Static Guard test...

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

Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>

Hi All,

I did a test, lest I be called an "arm chair" coiler :o))

I set up a little experiment to get an idea of what "Static Guard" does 
with "real" high voltage.

http://hot-streamer-dot-com/temp/Pc02-12-13-0.jpg

I set up the Bertan 50kV DC supply with a 3/16 "scrap" chunk of G-10 (has a 
bunch of pin holes blown through it.  Golly, wonder how that happened 
:o)))  I drilled and inserted some 4-40 screws with washers in it to 
provide a little arc gap that measured 0.7612 inches according to my nice 
new Starrett caliper.  I insulated it all on a 1 inch thick chunk of 
UHMW-PE that I have not managed to burn holes through... yet ;-))

http://hot-streamer-dot-com/temp/Pc02-12-13-1.jpg

So, I turned up the E till it arced over and back off a little to get:

http://hot-streamer-dot-com/temp/Pc02-12-13-2.jpg

22kV at 2uA.  Note that about 1uA is through the cable leaking (note that I 
am 5300 feet above sea level).

I then sprayed the G-10 with "Static Guard" probably far more heavily than 
I should have and dried it with a hair dryer.  Note that the wet stuff and 
the propellent is flammable so dry it and vent the fumes well away before 
playing with sparks!!

I then turned up the juice and noted that it now had a nice corona, noise, 
and blue glow that I could barely catch on camera with my limited 
photogalogical skills:

http://hot-streamer-dot-com/temp/Pc02-12-13-4.jpg

The voltage and current just before arcing are now 18kV at 15uA:

  http://hot-streamer-dot-com/temp/Pc02-12-13-3.jpg

What is surprising is that when it does arc, it does not "surface arc" on 
the G-10 but rather the arc is in the air about 1/8 to 1/4 inch off the 
surface of the G-10.  I am not sure where the arc was before.

So a "way too heavy" application of static guard only reduces the arc 
voltage 20% and does not seem to promote surface arcing.  I also note that 
the static guard is rather tough in that the corona did not seem to burn it 
off or damage it much.

So...  It appears the static guard reduces the standoff voltage about 20% 
and does provide about 1.2 giga ohms of resistance with a "way too thick" 
layer.  It seems a very light coat may indeed be able to provide a high 
resistance layer that "might" help this electret effect without messing up 
the secondary.  1.2 G-Ohms is not going to remove too much power from the 
streamers ;-)

This test is far from conclusive, but it does show that Static Guard may 
hold some promise in solving the electret effect we all hate so much...

Cheers,

	Terry