Nikola Tesla Books
CHAPTER X. QUENCHED GAP APPARATUS. Comparatively few experimenters with high frequency. current phenomena and apparatus within the acquaintance of the author have used the quenched gap in their experimental work. Possibly this is due to the scarcity of data on the construction of gaps adapted to the purpose; possibly to the lack of practical knowledge on the part of the workers. High frequency apparatus is so easy to build, and with a given expenditure of time and labor the results are so great with even mediocre equipment that the casual experimenter is likely to devote his hours to making the sparks fly rather than to devise ways and means for increasing the efficiency of this apparatus with a corresponding increase in the quality of the results obtained. The Quenched Gap.-The quenched gap to be described combines a number of very desirable features from the amateur mechanic's standpoint. It is admitted that there are certain inherent defects in the design, but these have to be tolerated in order that the gap may come within the limits of the amateur's shop equipment, which is usually confined to a small bench lathe and a few other tools. One improvement that might be made in the gap is to be noted in connection with the means for adjusting the distance between the electrodes. If the upper electrode 2 were cast in one piece integral with the hub or spindle 3 the gap might 100
