ABSTRACT
In the field of electrical engineering and applied physics, high voltages are required for several applications. One main concern of high-voltage engineers is for insulation testing of various power-system components under power-frequency AC, DC, switching, and lightning impulse voltages. This chapter discusses methods of generating high voltages and high impulse currents. The multiple charge transfer with the voltage multiplier of Cockcroft-Walton type demonstrated the limitation in the DC output concerning the ripple voltage and voltage drop. Van de Graaff generators have been developed to produce very high voltages of 5-6 MV with output currents of microamperes. They are useful for energizing particle accelerators. Lightning strokes involve both high-voltage and high-current impulses on transmission systems. Therefore, generation of impulse currents of the order of several hundreds of kiloamperes finds application in testing lightning arresters. They are also used in electric-arc and electric-plasma studies.
