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Re: Safety FAQ is here -- draft, asking for comments.
Tesla List wrote:
>
> > Subject: Re: Safety FAQ is here -- draft, asking for comments.
>
> >From bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-comFri Aug 16 13:37:48 1996
> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 07:48:57 -0700
> From: Bert Hickman <bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Safety FAQ is here -- draft, asking for comments.
>
> Excellent, and well thought out Robert!
>
> If your hypothesis is correct, would the illusion go away or be reduced
> if a synchronous rotary was used?
>
> Some observations:
> The "stepped leader" effect is probably behind the initial streamer
> formation and sucessive growth along the channel formed by the previous
> discharge. This effect almost certainly accounts for the long discharge
> lengths we see versus versus output voltage. If, as you hypothesize, the
> ion channel is not rapidly dissipated (the wind not a blowin', and a
> recombination rate slow enough vs gap firing rate), each successive
> "step" should increase by an appreciable fraction of the "single shot"
> spark distance. The current discharge would follow the relatively
> "easy" ionization trail left by its predecessor for most of the
> distance, extending and breaking a new path only towards the end of the
> previous
> channel. During its initial formation a discharge stream should "grow"
> until the average energy output of the coil balances the energy lost in
> reheating/ionizing the entire path, or until the discharge source moves
> to a different point on the toroid and the growth process begins anew.
>
> Once a fully formed channel is formed, it tend to stay in one place for
> an extended period of time. Any observed "growth" that is seen during
> this time may be attributable to the "beat" frequency mechanism you
> describe. A crude streak camera might be made from a moving/rotating
> mirror. The mirror wouldn't have to move very rapidly since we want to
> see what happens over successive rotary firings, not the high-speed
> propagation of a stepped leader within each discharge.
>
> Another possibility might be to use a fan to create a constant "breeze",
> and a small piece of foil to make the discharge start from the same
> place on the toroid. One might be able to see the successive discharges
> shrink/grow in real time...
>
> Comments, flames, and brickbats welcomed as always!
>
> -- Bert --
How about synchronizing the prism/mirror to the rotary gap? With an
adjustble phase lag or lead, you could examine the decay effects and
verify any culmulative-length discharge effect.
- Brent