Re: Displacement Current Revisited

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Displacement Current Revisited
From: Bart Anderson <mopar-at-uswest-dot-net> (by way of Terry Fritz <twf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 03:16:54 -0700
Approved: twf-at-verinet-dot-com

Hi John,

> Original Poster: "John H. Couture" <COUTUREJH-at-worldnet.att-dot-net>
>
>   Bart -
>
> I have lost track of the type of lamp you were using. Was it incandescent,
> LED, or fluorescent?

Fluorescent

> These three types of lamps would be affected differently around a Tesla
> coil. For example what was the size of the TC, the distance, the length and
> type of the antenna, the current, and was a tuned circuit involved, etc?

12.5" x 34" secondary. Flat primary (~13 turns). 2,200W. (Input power VA
readings =
9kv/250mA). Lamp was about 15 to 20 feet from the coil. I used no antenna. Just
twisted a piece of wire around the connections at one end of the lamp and
wrapped
electrical tape around the area to hold it in place. The other end of the wire
connected to rf ground. Didn't matter where I had the lamp. The lamp is small,
6"
long and strait. It did not glow as a fluorescent lamp glows around the near
vicinity of a TC, but lit up with each strike at the connected end of the lamp.
Similar to a standard incandescent bulb, when a child flickers lights on and
off
real fast. These pulses lit up the lamp at each strike.

One phenomenon I haven't mentioned: I posted back that I tried this outside
connecting one end to the earth. Nothing happened, etc.. When I came back in
the
garage, I reconnected it to the grounded wire, and ran the coil. It did not
"immediately light up". It took about 5 seconds or so of breakout then began
lighting up at the connected end as before.

This is why I was wondering if the strike ring was attributing to this since it
is
in near proximity to the primary. I am connected right to rf ground and there
is
"no" external inductor between the lamp and ground (I worded this incorrectly
before writing about the grounded coiled wire. I was thinking about lighting a
lamp
using the coiled inductor between ground and the lamp but induced by the
primary
induction - sorry for going out into la la land). However, as I am typing this,
I
remembered that I have a ground shield on the ceiling above the coil. It wasn't
being hit (streamers horizontal), but it was definately in the em field around
the
top of the coil. This ground shield probably played a big part. I'll have to
try it
again after I get my latest gap running.

Bart