Re: Micro SSTC + light bulb = plasma globe. Safe( xrays ) ?

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

Original poster: Mddeming-at-aol-dot-com 

In a message dated 7/28/04 9:13:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
tesla-at-pupman-dot-com writes:
Thanks. Btw, can someone explain why the plasma is more intense in a
vacuum with HF HVAC than in free air(it is a better conductor)?

---Eric

Hi Eric,
     Vacuum is a very poor conductor. There is no plasma in a vacuum by 
definition. Plasma globes only work because they are low pressure, not good 
vacuum. Tesla claimed that conduction through air was best at ~ 150 mmHg. 
Standard light bulbs work as mini plasma globes because they are backfilled 
to low pressure with a gas (usually N2 or Ar) to reduce the rate of 
evaporation of the filament.
     As to X-ray production, an electron must be accelerated across a 
potential of 20KV or more and strike an appropriate target WITHOUT hitting 
or being deflected by any other molecules first. This is why particle 
accelerators and X-ray tubes ARE high vacuum, not just low pressure, and 
why X-ray production in normal air is unlikely without a thermonuclear event.

Hope this helps,

Matt D.