We found that, sure enough, more inductance in the resonator gave longer sparks. We also found that to increase the base current (for more voltage out), we could use larger tank circuit capacitances which would pour in more power and demand better quenching. This was the path of all previous efforts by others. These methods had seen simple 5 KW systems using .15 ufd capacitors with 2 and 3 turn primaries! We found we could increase the base current by keeping the tank circuit fixed, but doubling or tripling the coupling between the primary and the resonator. This demanded ultra-special spark gap and quench efforts which we, ultimately, have developed. If we had just coupled up tighter without improving our quench, then we would have split the frequencies of oscillation in the resonator and seen the familiar racing sparks up and down the resonator. These carefully quenched systems did increase our spark length still further. We had been using toroids all along to achieve the proper electrostatic “shading” or shielding of the top turns of our coils. There was a point reached in our work where the resonator would break down with even our best efforts. We were doing better than most and had pushed the spark output of our resonators to about three times the resonator winding length. This was extremely good for the time.

A Big Discovery

In the spring of 1990, I built a large laboratory building to accommodate our growing sparks. It was during the late winter of 1989 that we latched on to the concept that a larger toroid, on a given coil, seemed to hold back the onset of spark outbreak until much more spark output was achieved with the same system. It did require more energy, of course, and the tune of the resonator plunged with the use of larger toroids, but it was taking us into new areas. The base current goes up as a resonator is loaded with increasing terminal capacitance. Thus, the voltage induced in the helix goes up too! What is really happening here? Remember, that the helix has inductance and capacitance. These are the sole factors involved in the determination of the quarter-wave resonant frequency.... Not the wire length!!! With the addition of the toroid, capacitance is added to the series resonant system (helix). This, naturally, drives its quarter wave resonant frequency down. The capacitive load on the system demands more current by effectively lowering the base impedance of the resonator. The inductance has not changed at all! The only changes are the system capacitance, the resonant frequency and the base impedance. This means an increased current demand for the quarter wave system. This system is now a union of the helix and a large load capacitance. All of the voltage must come from the inductance of the helix alone! This is the only place where it can be created! Likewise, to achieve the longest spark and increase the current within it, we must store this voltage in the largest capacitance possible. To achieve more voltage output with a fixed inductance, we need to increase the base current. With ever increasing loading (larger and larger toroids) the resonant frequency drops and the resonator system base impedance plunges. This requires more energy to drive the system. More current is poured into the resonator coil and the output voltage continues to climb. The toroid has a fixed voltage breakout point based on its size, shape, uniformity and the surrounding area. The larger the toroid, the higher the voltage must be to break out. The great joy comes in that both of these virtues, which result from this capacitive addition to the top of the helix, are working in a synergistic manner to keep pushing output voltages through the roof!

The final result was that our systems had toroids which dwarfed the resonator helix! Our resonator systems looked weird if not downright imposing. We knew by the late summer of 1990 that there might not be a realizable limit to the maximum capacitive loading of a helical resonator! As we started to develop our magnifier systems, this assumption appeared more and more correct and gave teeth to the seemingly wild statement by Tesla that “the limit to which potentials may be realized by this system is so remote that it is limited only by the available materials and dimensions”. More and more of Tesla's criptic machinations in the Colorado Springs Notes were starting to make sense. Things were falling into place. This caused me to attempt to simplify Tesla's 1899 notes for the coil builder in a recent book, The Tesla Coil Builders Guide To The Colorado Springs Notes Of Nikola Tesla.