Voltage Multiplier Questions

[Accelerate your mind]

Can anyone help me I'm wondering what I should power my 10 stage cockroft Walton vm with i am using 102 20kv ceramic caps im guessing they are 1000pf and fast 15kv diodes just in the half wave setup am I correct in assuming that it will only work properly with around 100 to 200khz ac or higher due to the small capacitor size? I tried lower voltages with regular 60hz and got no multiplication of voltage I also tried my fly back driven with a zvs mazilli driver circuit but it wouldn't do anything so I submersed it in oil and tried and nothing but when I brought the 2 contacts close where they both attached to the input of the cwvm the output of the fly back i got small arcing but it would happen at the same time at the 2 outputs of the cwvm aswell weird? So confused.. My dad rebuilt it for me and said it wouldn't produce anything at all but when he tried the 20v output of the oscilloscope at 200khz he said he got 300v out.. Can anyone explain what's going on and how I would best power this cwvm I'm not sure if I need an input th at is half the value of my weakest link the diodes which would mean maybe I would max out the voltage input at 7maybe 10kv at most am I correct does the cwvm see double ť input at each stage or what are anyone's thoughts.. I'd like to produce big sparks like at least 3 inches long.. I followed the you tube video desktop lightening tower on the plasma channel oh I forgot the diodes are rated 100ma 15kv black with a blue line on them... Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Evan
[email removed]

 

[Martaine2005]

.
Have a look at Dave’s explanation on the eevblog.

Martin