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I imagine the exact nature of the discharge depends on the electrode
shape and other factors, but fersure the 'Or nothing' option is not the
correct one. Aircraft electronic equipment that employ substantial
voltages have a maximum altitude rating for that very reason. I remember
some equipment from decades ago warning against operation above 50K
feet. In any case, you should be able to find reference materials that
have interesting tables. If you're going to record the experiment with a
camera, consider putting a micro-ammeter in the circuit to document the
increasing leakage current with altitude. Put a couple of back-to-back
diodes across the meter to protect it when the electrodes flash over.
On 04/11/2016 03:27 PM, Paul B. Thompson wrote:
Recently I've gotten involved with a group of high altitude balloon
hobbyists. We're always looking for interesting experiments to try in
the stratosphere, and I thought of one with HV application. I'd like
to run it by everyone here as a thought-experiment first.
Air is a dielectric. Not a great one, but a sufficient air gap between
two electrodes prevents arcing. (I may not be expressing this the best
way, but you all know what I mean.) If you lower the air pressure
greatly, would a high voltage spark leap across the same distance? I
imagine something like a charged flash capacitor being lofted in a
balloon. The poles of the cap are connected to electrodes separated by
a gap sufficient to prevent discharge at normal air pressure. If the
balloon lifts the apparatus to, say, 100,000 feet, will we see the
apparatus arc over when the air is sufficiently attenuated? Or will we
get a kind of corona glow? Or nothing?
A camera would be pointed at the gap to film the result.
Paul Thompson
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