1000 foot sparks

To: Tesla List <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: 1000 foot sparks
From: Jeffrey Wiggins <73041.2215-at-CompuServe.COM>
Date: 14 Jun 96 08:55:30 EDT

Malcom, all:
I must disagree.  Mr. LaBine will not look foolish when his coil doesn't work
because no-one will see him fail.  I, too, heard the Tesla Society radio program
featuring LaBine and he said (parphrasing) "We're gonna test it out first - AND
MAKE SURE IT WORKS - before we demonstrate to the public".  There will be no
photos or video documentation of these "tests" (bet on it!).  My money is on an
announcement on a future program where we will hear something like this: "well,
the results were encouraging, but we only produce 200 foot sparks (or 300 or 100
or whatever) and we're still working on it".  He will thereafter be remembered
by the cerebrally-challenged fringe-science groupies as the guy who made 200
foot sparks. And he will have accomplished his original purpose - fame/notoriety
without effort.

{BTW - Re mercury vapour tubes:  I had a couple of friends hold me by the
envelope, feet-first into the output of a TC.  The resulting blue-purple glow
confirmed our suspicions - turns out I'm a gasbag!)

Jeffrey Wiggins