Talk:Mercury arc valve
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This article does not explain things quite well enough. The purpose of the excitation electrode is unclear. A simple circuit diagram that includes the anodes, cathode, and excitation electrode would be enormously helpful. Benandorsqueaks 05:01, 25 December 2005 (UTC)
I've tried cleaning up this article a bit but I've got to hit the books on this one. I hope Mr. Deutsche-Volt will lay off the poor translations for a while. --Alexwcovington (talk) 21:43, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- Whew. Agreed. There's whole paragraphs here that are baffling. I'll have a hack or two at cleaning this up - it's worth having this because most of the HVDC project articles refer to mercury arc valves. --Wtshymanski 17:33, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
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[edit] Notes
I've got to track down a description of the glass and metal envelope forms, since the article is vague. I found a picture in "Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers" which I may try to redraw. I don't think a thyratron is a mercury-arc device - it doesn't have a pool cathode at any rate. Triggering is important and not discussed yet. I've *seen* the glass-bulb form but I don't think those have been used since before WWII. A discussion of why solid-state devices replaced the arc valves is in order. Flashback is a problem to be mentioned, as well as cooling requirements. Mercury valves were developed by GE and Simens as well as ABB - needs references. --Wtshymanski 18:09, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
- A thyratron can be either a cold cathode device with a pool of mercury, or a heated (thermionic) cathode device without a pool of mercury. The latter can be either a mercury arc or a mercury discharge device. 20.133.0.13 13:54, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
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- An ignitron uses a pool of mercury, not a thyratron. Thyratrons can use mercury vapor (a small droplet of mercury being the source), but often use other gases such as hydrogen, xenon, deuterium. A thyratron can use either a cold or a heated cathode, but modern thyratrons use heated cathodes exclusively. Bert 14:03, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Picture trouble
WHen I click on the picture I uploaded for the article, I can't see it, only it's description page. What did I do wrong and how do I fix it? --Wtshymanski 03:27, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Legacy DC power grids
Static inverter stations were used to provide DC power to legacy Edison style DC power grids in urban centers until the 1950's. These were in use in Helsinki until about 1950 and in the UK even longer. Who knows more about this? -- Petri Krohn 06:45, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
- The UK had a DC link scheme between Kingsnorth power station on the Isle of Grain in Kent and Beddington in South London and Willesden in North London. There were 3 converter stations and the Kingsnorth station used controlled mercury valves to rectify the generator output into plus and minus 266 kV DC. The positive pole fed the Beddington station which used identical valves but operating as inverters. The negative pole similarly fed Willesden. The scheme also allowed Beddington or Willesden to operate as rectifiers and feed power to the other, but such operation was never required. The scheme was still operational in the early 1980's, but is no longer in operation. 20.133.0.14 13:52, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Explosion hazard
I'd like to see a valid reference for the "double layer explosion hazard" - unfortunately I can't tell if this is just advanced plasma physics beyond my ken or absolute pseudoscience. A Google search was very dishearting, only producing a couple of astrophysics papers. In all my years of reading about HVDC systems I've never seen any reference to "explosions" as a particular hazard of mercury arc rectifiers, and the Wikipedia is the only place I've found this association, which makes me highly dubious. --Wtshymanski 19:56, 14 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] London Underground
Mercury arc valves/rectifiers are still used on the London Underground. They were used for both traction and electric lifs.
This page shows on in use on 27th January 2000 still powering the lift of an air-raid shelter at Belsize Park London Underground Station:
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/b/belsize_park/index.html
--217.18.21.2 18:31, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
- There are many examples of mercury arc rectifiers still in operation, mainly in places where the cost of replacement is not considered worthwhile because the use is not intensive enough. The mercury arc rectifier, generally never wears out. 20.133.0.14 13:52, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Others
The statement about Tungar rectifiers in the "Others" section should be clarified to indicate that these are not based on Mercury vapor, but rather Tungsten (electrodes) and Argon (gas), thus Tung-Ar.
32.97.110.142 18:15, 13 September 2007 (UTC)Dave
- Noted; moved the description to the rectifier article in with the other electron tube devices. --Wtshymanski 21:07, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Efficiency
" Before the advent of solid-state devices, mercury arc rectifiers were the most efficient form of conversion from alternating to direct current."
not by a long way. Mechanical rectifiers waste a fraction of the power, and were used in many applications before and after the invention of the mercury rectifier. 62.253.52.61 (talk) 17:47, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
- Cool. Do you have a reference? Were people still buying rotary converters for DC supplies after mercury arc rectifiers came along? --Wtshymanski (talk) 21:24, 9 June 2008 (UTC)
