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From: vanhove@XN.LL.MIT.EDU (Patrick Van Hove)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: IBM mainframe for sale (Really 400/416 Hz power for Crays)
Message-ID: <737@xn.LL.MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 5-Oct-87 22:36:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: xn.737
Posted: Mon Oct  5 22:36:55 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Oct-87 07:12:45 EDT
References: <4673@nsc.nsc.com> <2944@phri.UUCP> <365@nuchat.UUCP> <2952@phri.UUCP>
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
Lines: 18



My 0.02 cents:

Maybe the deal with 416 hz is energy storage. In any power supply,
you need <BIG> capacitors to start removing the ripple after AC-DC
conversion.
The capacitors may be a lot smaller at higher frequency.

Basically, you are trading electrostatic or chemical storage of 
energy in the capacitors for mechanical storage in the flywheel
of your 60hz/416hz converter.

	Patrick

... just kidding, I know less about power supplies than about 
greek mythology, to say the least, and my employer certainly 
didn't hire me for either.