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 7:46:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com 
writes:

> John (& all)-
>  
>  If there's an ion cloud there, I sure can't see it.  But it seems certain
>  that there's none there after the coil sits for a while & then I hit it
>  with 1 spark.  And just 1 spark acts, for me, exactly like repetitive
>  ones except, as I've written, when they are very close together in time. 

Ken, all,

I meant that the ion cloud may be formed as the coil rings up,
but before the spark breaks out.  So after the coil is sitting for awhile,
I agree there would be no ions.  But as soon as it begins to ring up,
the ions will be formed prior to breakout.  The presence of these ions
may affect how the spark behaves and grows when it breaks out.
A slow ringup may form an ion cloud of one type, a fast ringup may
form an ion cloud of another type.  By type, I mean the size, or
intensity, or whatever.    I believe you mentioned in another posting
that the frequency shifted more before the spark broke out than it
did after.  This suggests the presence of a significant ion cloud
before breakout, unless there is some other explanation?

You say you did not see the ion cloud.  Well it would not be visible
by eye.  Did you mean by eye, or with instrumentation?

I don't know enough about the physics involved to have an opinion
about the inertia theory.

Cheers,
John