Re: Vortex gap loss measurements

["Malcolm Watts" <M.J.Watts-at-massey.ac.nz> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

Hi Jim,

On 3 Sep 00, at 22:27, Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "Jim Lux" <jimlux-at-jpl.nasa.gov> 
> 
> 
> > 
> > I have metered a Jacob's ladder to watch the effects of arc 
> > length and it showed voltage climbing as the spark rose. The 
> > current hardly varied. The changes in arc length were pretty 
> > significant and the voltage would have roughly doubled for a 
> > change of around 10 in arc length. Agree with all your other 
> > conclusions.
> 
> 
> 
> Of course, you were driving the arc from a current limited source (i.e. a
> ballasted transformer of some sort)?

It was a rectified and capacitor filtered high frequency 
flyback (real flyback) supply so it was current limited. I 
would expect a non-limited supply to blow fuses and/or melt 
something.  Output voltage is metered so the voltage would 
have been averaged by the inertia of the meter movement but 
the arc climbed quite slowly enough to show a definite trend.
I used that same supply to power a desktop mini-twin at one 
stage. The arc voltage was not at all proportional to the arc 
length. 

Regards,
Malcolm