9 VOLTS OF PAIN! (MARX GENERATOR) Alvin Tung Ceasar Hurtado
9 VOLTS OF PAIN! (MARX GENERATOR)
Alvin TungCeasar Hurtado
What is a Marx Generator?
Voltage Multiplier Cockroft-Walton
generator-Constant VDC
Stage Multiplier High Pulse Voltage
Relevant Equations:
V(out) = n(Vin)
Where n is the number of stages
Applications
Ignitions High Voltage Insulation
Test Large Scale Generators
are used in the Aerospace Industry to examine what Lightning pulses do to outer skin of Jet Aircraft and Passenger Planes.
Building something dangerous due to overall boredom.
Supplies
-1 Ballast Resister (pulse timer) = 6.8MΩ (2 Watt)
-30 1MΩ (0.5 Watt) Resistors
-16 1nF (3,000 volt) Capacitors
-1 $7 Electric Flyswatter from Walmart (2.75kV)
-1 9V DC Battery (Duracell is a good brand)
-Alligator Clips-Patience
Problems
We had trouble with finding an appropriate high-voltage power supply
There was a point where only about half the stages would spark
Solutions
Instead of attempting the high voltage transformer, we used a high voltage, low current transformer from a fly swatter
When we couldn’t get sparks all throughout the generator, we tried tweaking the spark gaps, replacing components, etc.
Replacing the battery did the trick!
Expectations
We wanted a 1 cm spark (roughly 30 kV)
We wanted our experimental value to be consistent with the theoretical value
We wanted all spark gaps in every stage to light up
Results
Our transformer output was measured at 1,780 V
At 16 stages, we achieved 1 cm of sparks 16 stages X 1,780 V = 28,480 V The experimental result was well within
theoretical bounds (30,000 V)
DEMO!