Re: Argon is out.

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Argon is out.
From: Bert Hickman <bert.hickman-at-aquila-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 05:29:10 -0600
Approved: terryf-at-verinet-dot-com

Tesla List wrote:
> 
> Original Poster: Terry Fritz <terryf-at-verinet-dot-com>
> 
> Hi All,
>         After about a week of experimenting with my argon gap I have
concluded
> that argon is not a suitable gas for spark gaps.  The gas is too easily
> ionized.  It will become resistive at relatively low voltages and when it
> does fully fire it seems to have high losses.  The spark output was
> consistently very poor.  Firing is very erratic.
>         This suggests that there are gasses that would be much better.  The
> atmosphere that the spark gap operates in has a very significant effect on
> the gap's performance.
> 
>         Terry Fritz

Terry,

Thanks for the update - Bummer! At least the gaps were a pretty color
when firing! 

How about using the same sealed setup but simply fill with air
initially, or better yet, dry N2, if available. I still bet that pure
hydrogen would give the best overall results once the oxygen was purged. 

-- Bert --