When a current flow in an inductor is interrupted, what limits the voltage rise?





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When the current flowing in an inductor is interrupted the voltage will rise until (typically) there is a flashover or insulation breakdown in the switch. Assuming extremely good insulation what would limit the voltage rise in practice? I can't really believe it would head into the megavolt region.










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  • 5




    $begingroup$
    self capacitance
    $endgroup$
    – Marko Buršič
    May 28 at 8:55






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Lets have some numbers; 10 milliHenry and 10picoFarad (perhaps those old auto ignition systems) and 1 amp in the inductor. 0.5 * L * I ^2= 0.5 * C * V^2, and we solve for V = I * sqrt(L/C); thus V = 1 * sqrt(10 milli/10pico) or about 30,000 volts.
    $endgroup$
    – analogsystemsrf
    May 29 at 2:38










  • $begingroup$
    Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - air gap in a switch (circuit breaker), avalanche voltage in a transistor. I think these would be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.
    $endgroup$
    – Reversed Engineer
    May 29 at 11:51


















6














$begingroup$


When the current flowing in an inductor is interrupted the voltage will rise until (typically) there is a flashover or insulation breakdown in the switch. Assuming extremely good insulation what would limit the voltage rise in practice? I can't really believe it would head into the megavolt region.










share|improve this question









$endgroup$












  • 5




    $begingroup$
    self capacitance
    $endgroup$
    – Marko Buršič
    May 28 at 8:55






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Lets have some numbers; 10 milliHenry and 10picoFarad (perhaps those old auto ignition systems) and 1 amp in the inductor. 0.5 * L * I ^2= 0.5 * C * V^2, and we solve for V = I * sqrt(L/C); thus V = 1 * sqrt(10 milli/10pico) or about 30,000 volts.
    $endgroup$
    – analogsystemsrf
    May 29 at 2:38










  • $begingroup$
    Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - air gap in a switch (circuit breaker), avalanche voltage in a transistor. I think these would be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.
    $endgroup$
    – Reversed Engineer
    May 29 at 11:51














6












6








6


1



$begingroup$


When the current flowing in an inductor is interrupted the voltage will rise until (typically) there is a flashover or insulation breakdown in the switch. Assuming extremely good insulation what would limit the voltage rise in practice? I can't really believe it would head into the megavolt region.










share|improve this question









$endgroup$




When the current flowing in an inductor is interrupted the voltage will rise until (typically) there is a flashover or insulation breakdown in the switch. Assuming extremely good insulation what would limit the voltage rise in practice? I can't really believe it would head into the megavolt region.







inductor






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asked May 28 at 8:49









Dirk BruereDirk Bruere

6,6795 gold badges34 silver badges73 bronze badges




6,6795 gold badges34 silver badges73 bronze badges











  • 5




    $begingroup$
    self capacitance
    $endgroup$
    – Marko Buršič
    May 28 at 8:55






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Lets have some numbers; 10 milliHenry and 10picoFarad (perhaps those old auto ignition systems) and 1 amp in the inductor. 0.5 * L * I ^2= 0.5 * C * V^2, and we solve for V = I * sqrt(L/C); thus V = 1 * sqrt(10 milli/10pico) or about 30,000 volts.
    $endgroup$
    – analogsystemsrf
    May 29 at 2:38










  • $begingroup$
    Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - air gap in a switch (circuit breaker), avalanche voltage in a transistor. I think these would be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.
    $endgroup$
    – Reversed Engineer
    May 29 at 11:51














  • 5




    $begingroup$
    self capacitance
    $endgroup$
    – Marko Buršič
    May 28 at 8:55






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Lets have some numbers; 10 milliHenry and 10picoFarad (perhaps those old auto ignition systems) and 1 amp in the inductor. 0.5 * L * I ^2= 0.5 * C * V^2, and we solve for V = I * sqrt(L/C); thus V = 1 * sqrt(10 milli/10pico) or about 30,000 volts.
    $endgroup$
    – analogsystemsrf
    May 29 at 2:38










  • $begingroup$
    Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - air gap in a switch (circuit breaker), avalanche voltage in a transistor. I think these would be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.
    $endgroup$
    – Reversed Engineer
    May 29 at 11:51








5




5




$begingroup$
self capacitance
$endgroup$
– Marko Buršič
May 28 at 8:55




$begingroup$
self capacitance
$endgroup$
– Marko Buršič
May 28 at 8:55




1




1




$begingroup$
Lets have some numbers; 10 milliHenry and 10picoFarad (perhaps those old auto ignition systems) and 1 amp in the inductor. 0.5 * L * I ^2= 0.5 * C * V^2, and we solve for V = I * sqrt(L/C); thus V = 1 * sqrt(10 milli/10pico) or about 30,000 volts.
$endgroup$
– analogsystemsrf
May 29 at 2:38




$begingroup$
Lets have some numbers; 10 milliHenry and 10picoFarad (perhaps those old auto ignition systems) and 1 amp in the inductor. 0.5 * L * I ^2= 0.5 * C * V^2, and we solve for V = I * sqrt(L/C); thus V = 1 * sqrt(10 milli/10pico) or about 30,000 volts.
$endgroup$
– analogsystemsrf
May 29 at 2:38












$begingroup$
Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - air gap in a switch (circuit breaker), avalanche voltage in a transistor. I think these would be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.
$endgroup$
– Reversed Engineer
May 29 at 11:51




$begingroup$
Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - air gap in a switch (circuit breaker), avalanche voltage in a transistor. I think these would be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.
$endgroup$
– Reversed Engineer
May 29 at 11:51










5 Answers
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active

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TL;DR: It also depends on the actual setup.



It can be useful to see the problem from an energy point of view. Since the energy stored in the inductor is $E={1 over 2} L I^2$, when you "instantly" bring the current to zero that energy has to go somewhere. It cannot vanish.



If you model the current interruption as an extremely rapid increase of resistance at the point of the circuit where the switching element is placed, what you get is that the voltage across the inductor begins to raise rapidly. When does it stop raising? It depends on the inductor setup and its surrounding environment.



Marko Bursic has already mentioned self capacitance in his answer.



You say "assuming extremely good insulation", but "extremely good" is still "not perfect". There is resistance and capacitance toward anything surrounding the inductor. You can get an increase of leakage currents due to voltage increase or displacement current into nearby object due to any tiny parasitic capacitance, whose "reactance" becomes low when the rise time is small.



For example If you have a regular, mechanical switch, you may get an arc between the contacts that dissipates the energy into heat, ionization of the air and generation of EM waves.



At high enough voltages, electrons can be extracted from the metal and an electric arc can be formed in vacuum, too (there are also switches that operate using a vacuum arc).



BTW, unless you do want to get high voltage spikes, that's why you put overvoltage protection devices or snubber circuits in parallel to inductors whose current may be interrupted. So, in practice it is you (the circuit designer) that wants to limit the voltage rise.



In a sense, controlled generation of inductor overvoltage spikes is what is done in some step-up DC-DC converters: you "interrupt" the current in an inductor in order to get an increase in voltage, then you "dump" the increased voltage into an output capacitor to "store" it for the load. Of course the switching controller is key to useful operation.



On a related note: it can come as a surprise, but vacuum has not "infinite resistance", i.e. it doesn't impede the flow of current at all! It simply has no free charges to support currents. Once a charge is extracted from a nearby object things change dramatically. This is explained in detail in this article by Charles Chandler. Excerpts (emphasis mine):




The answer is that the vacuum doesn't impede the electrons at all.
In a perfect vacuum (except for the test charge), the charged
particle's behavior can be calculated by just three factors: 1) its
mass, which gives it inertial forces, 2) its electric charge, which
makes it responsive to an electric field, and 3) the electric field
acting on the charged particle. Then the acceleration of the particle
is just the equilibrium between the inertial and electric forces.




[...]




This has been mistaken to be a measure of resistance, which seems to
become infinite at low pressures, but this is not correct
. At higher
pressures, the breakdown voltage increases steadily with pressure (off
the right side of Figure 2), and so does the resistance. So there is a
direct relationship between breakdown voltage and resistance in that
range. If we erroneously take that as a hard and fast rule, and we
observe the breakdown voltage shooting up at very low pressures, we
conclude that the resistance must be increasing at very low pressures,
asymptotically approaching infinite resistance at a pressure
characteristic for that gas. But here we have to remember that Paschen
was studying breakdown voltages, and made no mention of resistance. If
we make direct measurements of the resistance, we find that it varies
directly with the pressure, and continues straight down to nothing at
no pressure, without the sudden deviation at the threshold discovered
by Paschen. This can be confirmed by putting an ammeter into the
circuit, and finding the resistance by the volts divided by the amps.




So an inductor placed in an "ideal" vacuum could have its terminal voltage increase enormously, but once the vacuum breaks down, because even a small quantity of electrons is extracted from nearby objects (e.g. the terminals of the inductor itself, for example), a large current may be produced in the vacuum (hence an arc).



That's enough for the concept: the rest boils down of how good are the insulators surrounding the inductor and how big is the extraction potential of electrons from the materials on which the inductor voltage spike is applied.



Some interesting data on this point can be found in this lengthy slide collection from NASA site (it is a set of presentations by several authors); the first part is: High Voltage Engineering Techniques For Space Applications by Steven Battel



In slide #29 (page 25 of the PDF) you get (emphasis mine):




Intrinsic Dielectric Strength Limits




  • The breakdown of Gasses at STP is dependent on type.


    • Air : ~3 kV/mm (75 V/mil)

    • He : ~0.37 kV/mm (9.3 V/mil)

    • SF 6 : ~9 kV/mm (222 V/mil)




  • High Vacuum breakdown is surface and configuration
    dependent but is in the range of 20 to 40 kV/mm
    (500 to 1000
    V/mil)

  • Ignoring surface effects, Liquids and Solids bulk properties are
    generally similar in the same range of 15 to 20 kV/mm (375
    V/mil to 500 V/mil).




So here you go: even in vacuum the best you can get is a dielectric strength of 40kV/mm. Can this lead to MV voltages? It depends on the setup, but probably something will break down before that happens.






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    self capacitance





    schematic





    simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab






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    • 4




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      You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
      $endgroup$
      – Warren Hill
      May 28 at 11:07



















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    If you have a non-physical pure inductor, as in a thought experiment, or in a SPICE simulator, then nothing limits the rise in voltage. Why stop at megavolts, you could go to zettavolts and beyond.



    However, a physical inductor has dimensions, and that means capacitance. The capacitance makes the rate of voltage rise finite, and ultimately limits the peak voltage if nothing else does.



    Establish a current in the inductor, then open the switch. The current starts flowing into the stray capacitance, and charging it up, at an initial rate of $frac{I_{ind}}{C_{stray}}$ volts per second. With a few pFs stray capacitance, and 1 amp flowing, that's going to be pretty quick.



    If something breaks down, the insulation, air between slowly opening switch contacts, then the current will divert to that path, and the voltage will stop rising. If nothing breaks down, then the current will continue to flow into the stray capacitance, and the voltage will rise such the energy stored in it, $0.5CV^2$, is (ideally) equal to the original energy stored in the inductor, $0.5LI^2$. That's the first quarter cycle of an LC resonance. After that, the circuit will continue to ring, losing energy through dissipation and EM radiation.



    If the stray capacitance is enhanced, for instance by the 'condensor' fitted across the points in an old-style car ignition, then the rate of voltage rise will be slower. In this case, the voltage rise rate is slowed to allow the mechanical points to open to an adequate gap before being stressed with the several hundred volts needed for the coil to break down the spark plug.






    share|improve this answer












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    • $begingroup$
      If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
      $endgroup$
      – Huisman
      May 28 at 9:59










    • $begingroup$
      @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
      $endgroup$
      – Neil_UK
      May 28 at 10:08






    • 1




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      @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
      $endgroup$
      – Lorenzo Donati
      May 28 at 10:29










    • $begingroup$
      What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
      $endgroup$
      – David Tonhofer
      May 28 at 23:17






    • 1




      $begingroup$
      @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
      $endgroup$
      – Lorenzo Donati
      May 29 at 16:21



















    0
















    $begingroup$

    Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - the air-gap in the mechanical switch (circuit breaker) as it opens (~3 kV/mm for dry air), forward voltage of any flyback diode (if there is one in the circuit), or breakdown or avalanche voltage of a transistor turning off.



    If it's a mechanical switch, remember that it's a race between the air-gap as it opens, and the energy in the inductor dissipating. By the time the gap between the switch contacts is only a millimetre wide, there will only be a 3000 Volt spark across it even if there is still energy left in the inductor to support that, as it's magnetic field collapses.



    These may be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.






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      -2
















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      Voltage across inductor will rise to v =L.di/dt



      di/dt is determined by how fast the transistor switch switches off and cuts the current off.






      share|improve this answer










      $endgroup$















      • $begingroup$
        Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
        $endgroup$
        – James
        May 30 at 14:06










      • $begingroup$
        I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
        $endgroup$
        – Lorenzo Donati
        May 30 at 15:32













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      5 Answers
      5






      active

      oldest

      votes








      5 Answers
      5






      active

      oldest

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      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

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      13
















      $begingroup$

      TL;DR: It also depends on the actual setup.



      It can be useful to see the problem from an energy point of view. Since the energy stored in the inductor is $E={1 over 2} L I^2$, when you "instantly" bring the current to zero that energy has to go somewhere. It cannot vanish.



      If you model the current interruption as an extremely rapid increase of resistance at the point of the circuit where the switching element is placed, what you get is that the voltage across the inductor begins to raise rapidly. When does it stop raising? It depends on the inductor setup and its surrounding environment.



      Marko Bursic has already mentioned self capacitance in his answer.



      You say "assuming extremely good insulation", but "extremely good" is still "not perfect". There is resistance and capacitance toward anything surrounding the inductor. You can get an increase of leakage currents due to voltage increase or displacement current into nearby object due to any tiny parasitic capacitance, whose "reactance" becomes low when the rise time is small.



      For example If you have a regular, mechanical switch, you may get an arc between the contacts that dissipates the energy into heat, ionization of the air and generation of EM waves.



      At high enough voltages, electrons can be extracted from the metal and an electric arc can be formed in vacuum, too (there are also switches that operate using a vacuum arc).



      BTW, unless you do want to get high voltage spikes, that's why you put overvoltage protection devices or snubber circuits in parallel to inductors whose current may be interrupted. So, in practice it is you (the circuit designer) that wants to limit the voltage rise.



      In a sense, controlled generation of inductor overvoltage spikes is what is done in some step-up DC-DC converters: you "interrupt" the current in an inductor in order to get an increase in voltage, then you "dump" the increased voltage into an output capacitor to "store" it for the load. Of course the switching controller is key to useful operation.



      On a related note: it can come as a surprise, but vacuum has not "infinite resistance", i.e. it doesn't impede the flow of current at all! It simply has no free charges to support currents. Once a charge is extracted from a nearby object things change dramatically. This is explained in detail in this article by Charles Chandler. Excerpts (emphasis mine):




      The answer is that the vacuum doesn't impede the electrons at all.
      In a perfect vacuum (except for the test charge), the charged
      particle's behavior can be calculated by just three factors: 1) its
      mass, which gives it inertial forces, 2) its electric charge, which
      makes it responsive to an electric field, and 3) the electric field
      acting on the charged particle. Then the acceleration of the particle
      is just the equilibrium between the inertial and electric forces.




      [...]




      This has been mistaken to be a measure of resistance, which seems to
      become infinite at low pressures, but this is not correct
      . At higher
      pressures, the breakdown voltage increases steadily with pressure (off
      the right side of Figure 2), and so does the resistance. So there is a
      direct relationship between breakdown voltage and resistance in that
      range. If we erroneously take that as a hard and fast rule, and we
      observe the breakdown voltage shooting up at very low pressures, we
      conclude that the resistance must be increasing at very low pressures,
      asymptotically approaching infinite resistance at a pressure
      characteristic for that gas. But here we have to remember that Paschen
      was studying breakdown voltages, and made no mention of resistance. If
      we make direct measurements of the resistance, we find that it varies
      directly with the pressure, and continues straight down to nothing at
      no pressure, without the sudden deviation at the threshold discovered
      by Paschen. This can be confirmed by putting an ammeter into the
      circuit, and finding the resistance by the volts divided by the amps.




      So an inductor placed in an "ideal" vacuum could have its terminal voltage increase enormously, but once the vacuum breaks down, because even a small quantity of electrons is extracted from nearby objects (e.g. the terminals of the inductor itself, for example), a large current may be produced in the vacuum (hence an arc).



      That's enough for the concept: the rest boils down of how good are the insulators surrounding the inductor and how big is the extraction potential of electrons from the materials on which the inductor voltage spike is applied.



      Some interesting data on this point can be found in this lengthy slide collection from NASA site (it is a set of presentations by several authors); the first part is: High Voltage Engineering Techniques For Space Applications by Steven Battel



      In slide #29 (page 25 of the PDF) you get (emphasis mine):




      Intrinsic Dielectric Strength Limits




      • The breakdown of Gasses at STP is dependent on type.


        • Air : ~3 kV/mm (75 V/mil)

        • He : ~0.37 kV/mm (9.3 V/mil)

        • SF 6 : ~9 kV/mm (222 V/mil)




      • High Vacuum breakdown is surface and configuration
        dependent but is in the range of 20 to 40 kV/mm
        (500 to 1000
        V/mil)

      • Ignoring surface effects, Liquids and Solids bulk properties are
        generally similar in the same range of 15 to 20 kV/mm (375
        V/mil to 500 V/mil).




      So here you go: even in vacuum the best you can get is a dielectric strength of 40kV/mm. Can this lead to MV voltages? It depends on the setup, but probably something will break down before that happens.






      share|improve this answer












      $endgroup$




















        13
















        $begingroup$

        TL;DR: It also depends on the actual setup.



        It can be useful to see the problem from an energy point of view. Since the energy stored in the inductor is $E={1 over 2} L I^2$, when you "instantly" bring the current to zero that energy has to go somewhere. It cannot vanish.



        If you model the current interruption as an extremely rapid increase of resistance at the point of the circuit where the switching element is placed, what you get is that the voltage across the inductor begins to raise rapidly. When does it stop raising? It depends on the inductor setup and its surrounding environment.



        Marko Bursic has already mentioned self capacitance in his answer.



        You say "assuming extremely good insulation", but "extremely good" is still "not perfect". There is resistance and capacitance toward anything surrounding the inductor. You can get an increase of leakage currents due to voltage increase or displacement current into nearby object due to any tiny parasitic capacitance, whose "reactance" becomes low when the rise time is small.



        For example If you have a regular, mechanical switch, you may get an arc between the contacts that dissipates the energy into heat, ionization of the air and generation of EM waves.



        At high enough voltages, electrons can be extracted from the metal and an electric arc can be formed in vacuum, too (there are also switches that operate using a vacuum arc).



        BTW, unless you do want to get high voltage spikes, that's why you put overvoltage protection devices or snubber circuits in parallel to inductors whose current may be interrupted. So, in practice it is you (the circuit designer) that wants to limit the voltage rise.



        In a sense, controlled generation of inductor overvoltage spikes is what is done in some step-up DC-DC converters: you "interrupt" the current in an inductor in order to get an increase in voltage, then you "dump" the increased voltage into an output capacitor to "store" it for the load. Of course the switching controller is key to useful operation.



        On a related note: it can come as a surprise, but vacuum has not "infinite resistance", i.e. it doesn't impede the flow of current at all! It simply has no free charges to support currents. Once a charge is extracted from a nearby object things change dramatically. This is explained in detail in this article by Charles Chandler. Excerpts (emphasis mine):




        The answer is that the vacuum doesn't impede the electrons at all.
        In a perfect vacuum (except for the test charge), the charged
        particle's behavior can be calculated by just three factors: 1) its
        mass, which gives it inertial forces, 2) its electric charge, which
        makes it responsive to an electric field, and 3) the electric field
        acting on the charged particle. Then the acceleration of the particle
        is just the equilibrium between the inertial and electric forces.




        [...]




        This has been mistaken to be a measure of resistance, which seems to
        become infinite at low pressures, but this is not correct
        . At higher
        pressures, the breakdown voltage increases steadily with pressure (off
        the right side of Figure 2), and so does the resistance. So there is a
        direct relationship between breakdown voltage and resistance in that
        range. If we erroneously take that as a hard and fast rule, and we
        observe the breakdown voltage shooting up at very low pressures, we
        conclude that the resistance must be increasing at very low pressures,
        asymptotically approaching infinite resistance at a pressure
        characteristic for that gas. But here we have to remember that Paschen
        was studying breakdown voltages, and made no mention of resistance. If
        we make direct measurements of the resistance, we find that it varies
        directly with the pressure, and continues straight down to nothing at
        no pressure, without the sudden deviation at the threshold discovered
        by Paschen. This can be confirmed by putting an ammeter into the
        circuit, and finding the resistance by the volts divided by the amps.




        So an inductor placed in an "ideal" vacuum could have its terminal voltage increase enormously, but once the vacuum breaks down, because even a small quantity of electrons is extracted from nearby objects (e.g. the terminals of the inductor itself, for example), a large current may be produced in the vacuum (hence an arc).



        That's enough for the concept: the rest boils down of how good are the insulators surrounding the inductor and how big is the extraction potential of electrons from the materials on which the inductor voltage spike is applied.



        Some interesting data on this point can be found in this lengthy slide collection from NASA site (it is a set of presentations by several authors); the first part is: High Voltage Engineering Techniques For Space Applications by Steven Battel



        In slide #29 (page 25 of the PDF) you get (emphasis mine):




        Intrinsic Dielectric Strength Limits




        • The breakdown of Gasses at STP is dependent on type.


          • Air : ~3 kV/mm (75 V/mil)

          • He : ~0.37 kV/mm (9.3 V/mil)

          • SF 6 : ~9 kV/mm (222 V/mil)




        • High Vacuum breakdown is surface and configuration
          dependent but is in the range of 20 to 40 kV/mm
          (500 to 1000
          V/mil)

        • Ignoring surface effects, Liquids and Solids bulk properties are
          generally similar in the same range of 15 to 20 kV/mm (375
          V/mil to 500 V/mil).




        So here you go: even in vacuum the best you can get is a dielectric strength of 40kV/mm. Can this lead to MV voltages? It depends on the setup, but probably something will break down before that happens.






        share|improve this answer












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          13







          $begingroup$

          TL;DR: It also depends on the actual setup.



          It can be useful to see the problem from an energy point of view. Since the energy stored in the inductor is $E={1 over 2} L I^2$, when you "instantly" bring the current to zero that energy has to go somewhere. It cannot vanish.



          If you model the current interruption as an extremely rapid increase of resistance at the point of the circuit where the switching element is placed, what you get is that the voltage across the inductor begins to raise rapidly. When does it stop raising? It depends on the inductor setup and its surrounding environment.



          Marko Bursic has already mentioned self capacitance in his answer.



          You say "assuming extremely good insulation", but "extremely good" is still "not perfect". There is resistance and capacitance toward anything surrounding the inductor. You can get an increase of leakage currents due to voltage increase or displacement current into nearby object due to any tiny parasitic capacitance, whose "reactance" becomes low when the rise time is small.



          For example If you have a regular, mechanical switch, you may get an arc between the contacts that dissipates the energy into heat, ionization of the air and generation of EM waves.



          At high enough voltages, electrons can be extracted from the metal and an electric arc can be formed in vacuum, too (there are also switches that operate using a vacuum arc).



          BTW, unless you do want to get high voltage spikes, that's why you put overvoltage protection devices or snubber circuits in parallel to inductors whose current may be interrupted. So, in practice it is you (the circuit designer) that wants to limit the voltage rise.



          In a sense, controlled generation of inductor overvoltage spikes is what is done in some step-up DC-DC converters: you "interrupt" the current in an inductor in order to get an increase in voltage, then you "dump" the increased voltage into an output capacitor to "store" it for the load. Of course the switching controller is key to useful operation.



          On a related note: it can come as a surprise, but vacuum has not "infinite resistance", i.e. it doesn't impede the flow of current at all! It simply has no free charges to support currents. Once a charge is extracted from a nearby object things change dramatically. This is explained in detail in this article by Charles Chandler. Excerpts (emphasis mine):




          The answer is that the vacuum doesn't impede the electrons at all.
          In a perfect vacuum (except for the test charge), the charged
          particle's behavior can be calculated by just three factors: 1) its
          mass, which gives it inertial forces, 2) its electric charge, which
          makes it responsive to an electric field, and 3) the electric field
          acting on the charged particle. Then the acceleration of the particle
          is just the equilibrium between the inertial and electric forces.




          [...]




          This has been mistaken to be a measure of resistance, which seems to
          become infinite at low pressures, but this is not correct
          . At higher
          pressures, the breakdown voltage increases steadily with pressure (off
          the right side of Figure 2), and so does the resistance. So there is a
          direct relationship between breakdown voltage and resistance in that
          range. If we erroneously take that as a hard and fast rule, and we
          observe the breakdown voltage shooting up at very low pressures, we
          conclude that the resistance must be increasing at very low pressures,
          asymptotically approaching infinite resistance at a pressure
          characteristic for that gas. But here we have to remember that Paschen
          was studying breakdown voltages, and made no mention of resistance. If
          we make direct measurements of the resistance, we find that it varies
          directly with the pressure, and continues straight down to nothing at
          no pressure, without the sudden deviation at the threshold discovered
          by Paschen. This can be confirmed by putting an ammeter into the
          circuit, and finding the resistance by the volts divided by the amps.




          So an inductor placed in an "ideal" vacuum could have its terminal voltage increase enormously, but once the vacuum breaks down, because even a small quantity of electrons is extracted from nearby objects (e.g. the terminals of the inductor itself, for example), a large current may be produced in the vacuum (hence an arc).



          That's enough for the concept: the rest boils down of how good are the insulators surrounding the inductor and how big is the extraction potential of electrons from the materials on which the inductor voltage spike is applied.



          Some interesting data on this point can be found in this lengthy slide collection from NASA site (it is a set of presentations by several authors); the first part is: High Voltage Engineering Techniques For Space Applications by Steven Battel



          In slide #29 (page 25 of the PDF) you get (emphasis mine):




          Intrinsic Dielectric Strength Limits




          • The breakdown of Gasses at STP is dependent on type.


            • Air : ~3 kV/mm (75 V/mil)

            • He : ~0.37 kV/mm (9.3 V/mil)

            • SF 6 : ~9 kV/mm (222 V/mil)




          • High Vacuum breakdown is surface and configuration
            dependent but is in the range of 20 to 40 kV/mm
            (500 to 1000
            V/mil)

          • Ignoring surface effects, Liquids and Solids bulk properties are
            generally similar in the same range of 15 to 20 kV/mm (375
            V/mil to 500 V/mil).




          So here you go: even in vacuum the best you can get is a dielectric strength of 40kV/mm. Can this lead to MV voltages? It depends on the setup, but probably something will break down before that happens.






          share|improve this answer












          $endgroup$



          TL;DR: It also depends on the actual setup.



          It can be useful to see the problem from an energy point of view. Since the energy stored in the inductor is $E={1 over 2} L I^2$, when you "instantly" bring the current to zero that energy has to go somewhere. It cannot vanish.



          If you model the current interruption as an extremely rapid increase of resistance at the point of the circuit where the switching element is placed, what you get is that the voltage across the inductor begins to raise rapidly. When does it stop raising? It depends on the inductor setup and its surrounding environment.



          Marko Bursic has already mentioned self capacitance in his answer.



          You say "assuming extremely good insulation", but "extremely good" is still "not perfect". There is resistance and capacitance toward anything surrounding the inductor. You can get an increase of leakage currents due to voltage increase or displacement current into nearby object due to any tiny parasitic capacitance, whose "reactance" becomes low when the rise time is small.



          For example If you have a regular, mechanical switch, you may get an arc between the contacts that dissipates the energy into heat, ionization of the air and generation of EM waves.



          At high enough voltages, electrons can be extracted from the metal and an electric arc can be formed in vacuum, too (there are also switches that operate using a vacuum arc).



          BTW, unless you do want to get high voltage spikes, that's why you put overvoltage protection devices or snubber circuits in parallel to inductors whose current may be interrupted. So, in practice it is you (the circuit designer) that wants to limit the voltage rise.



          In a sense, controlled generation of inductor overvoltage spikes is what is done in some step-up DC-DC converters: you "interrupt" the current in an inductor in order to get an increase in voltage, then you "dump" the increased voltage into an output capacitor to "store" it for the load. Of course the switching controller is key to useful operation.



          On a related note: it can come as a surprise, but vacuum has not "infinite resistance", i.e. it doesn't impede the flow of current at all! It simply has no free charges to support currents. Once a charge is extracted from a nearby object things change dramatically. This is explained in detail in this article by Charles Chandler. Excerpts (emphasis mine):




          The answer is that the vacuum doesn't impede the electrons at all.
          In a perfect vacuum (except for the test charge), the charged
          particle's behavior can be calculated by just three factors: 1) its
          mass, which gives it inertial forces, 2) its electric charge, which
          makes it responsive to an electric field, and 3) the electric field
          acting on the charged particle. Then the acceleration of the particle
          is just the equilibrium between the inertial and electric forces.




          [...]




          This has been mistaken to be a measure of resistance, which seems to
          become infinite at low pressures, but this is not correct
          . At higher
          pressures, the breakdown voltage increases steadily with pressure (off
          the right side of Figure 2), and so does the resistance. So there is a
          direct relationship between breakdown voltage and resistance in that
          range. If we erroneously take that as a hard and fast rule, and we
          observe the breakdown voltage shooting up at very low pressures, we
          conclude that the resistance must be increasing at very low pressures,
          asymptotically approaching infinite resistance at a pressure
          characteristic for that gas. But here we have to remember that Paschen
          was studying breakdown voltages, and made no mention of resistance. If
          we make direct measurements of the resistance, we find that it varies
          directly with the pressure, and continues straight down to nothing at
          no pressure, without the sudden deviation at the threshold discovered
          by Paschen. This can be confirmed by putting an ammeter into the
          circuit, and finding the resistance by the volts divided by the amps.




          So an inductor placed in an "ideal" vacuum could have its terminal voltage increase enormously, but once the vacuum breaks down, because even a small quantity of electrons is extracted from nearby objects (e.g. the terminals of the inductor itself, for example), a large current may be produced in the vacuum (hence an arc).



          That's enough for the concept: the rest boils down of how good are the insulators surrounding the inductor and how big is the extraction potential of electrons from the materials on which the inductor voltage spike is applied.



          Some interesting data on this point can be found in this lengthy slide collection from NASA site (it is a set of presentations by several authors); the first part is: High Voltage Engineering Techniques For Space Applications by Steven Battel



          In slide #29 (page 25 of the PDF) you get (emphasis mine):




          Intrinsic Dielectric Strength Limits




          • The breakdown of Gasses at STP is dependent on type.


            • Air : ~3 kV/mm (75 V/mil)

            • He : ~0.37 kV/mm (9.3 V/mil)

            • SF 6 : ~9 kV/mm (222 V/mil)




          • High Vacuum breakdown is surface and configuration
            dependent but is in the range of 20 to 40 kV/mm
            (500 to 1000
            V/mil)

          • Ignoring surface effects, Liquids and Solids bulk properties are
            generally similar in the same range of 15 to 20 kV/mm (375
            V/mil to 500 V/mil).




          So here you go: even in vacuum the best you can get is a dielectric strength of 40kV/mm. Can this lead to MV voltages? It depends on the setup, but probably something will break down before that happens.







          share|improve this answer















          share|improve this answer




          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited May 28 at 10:24

























          answered May 28 at 9:02









          Lorenzo DonatiLorenzo Donati

          18.1k4 gold badges46 silver badges81 bronze badges




          18.1k4 gold badges46 silver badges81 bronze badges




























              8
















              $begingroup$

              self capacitance





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$











              • 4




                $begingroup$
                You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
                $endgroup$
                – Warren Hill
                May 28 at 11:07
















              8
















              $begingroup$

              self capacitance





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$











              • 4




                $begingroup$
                You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
                $endgroup$
                – Warren Hill
                May 28 at 11:07














              8














              8










              8







              $begingroup$

              self capacitance





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$



              self capacitance





              schematic





              simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab







              share|improve this answer















              share|improve this answer




              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer








              edited May 28 at 11:02









              Warren Hill

              3,87512 silver badges27 bronze badges




              3,87512 silver badges27 bronze badges










              answered May 28 at 8:58









              Marko BuršičMarko Buršič

              12.4k2 gold badges9 silver badges14 bronze badges




              12.4k2 gold badges9 silver badges14 bronze badges











              • 4




                $begingroup$
                You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
                $endgroup$
                – Warren Hill
                May 28 at 11:07














              • 4




                $begingroup$
                You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
                $endgroup$
                – Warren Hill
                May 28 at 11:07








              4




              4




              $begingroup$
              You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
              $endgroup$
              – Warren Hill
              May 28 at 11:07




              $begingroup$
              You may want to refer to winding resistance too so as to damp any resultant ring.
              $endgroup$
              – Warren Hill
              May 28 at 11:07











              3
















              $begingroup$

              If you have a non-physical pure inductor, as in a thought experiment, or in a SPICE simulator, then nothing limits the rise in voltage. Why stop at megavolts, you could go to zettavolts and beyond.



              However, a physical inductor has dimensions, and that means capacitance. The capacitance makes the rate of voltage rise finite, and ultimately limits the peak voltage if nothing else does.



              Establish a current in the inductor, then open the switch. The current starts flowing into the stray capacitance, and charging it up, at an initial rate of $frac{I_{ind}}{C_{stray}}$ volts per second. With a few pFs stray capacitance, and 1 amp flowing, that's going to be pretty quick.



              If something breaks down, the insulation, air between slowly opening switch contacts, then the current will divert to that path, and the voltage will stop rising. If nothing breaks down, then the current will continue to flow into the stray capacitance, and the voltage will rise such the energy stored in it, $0.5CV^2$, is (ideally) equal to the original energy stored in the inductor, $0.5LI^2$. That's the first quarter cycle of an LC resonance. After that, the circuit will continue to ring, losing energy through dissipation and EM radiation.



              If the stray capacitance is enhanced, for instance by the 'condensor' fitted across the points in an old-style car ignition, then the rate of voltage rise will be slower. In this case, the voltage rise rate is slowed to allow the mechanical points to open to an adequate gap before being stressed with the several hundred volts needed for the coil to break down the spark plug.






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$















              • $begingroup$
                If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
                $endgroup$
                – Huisman
                May 28 at 9:59










              • $begingroup$
                @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
                $endgroup$
                – Neil_UK
                May 28 at 10:08






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 28 at 10:29










              • $begingroup$
                What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
                $endgroup$
                – David Tonhofer
                May 28 at 23:17






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 29 at 16:21
















              3
















              $begingroup$

              If you have a non-physical pure inductor, as in a thought experiment, or in a SPICE simulator, then nothing limits the rise in voltage. Why stop at megavolts, you could go to zettavolts and beyond.



              However, a physical inductor has dimensions, and that means capacitance. The capacitance makes the rate of voltage rise finite, and ultimately limits the peak voltage if nothing else does.



              Establish a current in the inductor, then open the switch. The current starts flowing into the stray capacitance, and charging it up, at an initial rate of $frac{I_{ind}}{C_{stray}}$ volts per second. With a few pFs stray capacitance, and 1 amp flowing, that's going to be pretty quick.



              If something breaks down, the insulation, air between slowly opening switch contacts, then the current will divert to that path, and the voltage will stop rising. If nothing breaks down, then the current will continue to flow into the stray capacitance, and the voltage will rise such the energy stored in it, $0.5CV^2$, is (ideally) equal to the original energy stored in the inductor, $0.5LI^2$. That's the first quarter cycle of an LC resonance. After that, the circuit will continue to ring, losing energy through dissipation and EM radiation.



              If the stray capacitance is enhanced, for instance by the 'condensor' fitted across the points in an old-style car ignition, then the rate of voltage rise will be slower. In this case, the voltage rise rate is slowed to allow the mechanical points to open to an adequate gap before being stressed with the several hundred volts needed for the coil to break down the spark plug.






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$















              • $begingroup$
                If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
                $endgroup$
                – Huisman
                May 28 at 9:59










              • $begingroup$
                @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
                $endgroup$
                – Neil_UK
                May 28 at 10:08






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 28 at 10:29










              • $begingroup$
                What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
                $endgroup$
                – David Tonhofer
                May 28 at 23:17






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 29 at 16:21














              3














              3










              3







              $begingroup$

              If you have a non-physical pure inductor, as in a thought experiment, or in a SPICE simulator, then nothing limits the rise in voltage. Why stop at megavolts, you could go to zettavolts and beyond.



              However, a physical inductor has dimensions, and that means capacitance. The capacitance makes the rate of voltage rise finite, and ultimately limits the peak voltage if nothing else does.



              Establish a current in the inductor, then open the switch. The current starts flowing into the stray capacitance, and charging it up, at an initial rate of $frac{I_{ind}}{C_{stray}}$ volts per second. With a few pFs stray capacitance, and 1 amp flowing, that's going to be pretty quick.



              If something breaks down, the insulation, air between slowly opening switch contacts, then the current will divert to that path, and the voltage will stop rising. If nothing breaks down, then the current will continue to flow into the stray capacitance, and the voltage will rise such the energy stored in it, $0.5CV^2$, is (ideally) equal to the original energy stored in the inductor, $0.5LI^2$. That's the first quarter cycle of an LC resonance. After that, the circuit will continue to ring, losing energy through dissipation and EM radiation.



              If the stray capacitance is enhanced, for instance by the 'condensor' fitted across the points in an old-style car ignition, then the rate of voltage rise will be slower. In this case, the voltage rise rate is slowed to allow the mechanical points to open to an adequate gap before being stressed with the several hundred volts needed for the coil to break down the spark plug.






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$



              If you have a non-physical pure inductor, as in a thought experiment, or in a SPICE simulator, then nothing limits the rise in voltage. Why stop at megavolts, you could go to zettavolts and beyond.



              However, a physical inductor has dimensions, and that means capacitance. The capacitance makes the rate of voltage rise finite, and ultimately limits the peak voltage if nothing else does.



              Establish a current in the inductor, then open the switch. The current starts flowing into the stray capacitance, and charging it up, at an initial rate of $frac{I_{ind}}{C_{stray}}$ volts per second. With a few pFs stray capacitance, and 1 amp flowing, that's going to be pretty quick.



              If something breaks down, the insulation, air between slowly opening switch contacts, then the current will divert to that path, and the voltage will stop rising. If nothing breaks down, then the current will continue to flow into the stray capacitance, and the voltage will rise such the energy stored in it, $0.5CV^2$, is (ideally) equal to the original energy stored in the inductor, $0.5LI^2$. That's the first quarter cycle of an LC resonance. After that, the circuit will continue to ring, losing energy through dissipation and EM radiation.



              If the stray capacitance is enhanced, for instance by the 'condensor' fitted across the points in an old-style car ignition, then the rate of voltage rise will be slower. In this case, the voltage rise rate is slowed to allow the mechanical points to open to an adequate gap before being stressed with the several hundred volts needed for the coil to break down the spark plug.







              share|improve this answer















              share|improve this answer




              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer








              edited May 28 at 19:16

























              answered May 28 at 9:26









              Neil_UKNeil_UK

              87.4k2 gold badges89 silver badges202 bronze badges




              87.4k2 gold badges89 silver badges202 bronze badges















              • $begingroup$
                If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
                $endgroup$
                – Huisman
                May 28 at 9:59










              • $begingroup$
                @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
                $endgroup$
                – Neil_UK
                May 28 at 10:08






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 28 at 10:29










              • $begingroup$
                What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
                $endgroup$
                – David Tonhofer
                May 28 at 23:17






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 29 at 16:21


















              • $begingroup$
                If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
                $endgroup$
                – Huisman
                May 28 at 9:59










              • $begingroup$
                @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
                $endgroup$
                – Neil_UK
                May 28 at 10:08






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 28 at 10:29










              • $begingroup$
                What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
                $endgroup$
                – David Tonhofer
                May 28 at 23:17






              • 1




                $begingroup$
                @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
                $endgroup$
                – Lorenzo Donati
                May 29 at 16:21
















              $begingroup$
              If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
              $endgroup$
              – Huisman
              May 28 at 9:59




              $begingroup$
              If nothing breaks down, wouldn't it end up resonating in this LC tank?
              $endgroup$
              – Huisman
              May 28 at 9:59












              $begingroup$
              @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
              $endgroup$
              – Neil_UK
              May 28 at 10:08




              $begingroup$
              @Huisman absolutely, I was wondering whether to add that to my answer.
              $endgroup$
              – Neil_UK
              May 28 at 10:08




              1




              1




              $begingroup$
              @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
              $endgroup$
              – Lorenzo Donati
              May 28 at 10:29




              $begingroup$
              @Huisman (shameless plug): you can observe the resonance phenomenon in a LTspice simulation of a Zener snubber circuit in this answer of mine.
              $endgroup$
              – Lorenzo Donati
              May 28 at 10:29












              $begingroup$
              What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
              $endgroup$
              – David Tonhofer
              May 28 at 23:17




              $begingroup$
              What does Quantum Electrodynamics say about this?
              $endgroup$
              – David Tonhofer
              May 28 at 23:17




              1




              1




              $begingroup$
              @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
              $endgroup$
              – Lorenzo Donati
              May 29 at 16:21




              $begingroup$
              @DavidTonhofer I'm not a physicist, but I have some doubts QED can be usefully applied here. These are not quantum phenomena (well, extracting an electron from a metal is, but that's not the key point here), the lumped element model of an inductor is all Maxwell's equations at work, albeit in a very simplified way (quasi-static fields hypotesis, etc. etc.)....
              $endgroup$
              – Lorenzo Donati
              May 29 at 16:21











              0
















              $begingroup$

              Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - the air-gap in the mechanical switch (circuit breaker) as it opens (~3 kV/mm for dry air), forward voltage of any flyback diode (if there is one in the circuit), or breakdown or avalanche voltage of a transistor turning off.



              If it's a mechanical switch, remember that it's a race between the air-gap as it opens, and the energy in the inductor dissipating. By the time the gap between the switch contacts is only a millimetre wide, there will only be a 3000 Volt spark across it even if there is still energy left in the inductor to support that, as it's magnetic field collapses.



              These may be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.






              share|improve this answer












              $endgroup$




















                0
















                $begingroup$

                Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - the air-gap in the mechanical switch (circuit breaker) as it opens (~3 kV/mm for dry air), forward voltage of any flyback diode (if there is one in the circuit), or breakdown or avalanche voltage of a transistor turning off.



                If it's a mechanical switch, remember that it's a race between the air-gap as it opens, and the energy in the inductor dissipating. By the time the gap between the switch contacts is only a millimetre wide, there will only be a 3000 Volt spark across it even if there is still energy left in the inductor to support that, as it's magnetic field collapses.



                These may be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.






                share|improve this answer












                $endgroup$


















                  0














                  0










                  0







                  $begingroup$

                  Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - the air-gap in the mechanical switch (circuit breaker) as it opens (~3 kV/mm for dry air), forward voltage of any flyback diode (if there is one in the circuit), or breakdown or avalanche voltage of a transistor turning off.



                  If it's a mechanical switch, remember that it's a race between the air-gap as it opens, and the energy in the inductor dissipating. By the time the gap between the switch contacts is only a millimetre wide, there will only be a 3000 Volt spark across it even if there is still energy left in the inductor to support that, as it's magnetic field collapses.



                  These may be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.






                  share|improve this answer












                  $endgroup$



                  Mainly the breakdown voltage of whatever is breaking the current - the air-gap in the mechanical switch (circuit breaker) as it opens (~3 kV/mm for dry air), forward voltage of any flyback diode (if there is one in the circuit), or breakdown or avalanche voltage of a transistor turning off.



                  If it's a mechanical switch, remember that it's a race between the air-gap as it opens, and the energy in the inductor dissipating. By the time the gap between the switch contacts is only a millimetre wide, there will only be a 3000 Volt spark across it even if there is still energy left in the inductor to support that, as it's magnetic field collapses.



                  These may be much more limiting than any (tiny) capacitance in the inductance.







                  share|improve this answer















                  share|improve this answer




                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited May 29 at 12:11

























                  answered May 29 at 12:00









                  Reversed EngineerReversed Engineer

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                  4862 silver badges6 bronze badges


























                      -2
















                      $begingroup$

                      Voltage across inductor will rise to v =L.di/dt



                      di/dt is determined by how fast the transistor switch switches off and cuts the current off.






                      share|improve this answer










                      $endgroup$















                      • $begingroup$
                        Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
                        $endgroup$
                        – James
                        May 30 at 14:06










                      • $begingroup$
                        I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
                        $endgroup$
                        – Lorenzo Donati
                        May 30 at 15:32
















                      -2
















                      $begingroup$

                      Voltage across inductor will rise to v =L.di/dt



                      di/dt is determined by how fast the transistor switch switches off and cuts the current off.






                      share|improve this answer










                      $endgroup$















                      • $begingroup$
                        Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
                        $endgroup$
                        – James
                        May 30 at 14:06










                      • $begingroup$
                        I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
                        $endgroup$
                        – Lorenzo Donati
                        May 30 at 15:32














                      -2














                      -2










                      -2







                      $begingroup$

                      Voltage across inductor will rise to v =L.di/dt



                      di/dt is determined by how fast the transistor switch switches off and cuts the current off.






                      share|improve this answer










                      $endgroup$



                      Voltage across inductor will rise to v =L.di/dt



                      di/dt is determined by how fast the transistor switch switches off and cuts the current off.







                      share|improve this answer













                      share|improve this answer




                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer










                      answered May 28 at 12:05









                      JamesJames

                      5071 silver badge5 bronze badges




                      5071 silver badge5 bronze badges















                      • $begingroup$
                        Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
                        $endgroup$
                        – James
                        May 30 at 14:06










                      • $begingroup$
                        I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
                        $endgroup$
                        – Lorenzo Donati
                        May 30 at 15:32


















                      • $begingroup$
                        Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
                        $endgroup$
                        – James
                        May 30 at 14:06










                      • $begingroup$
                        I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
                        $endgroup$
                        – Lorenzo Donati
                        May 30 at 15:32
















                      $begingroup$
                      Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
                      $endgroup$
                      – James
                      May 30 at 14:06




                      $begingroup$
                      Down markers - You may not like it but that's the way it is! You obviously don't know your Horowitz & Hill!
                      $endgroup$
                      – James
                      May 30 at 14:06












                      $begingroup$
                      I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
                      $endgroup$
                      – Lorenzo Donati
                      May 30 at 15:32




                      $begingroup$
                      I don't think downvoters disagree with the truth you are saying. The key point is that you are not trying to answer the question of the OP. Please review the help center on how to answer a question successfully.
                      $endgroup$
                      – Lorenzo Donati
                      May 30 at 15:32



















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