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Re: Safety FAQ-discharge classification



rwstephens wrote:

>'A phenomenon which I have yet to hear anyone talk about, and which is 
>especially evident in the streamer discharge to a grounded target in 
>small tabletop systems is where a portion of the thin streamer seems 
>to be twice as bright as the rest (majority) of the streamer.  This 
>effect is often near dead center in the length of the streamer, but 
>sometimes is much closer to the target end.  I've got video showing 
>this effect near the target with my MTC unit with 10-12 foot scale 
>arcs.  My observations so far conclude that this brightened area is actually
>an overlap area where the streamer is split into two streamers, 
>following a nearly identical path shape, but separate and parallel to 
>each other over this brightening distance.  Have you or anyone else seen this
>effect and figured out a reasonable explanation?'

Ive seen this on my small coil 22" streamers, it happens all the time.
I also wondered what it might be.  My coil resonates at 220KHz with small
toroid and generates loads of crona.  The streamers are generally violet
and relativly thick (1mm), but seem to concentrate for a distance of
about 3" to form a thin, but bright section.  As you say somewhere in the
middle of the spark.

Having taken a closer look (almost too close!) it does not look like a 
split streamer but a concentraced region.  Why it should concentrate
for a short lenth then back again, I don't know.  Perhaps Fred Bach could
comment, I believe he is an expert on plasma.

Julian Green.