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Spark disk toy




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From:  gweaver [SMTP:gweaver-at-earthlink-dot-net]
Sent:  Tuesday, February 03, 1998 11:18 PM
To:  Tesla List
Subject:  Re: Spark disk toy

I know the thing your talking about.  I saw 2 at a Halloween supply store
just before Halloween and one made White sparks and the other one was BLUE.
Spencers had one also that made White sparks.  I took some measurements so I
could make one. I also did a post on it about a week before Halloween.  I
got a sheet of plexaglass and was going to have the 23" diameter circles cut
out with a laser cutter at a company down the street from where I work.  No
problem they said, we can cut the disks, $40.00 for the computer program and
$180.00 and hour labor.  Turns out the labor costs will be about $5.00
because the laser can cut out the 3 disks in about 2 minutes.  The plastic
is a bit expensive also.  If I have them cut out several disks at a time the
total cost would be a lot less per part but what would I do with enough
parts to make 10 of these things.  The cost for 10 units would be $5.00
labor, $4.00 for the computer program plus the cost of the plexaglass.  If
10 people on the list all wanted one of these things I would go back and
talk serious to the laser company about making 10 of them.  They look easy
to make.  The power supply on the back was 2.5" square so it couldn't have a
lot of power being so small.  The electrode in the middle was probably the
head of a screw through one of the disks.  The disks are glues together and
filled with some type of gas like argon.  The welder at work uses argon so I
can get some free gas.  

Gary Weaver



At 03:41 PM 2/3/98 -0600, you wrote:
>
>----------
>From:  Christopher Stone [SMTP:stone-at-etak-dot-com]
>Sent:  Tuesday, February 03, 1998 7:01 AM
>To:  tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>Subject:  Re: FW: Spark disk toy
>
>This is probably a "plasma disk" as seen in Star Trek Borg 
>episodes. Pretty expensive to be considered a toy!  They do 
>run on flyback type transformers and are very similar to a 
>plasma ball except in disk form.  There is a webpage, out there 
>somewhere, about them and the company that makes them. 
>
>I would like to make one too, so if anyone has any ideas how 
>please post them!
>
>
>
>> From:  Gary Lau  03-Feb-1998 0954 [SMTP:lau-at-hdecad.ENET.dec-dot-com]
>> Sent:  Tuesday, February 03, 1998 9:02 AM
>> To:  tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>> Subject:  Spark disk toy
>> 
>> I recently saw a cool toy at a store (something like a Spencer Gifts) in
>> the mall.  The unit is a disk, about 2 feet in diameter.  The disk is
>> made of two plates of glass with a small seperation between them.  When
>> running, sparks appear to originate from the center of the disk and
>> continuously and randomly shoot outward to the edges of the disk.  The
>> inside surface of the disk appears to be coated with something that gives
>> it a pixelated appearance.
>> 
>> Anyone know what might be going on here?  Is this something one could
>> easily construct, powered by a flyback transformer based power supply?
>> 
>> Gary Lau
>> Waltham, MA USA
>> 
>> 
>> 
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