I know that the ratio of primary turns to secondary turns is the multiplying factor in voltage. So if you wanted 100,000 volts from a 10 volt source could you potentially do this:4 transformerseach transformer has 10 coils in primary and 100 in secondaryThe output of each transformer's secondary is connected to the primary of the next transformer so that you get 10*10*10*10 or 10,000 as your multiplying factor.Would this work?or do you have to do it the hard way and wind 10 coils in the primary of a single transformer and wind 100,000 times in the secondary?
It is not practical to use 4 transformer in cascade. using four same transformers will not work too. If you really want to cascade the transformers you need to do as follows, Let say you are using the transformer which has 1 turn/volt. All 4 transformer must be same capacity , same turn ratio ,but different voltage in/out (different coil size) 10 volts 10 turns , 100 volts 100 turns First transformer will have 10turns/100 turns , you have 100 volts output this will feed to second transformer which must have 100 turns/1000 turns and output is 1000 volts third transformer will have 1000 turns/10000 turns output is 10000 volts and finally fourth transformer has 10000 turns/100000 turns and you will get 100000 volts. As you see you will not save, instead you need to spend more.
Yes, you can cascade transfomers. The efficiency might be lower, but it will work to a point. Note also that the current will be proportionally lower. The main problem will be the insulation strength as the voltages get higher: if the insulation isn't strong enough arcing will happen. That 100kV stage needs to be very, very robust - in fact, it probably isn't even feasible at a 1:10 turns ratio because its primary voltage is too high (10kV) and so will need ridiculously thick insulation and/or a lot of turns - engineering such a beast is certainly beyond the casual experimenter. The smart money says forget it. There's lots of ways to generate high voltage besides cascaded transformers. Techniques using flyback coils and capacitive discharge for example can easily get you to 50kV or more (this is, for example, how a Taser makes its HV.) I've included some links below. And please, be very, very careful this stuff can kill you.
4 transformers would work in theory. 10v ?100v ? 1000v ? 10000v There is something called volts per turn. in the first transformer, that is 1, but in the fourth it is 1000, and that high a number will never work. wikipedia: The turns per volt figure typically varies from 1 to about 4, with around 4 turns per volt common for small appliance transformers, and around 1 turn per volt used for intermittent duty fan cooled microwave oven transformers. Volts per turn is commonly used for larger transformers, distribution transformers are often limited by excessive insulation required between each turn. .
