Re: Christmas Tree Musings

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

Original poster: "rheidlebaugh by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <rheidlebaugh-at-zialink-dot-com>

I found your paper of great intrest. I have one small question. When I was
there at that time in wendover I dont remember seeing any weather baloons
holding a aircraft hanger 6000 ft above the salt flats when the tests were
made. Wendover is not 11000 ft alt. Maybe I could have missed something or I
could have forgotten a few details over the years, I am getting old.
   Robert  H 

> From: "Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 21:37:05 -0700
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Christmas Tree Musings
> Resent-From: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Resent-Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 21:48:13 -0700
> 
> Original poster: "S & J Young by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> <youngs-at-konnections-dot-net>
> 
> Coilers,
> 
> As we gaze upon a Christmas tree, we notice the lights reflecting off the
> shiny round ornaments, and of course this elucidates many thoughts.  Some of
> you will put the shiny balls and the lights together and say "aha - reminds
> me of ball lightning!"  This will make you think of Robert Golka who
> constructed a replica of one of Tesla's large coils and tried to duplicate
> the creation of ball lightning as allegedly observed by old Nicholas
> himself.  Then you will find yourself wondering, as I did, what ever
> happened to Golka and what is he doing these days to pursue the creation of
> plasma spheres - ball lightning?
> 
> I searched the web and found some fascinating accounts of his experiments in
> the 80s, but found nothing recent.  Do any of you know of any recent work by
> Golka or others?
> 
> For those who want a bit of diversion, here are some interesting tidbits and
> some sites to visit:
> 
> "Ball lightning:
> As a phenomenon, lightning blasts its attention upon us, but there is more
> to lightning than just the intense flash and the ear-resonating noise that
> is all too familiar. There is also ball lightning, known for a century, seen
> by very few, and only recently produced in the laboratory by Robert Golka,
> Jr.
> I first heard of ball lightning about 50 years ago. It occurs in many
> varieties, yet has been mystifying scientists since it couldn't be
> reproduced.
> It has been described as a self sustaining light-emitting plasma-like ball
> that moves along for seconds before disappearing with a bang. Lightning
> balls have been reported to last as long as 30 s on submarines during WW II,
> where high current switches are employed to transfer power between
> batteries, or between batteries and generators. It is not St. Elmo's fire, a
> discharge-like electrical phenomenon that is encountered on ships and
> aircraft during atmospheric conditions that generate high electric
> potentials.
> Golka uses a 150-kW transformer capable of providing 10,000 A at 15-V 60
> cycles; thick 1-in. stranded wire leading into a plastic tank with water;
> and a 1/4-in. thick 4 ¥ 6-in. aluminum plate. The wire and plate are short
> circuited about 1/4 in. below the surface of the water and this produces 1/4
> in. dia. fireballs. They sizzle and hiss and skim around on the surface,
> occasionally taking to the air and leaving spiraling smoke trails that
> suggest the balls are spinning.
> Golka has seen these fireballs dance onto the floor and he reports them hot
> to the touch. Their color is white with an aluminum electrode and yellow
> with iron.
> There is no theory for ball lightning, although in Golka's case his
> fireballs consume the aluminum and may obtain their energy from the burning
> of the metal.
> Those readers who have witnessed ball lightning are invited to send me a
> paragraph about their experience.
> Contacts:
> Igor Alexeff, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of Tennessee,
> Knoxville, TN 37996.
> Robert Golka Jr., Phone: 508/586-8033.
> Richard Weiss, c/o SPIE, P.O. Box 10, Bellingham, WA 98227-0010.
> Prof. Richard J. Weiss reports monthly on research in universities,
> industry, and government."
> 
> Pictures of Golka's tesla coil in action in a large hanger at Wendover, Utah
> http://home1.gte-dot-net/res07cmo/hv/Golka/golka.htm
> 
> First hand accounts of ball lightning observations
> http://www.amasci-dot-com/weird/unusual/bl.html
> 
> Project Tesla
> 
> "The objectives of Project Tesla are divided into three areas of
> investigation. 1. Demonstration that the Schumann Cavity can be resonated
> with an open air, vertical dipole antenna; 2. Measurement of power insertion
> losses; 3. Measurement of power retrieval losses, locally and at a distance.
> Methods A full size, 51 foot diameter, air core, radio frequency resonating
> coil and a unique 130 foot tower, insulated 30 feet above ground, have been
> constructed and are operational at an elevation of approximately 11,000
> feet. This system was originally built by Robert Golka in 1973- 1974 and
> used until 1982 by the United States Air Force at Wendover AFB in Wendover,
> Utah. The USAF used the coil for simulating natural lightning for testing
> and hardening fighter aircraft. The system has a capacity of over 600
> kilowatts. The coil, which is the largest part of the system, has already
> been built, tested, and is operational."
> 
> Read the rest of this very interesting account here:
> http://www.geocities-dot-com/ResearchTriangle/Lab/3537/WIRELESS.html
> 
> And although not directly related, here is some interesting reading about
> how coiling has progressed over the years, written by the legendary Richard
> Hull.  http://f3wm.free.fr/tesla/magnifier.html
> 
> Merry Christmas,
> --Steve
>