Re: Z-Machine Sparkage- Try this at home!!

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

Original poster: "Black Moon by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <black_moons-at-hotmail-dot-com>

iv observed this too, I think its the same as the 'water powered electric 
generator' where you staticly charge water by attracting electrons with a 
charged ring (the charge on the ring is not used up), and then let the drip 
fall into a bucket, carrying its electric charge with it.
After enufe voltage, the drops fall slower and slower, some will even stop 
and go back up!
(Ie, its the electostatic forces attracting and repeling the water)
Btw.. I also noticed my home made caps feel like they pulse (without even 
touching them) when my spark gaps fire. I wonder if you can move air with 
just electrostatic force. (ie no moving parts speaker)

> > Sorry about the URL wrapping to the next line (I don't know why Exchange
> > does that sometimes).
> >
> > I added some detergent to reduce the surface tension of the water. This
> > produced much smaller pyramids of water which are very pointy and hard to
> > capture on camera as they go from a tiny bump on the water to a sharp
>point
> > then arc over with a slight change in voltage. It looks like sometimes it
> > actually pulls a small ball of water loose and this triggers the
>breakdown.
> >
> > I also added salt to the water and noticed quite a change in the
>appearance
> > of the arcs. The overall distance (radius) they traveled didn't change but
> > the number of tiny arcs was reduced to a few thicker and brighter arcs.
>I'll
> > try to post some more pictures today.
> >
> > Every couple dozen arcs creates a white flash and I've been unable to
> > identify its origin. The flash is easily observed by looking at the wall
> > behind the experiment or any of the test gear. I don't see it when looking
> > directly at the arcs on the water. Have you noticed anything similar? Any
> > idea what's going on?
> >
> > Regards,
> > Brian B.
> >
> > PS - Here is a shorter URL
> > http://www.briananddebbie-dot-com/backyard_science.htm Just click on "Arcs on
> > Water"...