Xref: utzoo sci.electronics:6392 sci.physics:8386
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From: oconnor@nuke (Dennis M. O'Connor)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.physics
Subject: Re: HV Cap Fun!
Message-ID: <575@crdgw1.crd.ge.com>
Date: 1 Jun 89 21:09:37 GMT
References: <4924@m2c.M2C.ORG> <3806@mit-amt> <20772@quacky.mips.COM> <166@mother.dde.uucp>
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Reply-To: oconnor@nuke (Dennis M. O'Connor)
Followup-To: sci.electronics
Organization: GE Corporate R&D Center
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In-reply-to: mbe@dde.uucp (Martin Berg)

With a high resistance connection and zero inductance, the losses
would be in to resistive heating. 

In a real system ( non-zero inductance and resistance ) the system
will oscilate for a some time, with the oscillations getting
smaller until they are beneath the thermal noise of the resistance.
Resistive losses usually dominate, but some electromagnetic radiation
occurs ( as it does whenever a charge is accelerated/decellerated )

In an ideal system ( non-arcing connection with 0 resistance
and the 0 inductance, capable of handling infinite current )
the system loses energy entirely by electromagnetic radiation.
That's how the big EMP simulators work, I think.

Try shorting a big capacitor while someone in an adjacent,
sonically-isolated area listens to an AM radio low in
the band : you should be able to here the EM energy !

Of course, I could be wrong. I've TOTALLY negleted any and
all quantum and relativistic effects ! :-)

--
 Dennis O'Connor   oconnor%sungod@steinmetz.UUCP  ARPA: OCONNORDM@CRD.GE.COM