im working on home fusion project. I just had an idea,  The output of the crockford Walton voltage multiplier I’m building will carry about twenty ma at minus twenty kv. I want to measure the voltage. so if i use a five volt zener diode, i should be able to direct five volts through a circuit right. The excess currant flows through the diode. I will run a voltage to frequency converter, with a series low value resistor on the power bus. Converting te voltage to frequency to output through a tiny led to be picked up by an external circuit to convert the frequency to a voltage reading. I’m aware that corona from the circuit could destroy it but surely if i insulate the circuit with silicon sealant, it would be fine :?  The only thing might be a surge in current form capacitors.
The maximum heat dissipation of the diode will be only 0.1 watts, with five volts across it. So this sounds feasible :/

Aquariumnerd - 12 July 2011 08:55 PM

im working on home fusion project. I just had an idea,  The output of the crockford Walton voltage multiplier I’m building will carry about twenty ma at minus twenty kv. I want to measure the voltage. so if i use a five volt zener diode, i should be able to direct five volts through a circuit right. The excess currant flows through the diode. I will run a voltage to frequency converter, with a series low value resistor on the power bus. Converting te voltage to frequency to output through a tiny led to be picked up by an external circuit to convert the frequency to a voltage reading. I’m aware that corona from the circuit could destroy it but surely if i insulate the circuit with silicon sealant, it would be fine :?  The only thing might be a surge in current form capacitors.
The maximum heat dissipation of the diode will be only 0.1 watts, with five volts across it. So this sounds feasible :/

I just realized i cant measure voltage like this. but i could measure current like this. This is because i don’t know the resistance in series, e.g. from the chamber or voltage.

do you have a multimeter?
those can measure potential, resistance, and current.. and cost like $20

when you get to high voltages, one way to measure voltage might be to see at what distance it arcs, when you bring two spheres together, in dry air.
at from 5V to a few hundred, however, you’ll be better off measuring with the meter.