Re: Triggered Spark Gap

• To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
• Subject: Re: Triggered Spark Gap
• From: Scott Stephens <Scott2-at-mediaone-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
• Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 19:47:04 -0700
• Approved: terryf-at-verinet-dot-com

At 08:11 PM 11/3/98 -0700, you wrote:

>Triggered Spark Gap

>Original Poster: RWB355-at-aol-dot-com 
>
>Hi All,

>Would it be possible to take a glass container with two electrodes sealed
>within a ionizable gas as a spark gap?

>The thing would look something like a gigantic flash tube.

Have you ever seen a high-pressure sodium bulb?

>My only real concern is if
>this gap could quench hard enough (fast enough). This would need a gas that
>ionizes quickly at a certain level and de-ionizes pretty sharply below the
>"trigger" level. Otherwise the gap might stay on too long or even continuesly
>once triggered.

Sodium bulbs stay lit, unless you cut the power longer than 4 or 8
milliseconds. A rather dissapointing quench. But then again, if its a
high-power bulb, and it only disspates a few watts per pulse, it might
quench fast enough to be of use. But then it could cool off, and need to be
re-heated. I suggested this a while ago (search the archive for HPS).

>It would be sort of similar to the laser triggered spark gap. The trigger
>circuit, however, would be much simplier.

Yea, and sodium atoms could be triggered and primed by modulating visible
light. The problem I have is the starting circuitry, and maintaing the
proper operating region, of which I can only guess.

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