Re: fluorescent tube question

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

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

In a message dated 3/25/02 11:50:27 AM Pacific Standard Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
writes:


>
> > Hi Ed,
> > 
> > I don't see any posts suggesting there is no current flowing.  The only
> > posts I have seen are those that said there is a lot of current flowing and
> > those that say there is very little current flowing.  Air is not a good
> > conductor, therefore energy must be increased in potential and decreased in
> > current in order for power to flow across it.
> > 
> > Considering that we're usually using 60mA or less at 15KV or less and
> > stepping the voltage up to around 100,000V or so, the radiated current
> would
> > therefore be around 4mA.  Then there is the inverse square law that applies
> > between the coil and the free fluorescent tube.  It doesn't take much to
> > realize at this point that the current is very low in a fluorescent tube
> > that is not in contact with the secondary; a lot less than 1mA, in fact.
> > 
> > Fluorescent tubes do not have voltage step down transformers in them, so we
> > can correctly state that the nature of electrical energy in the fluorescent
> > tube is high voltage, low current.
> > 
> > Dave
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
> > Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 3:19 PM
> > To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> > Subject: Re: fluorescent tube question
> > 
> > 
> > Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> > <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>
> > 
> > Some of the posts here seem to overlook the fact that current must flow
> > through the tube to ionize the mercury vapor/gas fill and excite it into
> > generating UV light.  Since there is a voltage drop across the tube that
> > means power must flow.
> > 
> > Ed
> > 



I always thought (maybe incorrectly) that the RF from the Tesla coil was
exciting the phosphor on the inside of the tube directly and not ionizing the
gas in the tube.

Ed Sonderman