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RE: Spark Gap Tubes



Original poster: "Lau, Gary" <gary.lau-at-hp-dot-com> 

Radioactive elements are sometimes added to arc welding rods to yield a
more stable arc.  But the spark gap in a TC has very different goals.
We WANT our gap arcs to extinguish (quench) as soon as possible, so such
additives would actually be counterproductive.

The tungsten welding rods used in rotary gaps sometimes have thorium and
such additives, probably because this is what the builder had available
(or he thought it would sound cooler).  As far as I know, no one has
ever made a controlled study comparing the use of thoriated rods vs.
pure tungsten rods.  It would be cool if someone with an RSG could
replace some of the rotating electrodes with pure vs. thoriated
electrodes, and with a scope, see if the quenching differs on successive
bangs.  My guess is that if there's any difference, the thoriated rods
would not quench as well and would have somewhat inferior performance.
Thoriated rods may also represent a hazard when cutting them if the dust
is inhaled.

Gary Lau
MA, USA

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2003 7:11 PM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: RE: Spark Gap Tubes

Original poster: "Edward J. Metzler" <emetzler-at-accredo-dot-com>

I am a newbie so please excuse my question if it is stupid or has been
answered before.

I wonder if anyone has ever used a Alpha radioactive source (like those
in
smoke detectors) to ionize the spark gap and see if it produces for
consistent sparks?


Edward J. Metzler
aCCredo - Proactive Risk Management
13267 SW Bull Mountain Road, Tigard, OR  97224
(503) 624-2124)   (503) 624-5723 [fax]   (503) 805-7758 [cell]
email: emetzler-at-accredo-dot-com
http://www.accredo-dot-com