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- To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
- Subject: RE: Flaming Sparks
- From: robert.michaels-at-online.sme-dot-org (Robert Michaels)
- Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 21:42:39 GMT
- Organization: Society of Manufacturing Engineers
T>Stan wrote: T>> T>> This gives me an idea: lighter fluid. Or butane or natural gas. If you T>> could find a way to "safely" blow a combustible gas into the top area of T>> an operating Tesla, the results would be quite interesting. T>> T>> Tesla List wrote: T>> I =like= the way you think, boy. I =do= like the the way you think: Even a gas jet - something perhaps as lowly as a Bunsen burner or a handyman's propane torch might suffice to do something interesting: It would surely get a stream of ions moving upward - and a column of heated (and hence low-density, and hence conductive) air headed for the ceiling. (You do have a 24-ft. ceiling in your Tesla laboratory, don't you?) Blowing no smoke, Robert Michaels T>> M>Subject: Flaming sparks T>> T>> M>I put some paper on top of my tesla coil and lit it. as the flames T>> T>> M>started there were bolts coming from the ends of the flames, very T>> M>interesting. As the fire grew, however, the sparks came to a T>> standstill. T>> M>They did not return untill the fire subsided. Did the fire somehow T>> T>> M>detune the coil? T>> M>-- T>> M>Kevin M. Conkey T>> T>> The combination of Tesla coils and flame phenomena is quite T>> a fascinating one. As has been pointed out recently by a T>> List subscriber patently more sophisticated than I, a flame T>> is rich in ions and highly conductive electrically, even at T>> low (i.e. battery) voltages. T>> T>> I've taken your lit paper experiment to several increments T>> higher and invite you to do likewise. T>> T>> Obtain a Fourth-of-July (or if need be Guy Fawkes Day) T>> fireworks "fountain". Light the fountain and place it atop T>> the coil, and power it up. T>> T>> Now try that with a roman candle. T>> T>> Even a sparkler, or a group of them, is quite interesting. T>> T>> Some of these items will self-ignite if upon the terminus T>> of an operating Tesla coil. T>> T>> SAFETY NOTE: Some fountains contain powdered aluminum T>> or powdered iron (iron filings) or powdered magnesium. T>> Some of these will self-ignite =internally=. Do stand T>> clear in doing this work - and keep the area of combust- T>> ibles. And for openers it's best to T>> restrict yourself to fountains containing only carbon or T>> powdered charcoal. Else, remove the pyrotechnic compo- T>> sition from the fountain and place it in a loose pile T>> atop the coil terminus. This is not quite as dramatic, T>> but it's =much= safer. T>> T>> This work carries a double-whammy: if the high-voltage T>> doesn't do you the explosives may. T>> T>> - - - - - - - T>> T>> I've yet to try this with either a string of firecrackers T>> or a multi-shot tube item (widely called a "birthday cake" T>> in parts of the U.S.) -- but hey, one needs something to T>> live for, and the Fourth is only 4 months away! T>> T>> SPARKS!! - any which way you can, T>> T>> Robert (boom-boom) Michaels.
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