Two Manifestations of Charge

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: David Thomson <dwt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

> Original poster: Steve Conner <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> >In between the spherical top load and sharp pointed ground
contact, I
> >placed the butt of a fluorescent tube.  When the coil fired
up, there
> >was a thick white spark from the ground to the tube and a thin
purple
> >spark at the same time between the sphere and the tube.
>
> Was either end of the secondary coil connected to another
> grounding point (water pipe, green wire of AC outlet,
> whatever)?

Yes, the secondary and primary ground were both connected to
Earth ground, which is a 3/8" aluminum cable leading to a copper
cage 17 feet deep in my cistern.

Have you tried to produce the two distinct types of charge on
your coils?  I would think this is a good project for Tesla
coilers.  We spend big bucks honing in on length, but how much do
we know about charge quality?  What exact conditions produce
thick white sparks as opposed to thin purple sparks?  And why can
these two separate manifestations exist in the same coil and in
the same gap between the ground and top load?

As I pointed out in another reply, I have also built a stand for
the tube out of PVC plastic, with no ground to the tube.  The
same phenomenon results.

Dave