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Argon sparkgap - in a vacuum?
It was written:
>> This is very interesting! My argon gap also leaves the copper a
>>clean but pink color. Much like freshly etched copper. If nitrogen
>>could be used to make an inert gap, it would provide a gas which
>>would me much easier to find :-)) I believe that you can burn a
>>candle or other flammable substance in an enclosed space to remove
>>the oxygen.
>
>This technique (burning something to remove the O2) has been
>mentioned before. I don't recall if it was in Craggs & Meek or in
>Fruengel.
So this particular reference thought it was a good idea to get rid of
the O2 - even though elsewhere it is stated that removing the O2
drastically increases the erosion rates. Curiouser and curiouser...
But I have a question: *IF* the heat of the arc could be removed
efficiently (no cathode hotspots on the metal to reduce breakdown
voltage), would a sparkgap operated in a complete vacuum be even better
than one in Ar, high pressure Ar, SF6, or most anything else?
Just wondering and thinking. I suppose an arc between two plates in a
vacuum doesn't involve any ionization process because there's nothing to
ionize! :) If so - would having hot metallic surfaces even change the
breakdown voltage, ie, cause a "power-arc out" of a gap operated in a
vacuum?
Hmm - I'm not a tube person, but it seems like having hot metal does
something for a gap in a vacuum - since HV rectifier tubes (and x-ray
tubes) usually have a heated cathode... Comments?
-Bill
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