Re: GB> Chaffee Spark Gap

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

Original poster: "Luc by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <ludev-at-videotron.ca>

Hi Wells,

Hydrogen represent many advantage as spark gap gas first this gas
quench really fast. In the set-up Chaffee used you have a seal
container were you distilled alcohol what I understand is after a
certain time you have pure alcohol vapor ( without air ) when you
initiate an arc chemical separation will occur ( H, O, C ) some
of these will combine with the metal electrode some will
recombine with each other ( CO2, H2O ) some of the carbon will
simply be depose on the surface of the gap ( this effect is know
for creating some problem in poulsen ) at the end you'll obtain
an hydrogen rich atmosphere without nitrogen at sea pressure. Not
sure you can use a seal cavity with this set up because as you
fire and stop the gap differential of pressure will be created. A
seal hydrogen gap is call a tyratron (expensive and need to be
really big if you used it at reasonable power in tesla service) I
think Richard Hull experiment with it. Some member of the list 
experiment with the poulsen arc ( Mike H Nolly I think ) search
in the list archive:
http://www.pupman-dot-com/
A simple research on Google for poulsen arc will give a lot of
hits. Dr Duncan have a lot of information to but I can't find his
web site any more. Other have is web address???

Cheers,

Luc Benard


Tesla list wrote:
> 
> Original poster: "Wells Campbell by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <wellscampbell-at-onebox-dot-com>
> 
> Hi
> sorry to play the dummy here, but this all sounds really interesting,
> could you run down a couple of things to a non-expert? like describe
> basically what a poulson arc is and does, is it similar to a quench gap?
> 
> And the probable environment in the gap in the article? It said moist
> hydrogen in nitrogen, if I remember correctly? Is that at sea level pressure,
> or more, or less? what would be purity concerns, (besides eliminating
> the o2!)
> 
> Would the alcohol vapor have to be pure alcohol, or would this too be
> in nitrogen? Could you "prime" such a gap by running  a spark through
> alcohol and air with an outlet hole and burn off the 02, then seal it
> and run it? It seems that if small enough a cavity is made, then the
> amount of alcohol needed would be very small (teaspoon at a time)? If
> list members are shooting hair net into the backs of spud guns for four
> seconds (tee hee), it couldn't be that dangerous, could it?
> 
> curious
> 
> --
> Wells Campbell
> wellscampbell-at-onebox-dot-com - email
> 
> ---- "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com> wrote:
> > Original poster: "Mike Nolley by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> > <nolleym-at-willamette.edu>
> >
> > >   Originally the gap was run in an atmosphere of moist hydrogen,
> > but
> > > hydrogen being difficult to obtain in ordinary practice, it was found
> > by
> > > Cutting and Washington that alcohol vapor could be substituted, provided
> > it was
> > > distilled into the gap
> >
> > Sounds a little like the Poulsen Arc, except the electrodes are aluminum
> > and copper.
> > Fairly little research has been done on this list with regard to using
> > hydrogen gas
> > or alchohol vapor as a quenching medium.  This is due to the danger
> > of
> > using flammable
> > gases.  Methinks however that this concern pales in comparison with
> > the
> > dangers of hv.
> > Maybe when I finally de-bug my 10 kw Poulsen Arc the list will take
> > notice.
> >  Thanks for the
> > interesting post.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> 
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