From: Bob Sykes <
>It was written:
>[R.T.]
> > ...A capacitor stores an electrical charge, a coil doesn't.
>
>The energy delivered to the spark plug can be stored in either
>an inductor or a capacitor. Although the inductive storage
>method is the more common approach, both are used.
Bob thanks, I appreciate your backing me up on this, as I was flamed pretty
good. I may not have articulated my comments very well, but I think we're all
together on the fact that an inductor cannot "store" energy like a capacitor.
Its collapsing field (in a pure inductor) is where we get the energy produced,
but it cannot keep it for very long. As an experiment, try removing the
capacitor from your dizzy and try starting the car. Chances are it won't
run....This is because the coil is collapsing while the points are trying to
start up another burst of HV. The arc is not that bad, because, the points are
on the low tension side of the coil. Here we go again....
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