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 t ...

or high- current 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 electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

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 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 firs ...

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 devices.

Jedlik's tubular voltage generator

In 1863 Hungarian physicist Ányos Jedlik 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 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, named after Erwin Otto Marx, 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 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. 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