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How do sparks propagate, anyway?

Subject:    How do sparks propagate, anyway?
      Date: Sat, 03 May 1997 17:47:12 -0800
      From: Greg Leyh <lod-at-pacbell-dot-net>
        To: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
References: 
           1


robert.michaels wrote:

[snip]
>         You may be referring to the use of =focused= beam from a
>         =pulsed= and very powerful =Q-Switched= laser.  Such can cause a
>         minute and instantaneous plasma in open air at the point
>         of focus.
> 
>         This is a horse of a very different color from establishing
>         a =lengthy= conductive path thru air along which a Tesla
>         discharge may be guided - by the use of a laser or microwave =beam=

Related trivia:
In 1992, a Japanese research group actually succeeded in initiating an 
electrical ionization path thru the air using an excimer laser.  The
test 
setup consisted of two elevated terminals (HV and Gnd), spaced about 3
meters
apart, attached to a 500kV impulse generator. The output beam from an
excimer
laser was fired across the 3m gap, tangent to both electrodes.  The
photo 
shows a nice bright discharge travelling along the light beam.  The
group
hopes to eventually use this technique to divert lightning strikes away 
from critical installations.

[snip]
>         However - the purpose of theory (among many purposes) is
>         to guide one away from avenues of pursuit which are likely
>         to consume resources and (irreplaceably valuable) time
>         without being fruitful.

>         Dr. Tesla himself is exemplary in the points I was trying
>         to make in my post:  He did the theory first, the math
>         second, and the experimental work after that.  As we seek
>         to honor his accomplishments, can we not also benefit
>         our selves by honoring his methods?


Point taken -- However it would seem that the 'primary' source of
pleasure
for most coilers comes from the actual construction and operation of
their 
coils, rather than the whys and wherefors of the physics involved. 
There is
a small group of theorists on this list though, and I would like to
count 
myself as one of them.

Given the large number of newbies on this list, I would like to re-visit
an
old issue from a 'theory of arc dynamics' standpoint -- Why do many
coilers 
report that a larger toroid increases the striking distance of their
coils, 
given that increasing Coutput always decreases the output voltage?  
(I am assuming that the striking range is increased by more than just
the 
increase in toroid radius.)

-GL