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plasma globes secret
Just to catch your attention.
People in the past have used T coils for powering plasma globes
since they need high voltage high frequency currents to work. Tesla himself
experimented with them in the form of the carbon "button" bulbs.
If you can build a discharge chamber, it allows you to get many
times the arc length of a standard air discharge coil.
In some high pressure plasma experiments, people have, in the past,
sometimes added helium gas to raise the working pressure of a plasma
discharge -even up to and beyond 15psi.
I have tested this idea recently with a homemade plasma sphere run
from a small 15kHz flyback supply. I can obtain 15psi discharges in helium
with some small partial pressure of air(or other gas) with rather small
input from the flyback (est~5Kv).
So yes! You can run a plasma sphere at atmospheric pressure with
helium + small dopant gas.
-Ed
Now if I can only find some reasonably non-toxic gas which produces nice
colors!