Sparks to ground

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Sparks to ground
From: Richard Hull <hullr-at-whitlock-dot-com>
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 02:35:50 -0800
All,

It has been stated on this list that one an arc contacts ground that the 
resonator Q goes into the hamper to near zip.

I was reviewing some frame by frame video hits of maggey #11-E and note 
that the arc channel develops over an extended period of time!

I note a spark approaching the heavily grounded aluminum siding on my 
house.  The contact occurrs, let us say, at t0, in frame, f0.  The arc 
channel is fairly dim, but contact is made and the arc channel is 115" 
long point to point.  In the next frame, f1, (1/30 second later) the 
channel doubles in brightness.(as measured by my light meter (spot 
reading).  In frame f2 the arc channel increases in brightness by another 
40% or so over the preceeding frame.  In frame f3, the channel retains 
about the same brilliance (white hot) as in f2 frame.  In frame f4, the 
channel starts to reduce its brightness and is about 65% of f2s level.  
Frame f5 shows a greatly reduced channel intensity and is just about 10% 
below that of f0s level.  In frame f5, The channel is just a faint mist 
of ionized vapor.  Frame f6, shows the channel to have disappeared.

Assuming 400 BPS (which is my normal break rate), This means that the 
system has energy pops at the rate of about 13 pulses per video frame. so 
we see that from time of contact to max brighness,(more or less), we 
actually sent in about 52 energy pulses.  Is the electronic Q of the 
resonator system this slow to respond?!!  Energy delivery to the arc 
channel was consistently on the increase over this long period 
(~120,000 usec).

The rise to max channel current is rather slow, compared to the 
extinguishing of the channel which never takes more than 2 video frames 
(1/15 sec-60,000usec).

I am making no judgments here, only reporting observational fact.

Richard Hull, TCBOR