towards the left walls of the chamber and produce a kind of orderly rotating arc. Notice that the plate along which the sparks are jumping is prevented from being entered by them. This prevention mainly depends on the formation of the plate from a large number of small segments (needles), each insulated from the other, and therefore the resistance against conduction along the plate is not less than the resistance of the discharge through the dielectric gas in the chamber.
Let us assume that the initial charging of the Oscillatory Chamber is provided in such a way that at the moment of time t=0 the stream of sparks marked as SR-L will occur first, and then after a period of time equal to t = (1/4)T - the stream SF-B will follow (compare part (c) of Img.012 (F1) with part (a) of Img.015 (F4)). Let us also assume that right from this initial time t=0, along the vertical (magnetic) axis "m" of the chamber already prevails the magnetic flux "F" produced by this device. This flux pushes sparks against the wall located at their left sides. After the initial charging of the C2 capacitor, at the time t=0, the active stream of sparks SR-L will appear, which will jump from plate PR to plate PL. These sparks produce their own magnetic flux "∆F" which is totalled to the flux "F" already existing in the chamber. The flux "F" bends the paths of all these sparks, pushing them close to the surface of their left plate PF. At time t = (1/4)T the potentials of plates PR and PL reach an equilibrium, but the inertia of sparks SR-L still continues transporting charges from PR to PL, at the cost of the kinetic energy accumulated in the magnetic field. Thus the stream SR-L enters its inertial stage. At the same instant (t = (1/4)T) the operation of the second circuit begins, and the active jump of the SF-B stream of sparks is initiated. Similarly this stream produces its own magnetic field "∆F" which adds to the entire flux "F" already prevailing in the chamber. The flux "F" pushes sparks against the surface of the plate PL located on their left side. So in the timespan t = (1/4)T to t = (2/4)T = (1/2)T, there are two streams of sparks present in the chamber (SR-L and SF-B), the first of which (inertial) transfers energy from the magnetic to the electric field, whereas the second (active) one transfers energy from the electric to the magnetic field. At time t = (2/4)T = (1/2)T the plates PL and PR reach a difference of potentials equal to the initial one (at t=0), but with the opposite location of charges. Therefore the stream of sparks SR-L disappears, whereas the stream SL-R jumping in an opposite direction is now initiated. This stream is pushed by field "F" to the surface of plate PB. At the same instant (t = (2/4)T = (1/2)T) the plates PF and PB reach the equilibrium of potentials, so that the stream of sparks SF-B passes into its inertial stage. In the timespan t = (2/4)T = (1/2)T to t = (3/4)T there are again two streams of sparks, i.e. SF-B and SL-R, the first of which - inertial consumes the magnetic field, whereas the other - active produces it. At the instant t = (3/4)T the sparks SF-B disappear and the sparks SB-F are formed (pushed against plate PR), whereas the sparks SL-R are passing into their inertial stage. At time t = (4/4)T = 1T the sparks SL-R also disappear and the sparks SR-L are created (pushed against the plate PF), whereas the sparks SB-F pass into their inertial stage. With this the whole cycle of the sparks' rotation is closed, and the situation at time t = (4/4)T = 1T is identical to the one at the initial moment t=0. The process that follows will be a repetition of the cycle just described.
The above analysis of the sequence and paths of the sparks reveals a very desirable regularity. The streams of sparks turn into a kind of electric arc combined from the four separate segments. This arc rotates around the inner perimeter of the Oscillatory Chamber. Such a process, in accordance with the rules of electro-magnetism, must produce a strong, pulsating, bipolar magnetic field. The obtaining of such a field crowns the long and difficult search for the new method of the magnetic field production presented here.
F3.4. Needle-shaped electrodes
The design of the Oscillatory Chamber described above was the first design that I ever published. However, the further research and development on this device revealed that this design is difficult to complete because of the plate-shaped electrodes that the design initially proposed. As this is explained in item #7 of subsection F2, the plate-shaped electrodes incline electricity to flow along "short cuts", instead of flowing as this electric charges supposed to flow according to the operation of the chamber - see Img.013 (F2).
In the result of further experimental research it was possible to establish, that the use of needle-shaped electrodes (instead of plate-shaped ones) eliminates this problem - see part "b" in Img.13 (F2b).
Therefore, in the further parts of this chapter, by electrodes of the chamber one should understand needles sticking towards interior from walls of the chamber, and fulfilling all the functions that during the explanations of the principles of chamber's operation were imposed onto flat-segments of plate electrodes. (In spite of the introduction of needle electrodes, for the simplification of discussion the flat segments of plate electrodes are maintained in the initial explanations from this chapter. After all, they form in the mind of the reader an illustrative system of understanding, based on the traditional vision of capacitors as two flat plates parallel to each other.)