Re: theory(?) for long sparks

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: theory(?) for long sparks
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 19:47:04 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

From: 	D.C. Cox[SMTP:DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net]
Sent: 	Thursday, December 04, 1997 5:23 PM
To: 	Tesla List
Subject: 	Re: theory(?) for long sparks

to Antonio:

Tried a 6 ft long plastic tube once with a small coil.  The streamers
actually melted pathways into the plastic due to their higher capacitive
energy.  It does work well with glass tubes though.  We have only tube 10
feet long we can hook up to coils and then pump a very slight below
atmospheric vacuum (around 6000 microns works nice) and the streamers are
very long and quite spectacular.  We use a 6 inch dia tube and have used
some up to 10 inch dia for the experiments.

DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net

> 
> From: 	Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz[SMTP:acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br]
> Sent: 	Tuesday, December 02, 1997 11:03 PM
> To: 	Tesla List
> Subject: 	Re: theory(?) for long sparks
> 
> Malcolm wrote:
> 
> >            Just to inject a note into this *very* interesting
> > discussion, you can greatly lengthen high voltage sparks by
> > providing a few intermediate "steps" such as isolated bits of metal.
> 
> Something similar certainly works with electrostatic generators. I fix a 
> small ball to the main positive terminal with a short section of plastic
tube,
> and get longer sparks than with the main terminals alone (in a Wimshurst
> machine, for example). But almost the same effect is obtained with a
> direct connection, and the trick works only with the positive terminal.
> I don't know what would happen in a Tesla coil. Someone coild make a
test.
>     
> Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz 
> mailto:acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br
> http://www.coe.ufrj.br/~acmq
> 
> 
>