Re: Spark-gap sparks vs. solid-state sparks

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <FutureT-at-aol-dot-com>

In a message dated 4/20/01 12:23:22 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com writes:

>  It is the much higher electrode voltage, accumulated during one or
>  > more leading-quarter-cycles of excitation that occur during the
>  > inertial-containment time(s), that accounts for most of the spark.  It
>  > may well be that several consecutive quarter cycles are involved, and
>  > that the spark grows step-wise during a number of cycles of
>  > excitation--until the spark's added circuit-resistance diminishes the
>  > secondary's current too much for that process to continue.

Ken, Malcolm, all,

Maybe also, a slow buildup of energy creates a larger, more intense
ion cloud around the toroid before spark breakout.  This ion cloud
may affect the spark's formation, by letting the streamer grow fatter
and brighter than it otherwise would (since the air is pre-ionized over
a large area).  This fatness and brightness of the streamer burns up 
energy which would otherwise go into extending the spark.  Just a 
suggestion, I have no idea if it works this way.  Any comments?

It would be interesting to see if the pre-breakout frequency shifts
more in a CW coil than in a spark gap TC.

John Freau