Hi,
I've never seen this sort of arc over either, but looking at it purely from
a chemistry viewpoint, the dust is partially conductive. It is a rather
complex mix of four compounds + intermediates formed when tungsten is heated
in air. The resulting four primary oxidation products are:
Brown colored tungsten nitride which is conductive
Copper/bronze colored tungsten (IV) oxide, which is highly conductive
Yellow colored tungsten (VI) oxide, which is not conductive (used as a
yellow pigment, WO3)
Blue colored tungsten pentoxide, which is not listed anywhere I have seen as
been conductive, however this one has quite a complicated structure, so I am
not sure about it.
Tungsten (III) oxide is also known but not formed from this process.
Mix these together and you end up with a greyish white powder which is
partially conductive.
Ian
-----Original Message-----
From: tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tesla-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Phil Tuck
Sent: Sunday, 10 November 2013 3:28 AM
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [TCML] Tungsten Electrode Dust
All,
Does anyone know for fact if the fine white dust that you find around a
rotary spark gap, from the ablation of the electrodes, is actually
conductive? One supposes it is, but logic and reality can be differant.
Regards
Phil T
www.hvtesla.com
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