Re: Official air breakdown voltage?

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "David Rieben" <drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Mike,

Yes, I remember that video clip. I believe Bert Hickman posted it on 
his Stonridge Engineering high voltage page.
IIRC, it was a 500 kV line (I assume ~289 kV single phase to ground), 
which is A LOT more than 12 kV. However, I, like you,
would have been curious to see just how long, both time
wise and length wise, that arc would have gone unhendered ;^)

David Rieben

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 11:12 AM
Subject: Re: Official air breakdown voltage?


> Original poster: "Mike" <mike.marcum@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> That 33300 kVA spark that was posted awhile back was arcing probably 
> 70 feet and was actually cut short. Wish they woulda let it run for 
> a min or 2 to see how far it woulda grew.
> Mike
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 2:20 AM
> Subject: Re: Official air breakdown voltage?
>
> > Original poster: "David Rieben" <drieben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > JT,
> >
> > Hmm, 12 kV at 5000 amps, that's 60,000 kVA! I'd think
> > that you could draw a plasma arc over 20 ft. with that
> > kind of power, assuming that you didn't get FATALLY burned by being 
> > as close as would be required to pull this stunt! Think
> > of the incredible flash arc plasma you see when a main primary
> > power line gets a fault circuit short across it and that would be
> > what you would experience by discharging continuous 12 kV,
> > 5000 amp electrical source! It would be one heck of a site, but
> > unless you were positioned  >50 ft. from the spark source, you most 
> > likely wouldn't live to tell about it!
> >
> > David Rieben
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2005 7:29 PM
> > Subject: Re: Official air breakdown voltage?
> >
> >
> > > Original poster: "JT Bowles" <jasotb@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Drawn arc, I do believe. If you start at 1' and use 12KV, with 
> > > 5000amps of current, you wont get a spark at all. But if you begin 
> > > with a drawn arc, you may get it to STRETCH to 1'.
> > > Clear?
> > >
> > > > From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > > > To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
> > > > Subject: Re: Official air breakdown voltage?
> > > > Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2005 12:39:32 -0700
> > > >
> > > > Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > >
> > > > At 09:03 AM 11/27/2005, Tesla list wrote:
> > > > > Original poster: "JT Bowles" <jasotb@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > > >
> > > > > exactly. a 12KV spark, at 30MA may only be 1/2 inch long. But, 
> > > > > at thousands of amperes, it can stretched to over a foot
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Distinguish, here, between a spark and a "drawn arc"...  Spark 
> > > > means jumping across the gap.  Drawn arcs are totally different.