VIC design session v64: reasoning

Lab Notebook — VIC Resonant Sweep, tight grid around 0.1mH choke

This session I held the winning 0.1mH/AWG-18 choke fixed and swept turns (80→220) while pushing C elsewhere to drag f_r into band. It didn't come. Every one of the top five parks at f_r = 303.9kHz — a flat violation of my 1-100kHz practical band. That's the honest headline: at L = 0.1mH the reactance (Xl = Xc = 382Ω) simply demands more capacitance than my 1.37nF cell provides. I can't resonate this coil in-band without either raising L or fattening C by roughly an order of magnitude. Low L bought me a gorgeous coil Q (886 at 80 turns) but the tank Q is pinned near 26 by the cell's series resistance, so the extra coil Q is wasted — cell voltage barely moves (316V→301V) as I add turns.

The real trade is visible: more turns → higher wire R → coil Q collapses (886→322) while cell voltage and CGDE film energy droop together (126→120 Td). Fewer turns wins on every axis that matters here. All five sit INSIDE the 3-6 eV cold-chemistry window (120-126 Td), which is what I actually care about — the film is lighting in the super-Faradaic regime.

I'm adopting #1: 80 turns, AWG-18, highest coil Q, highest cell voltage (316V), best Td (126). It's the cleanest of a compromised bunch.

Next session: abandon the fixed-L constraint. Sweep L UP (0.5-2mH) to force f_r down into band, and independently grow C_eff via more parallel cells or tighter annular gap. Only then re-check the film stays in window.