An impulse generator is an electrical apparatus which produces very short high-

voltage Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to m ...

or high-

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

surges. Such devices can be classified into two types: impulse voltage generators and impulse current generators. High impulse voltages are used to test the strength of electric power equipment against

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

and switching surges. Also, steep-front impulse voltages are sometimes used in

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

experiments. High impulse currents are needed not only for tests on equipment such as lightning arresters and

fuses Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

but also for many other technical applications such as

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

thermonuclear fusion Thermonuclear fusion is the process of atomic nuclei combining or “fusing” using high temperatures to drive them close enough together for this to become possible. There are two forms of thermonuclear fusion: ''uncontrolled'', in which the re ...

, and

plasma Plasma or plasm may refer to: Science * Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter * Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral * Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics Biology * Blood pla ...

devices.

Jedlik's tubular voltage generator

In 1863 Hungarian physicist

Ányos Jedlik Ányos István Jedlik ( hu, Jedlik Ányos István; sk, Štefan Anián Jedlík; in older texts and publications: la, Stephanus Anianus Jedlik; 11 January 1800 – 13 December 1895) was a Hungarian inventor, engineer, physicist, and Bened ...

discovered the possibility of voltage multiplication and in 1868 demonstrated it with a "tubular voltage generator", which was successfully displayed at the

Vienna World Exposition ) , building = Rotunda , area = 233 Ha , invent = , visitors = 7,255,000 , organized = , cnt = , org = , biz = , country = Austria-Hungary , city ...

in 1873. It was an early form of the impulse generators now applied in nuclear research. The jury of the World Exhibition of 1873 in Vienna awarded his voltage multiplying condenser of

cascade connection A two-port network (a kind of four-terminal network or quadripole) is an electrical network ( circuit) or device with two ''pairs'' of terminals to connect to external circuits. Two terminals constitute a port if the currents applied to them sati ...

with prize "For Development". Through this condenser, Jedlik framed the principle of surge generator of cascaded connection. (The Cascade connection was another important invention of Ányos Jedlik.)

Marx generator

One form is the

Marx generator A Marx generator is an electrical circuit first described by Erwin Otto Marx in 1924. Its purpose is to generate a high-voltage pulse from a low-voltage DC supply. Marx generators are used in high-energy physics experiments, as well as to simulat ...

, named after

Erwin Otto Marx Erwin Otto Marx (1893–1980) was a German electrical engineer who invented the Marx generator, a device for producing high voltage electrical pulses. He worked as an engineering scientist in Braunschweig from 1918 to 1950 where he performed res ...

, who first proposed it in 1923. This consists of multiple

capacitors A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field by virtue of accumulating electric charges on two close surfaces insulated from each other. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals. The effect of a ...

that are first charged in parallel through charging

resistors A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active el ...

as by a high-voltage, direct-current source and then connected in series and discharged through a test object by a simultaneous spark-over of the

spark gaps A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the potential difference between the conduct ...

. The impulse current generator comprises many capacitors that are also charged in parallel by a high-voltage, low-current, direct-current source, but it is discharged in parallel through resistances, inductances, and a test object by a spark gap.

References

{{reflist, 2 Electronic engineering Hungarian inventions

Jedlik's tubular voltage generator

Marx generator

See also

References