Re: Voltage determination

[Tesla729-at-cs-dot-com (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

In a message dated 7/23/00 8:44:19 PM Central Daylight Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com 
writes:

<<  It may be impossible to point to one element alone (e.g. 
 voltage) and say that it is resonsible for a certain length of 
 spark since it won't get very far if there is no substantial 
 source of charge to back it up.
  >>

You know, I've read a text somewhere in regard to this subject
that said something to the affect that a pulsed discharge from
an induction coil may require ~300 kv for a mere 6" spark, but
a 140 kvDC power supply may require 24" of seperation between
the output leads or terminals to prevent a possible flashover. I
suppose the "creeping effect" of HV over a smooth non-conduc-
tive surface comes into play when dealing with "constant"  HV
charges. And the higher rep rates of TC discharges would make
the charge more constant (higher duty cycle/less down time) so
a relatively "low voltage" would arc an impressive distance. Also,
the larger the Tesla coil, the larger the ionized "cloud" around the 
toroid, which further encourages more ionization of the surrounding
air i.e. longer sparks.

David Rieben