RE: easy tungsten source?

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

Original poster: "Lau, Gary by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Gary.Lau-at-compaq-dot-com>

One of the design goals in constructing spark gap electrodes is that
they should be reasonably thermally massive, so that the heat generated
at the arcing point is rapidly conducted into the rest of the electrode,
to keep the arcing point as cool as possible.  Should the arcing point
become hot, it will quench poorly and arc at a lower voltage (static
gap) or greater gap separation (RSG) than a properly cooled gap.

Pen tips are surely very thin and would have a high thermal resistance,
and the arcing point would become very hot.

Gary Lau
MA, USA

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
Sent: Saturday, June 09, 2001 11:11 PM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: easy tungsten source?


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

isnt tungsten used  for some pen tips? if so, would it be possible to
use pen 
tips for a spark gap?