How Powerful is my Generator

[zking786]

I'm looking to buy a generator. At the store, the guy (who barely speaks English) tells me that the generator is 30kV. I'm wondering what this equates to in terms of watts. Do I divide by 120/240V?

[ecoli]

Watts = Volts * Amps

[zking786]

I know, which is why none of this makes sense. Since the generator definitely can't be 30,000W or 30W, I'm just messing around with numbers.

 

Any ideas? Is this a standard system for specifying the power? I would have expected watts or some measure of max current draw.

[woelen]

I also am in the process of making high voltage generators, but these things also have a certain maximum current output.

 

Usually these devices are specified as follows:

 

- Output voltage at no load.

- Voltage drop per mA of load.

- Maximum mA, which may be drawn, before devices get overheated.

 

A typical set of values may be:

 

Output voltage: 30 kV

Voltage drop per mA: 1500 V

Maximum current: 3 mA

 

This device then would be capable of delivering approximately 75 W of output power, which is quite a lot already for such a high voltage device. Some power supplies even allow much lower output currents, such as 1 mA, or even less.

 

Of course, the numbers I gave are just hypothetical (but realistic for many devices). You will have to obtain the figures from your seller.

 

Btw, what do you want to do with that 30 kV generator? Are you aware of the serious risks you run when playing around with these voltages. Even a 10 nF capacitor, which is not that large, will most likely kill you, when discharged through your body, when it is charged to 30 kV. So, be VERY careful.

[ajb]

He could be refering to the emf, the electromotive force, which is mesured in volts. It is defined as the work per unit charge that the device does in moving charge from the low potential to the high potential.

 

When you do not have a connection between the two terminals the current is zero, and then the potential difference is equal to the emf (for an ideal emf device). When you connect it the emf is not the potential, but

 

emf = IR

 

where R is the resistance and I is the current.

 

So I think the 30kV is the emf for the device when it is not supplying current.

 

It maybe worth asking the sales person about this.