Theory of voltage dividers and their use with cathode ray oscillographs

Abstract

Four requirements are given for voltage dividers, and equations have been developed for the most general type of capacitance voltage divider. Special cases of the most general type are discussed. These equations show that if the capacitance of the voltage divider is small, the capacitance to ground can not be neglected if the deflection of the cathode beam is to be proportional to the applied voltage. A number of oscillograms of spark discharge using five types of circuits confirm the equations. It was found that resistors had to be placed in the voltage divider to damp out oscillations set up in the divider. Equations are given for resistance voltage dividers expressing the relation between the divided voltage and the applied voltage in terms of the resistance and self-capacitance of the resistors.