What to do with microgravity?

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

Original poster: "Keith Durand by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>" <k-horn-at-houston.rr-dot-com>

Sorry that this is somewhat off topic, but the tesla list appears to be the
biggest collection of scientific knowledge available. I have been given an
opportunity to ride NASA's "Vomit Comet", and I must come up with an
experiment. I would like to do something involving convection and arcs.

Convection requires gravity. I was thinking of observing the shape of an arc
in microgravity. I am also considering measuring heat transfer when
convection stops. Another idea is to bend the arc with a magnet while in is
not under the influence of gravity. The equipment seems simple enough; it
would resemble a jacobs ladder.

What kind of arc lengths can I expect if I run a jacobs ladder in argon? Too
short? Too long? The power supply will likely be a 15kv NST.

What effects do magnets have on arcs? Does the arc need to be DC to be
pulled towards or away from a permanent magnet?

I'm looking for any ideas anyone has. If any coilers can think of any
experimets that would be useful for this hobby, let me know.