RE: [TCML] Camcorder Gap Syncronizing

[Jeff Behary <electrotherapy@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Herr Zapp -
I don't want to offer an explanation as much as a vague guess with that one...I have no clue really why in the video the spark disappeared!  I figure it was either the camera or the software (Window's Movie Maker), what is strange is that only one video did that in a half-dozen or so that I took.  Who knows!
 
The pitch changes are due first to slow motion video (I normally do a normal speed video, and a small clip of something in half-speed), but also in those cluster of clips used for that video I was fiddling around changing the capacity of the circuit from the first part of the video to the last, and the current through the transformer also.  This changed how the gap fired, and making little changes could gradually cause it fire as little as once a second, or only several times a second.
 
The effect of how the gap (whether this one, or any gap) fired made some interesting effects on the Tesla Coil sparks with these low currents and slow charges/discharges...
http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com/2008/KinraideBondo/DSC01807.JPG
For example, the little white areas of the sparks (that normally appear in the middle of the sparks at low currents) would shift one direction or the other, depending on the capacity.  Also, sometimes (not sure why) some of the sparks appeared with these little white areas "jagged" or "dashed" over the length of the spark.  These little effects were plainly visible with the eye when the coil operated.  
 
Jeff
> > I've watched your video clip over and over, and there is something odd going on, but I don't know if your explanation is correct.> > Using RealPlayer V10.5 to "play" the clip, I do see that the spark at the center of the doorknob electrode seems to "disappear" at around the 15 second mark if the clip is played through without interruption. However, if I step through this part of the clip frame-by-frame, the spark is clearly present.> > I can't think of any way that the camera would not "see" the actual spark, but would capture the reflection of the spark. Regardless of any timing issues with the CCD detector in the camera being synchronized with the spark, I don't think its possible for the camera to not be able to see the spark, but to see its reflection only.> > Also, do you remember why the sound of the spark changes during this clip? There is a distinct change to the sound at the end of the "invisible" spark segment.
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