Terry's Test - Two Manifestations of Charge

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Terry Fritz <teslalist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Dave and All,

I got the DRSSTC fixed this afternoon and tried to reproduce Dave's unequal 
spark test.

http://www.tesla-coil-builder.com/images/chiron01twosparks.jpg

My theory was this:

====
http://hot-streamer.com/temp/DaveTest.gif

The bright i3 current to ground is the sum of current i1 from the top 
terminal plus the current i2 picked up by the partially conductive 
florescent tube near the secondary high voltage regions.  I show how such a 
setup and results should be repeatable on a standard coil too.

I think you mean to suggest that the currents i3 and i1 are equal.  But I 
suggest that i2 is causing much of the effect.  Simply replacing the 
conductive tube with a Styrofoam rod with a similar metal tip from a broken 
tube will eliminate almost all of the i2 currents.  Then the currents going 
through the two arcs will be equivalent.  Normally in this configuration, 
the voltage between the tube tip and the top terminal would be relatively low.

Also, the two spark gaps need to have the same terminal types (say sharp 
tips) to be comparable.  The round top terminal is obviously spreading the 
spark out unlike the top arc which is between two sharp points.
====

So I set up the second situation with the DRSSTC coil which is conventional 
other than the DRSSTC driver.

http://hot-streamer.com/temp/DaveTest-01.jpg

Nothing fancy, just an 18 inch florescent tube end between the top of the 
coil and a grounded wire.  The tube was just taped to an ungrounded little 
tripod.  The tube was parallel to the coil so the displacement current 
could reach the tube as described in my diagram above.

Now for the exciting results!! ;-)

http://hot-streamer.com/temp/DaveTest-04.jpg

http://hot-streamer.com/temp/DaveTest-03.jpg

http://hot-streamer.com/temp/DaveTest-02.jpg

My pictures are not as pretty as Dave's, but the effect is very plain and 
obvious.  Very easy to reproduce...

I was going to smash the tube and just try the end on a Styrofoam rod as I 
mentioned.  But I don't have the rod and it is one of those real expensive 
aquarium grow tubes...  But I can pick up a cheap tube and rod tomorrow...

So far, the effect seems to be very simply Ampere's law with Maxwell's 
displacement currents and  Kirchhoff's current law here on page 6 of the 
circuit theory book.  I never could have spelled Kirchhoff myself ;-))

Cheers,

	Terry