Re: plating xmas balls

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

Original poster: Ian Macky <ian.macky-at-oracle-dot-com> 

 > Original poster: "Antonio Carlos M. de Queiroz" <acmq-at-compuland-dot-com.br>
 > I have never heard about this. Since it's the air that gets hot, and
 > the currents in the terminals are identical, why would one of the
 > terminals get hotter? DC sparks are assymmetrical in appearance, but
 > the current looks very uniform.

i was taught at a national-level school so i can guarantee those
figures.  welders are a very practical lot, and much of welding data
was arrived at through empirical means with no model backing it up.

all i know is, in a DC arc, the side getting whacked by the electrons
gets more heat.  could there be a kinetic component?  most of the heat
goes into the electrode and material being welded, not into the air.

--ian