Re: tungsten electrodes

["Gomez ADDams" <gomez-at-netherworld-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

on that fateful day 8/16/00 7:27 PM, Tesla list uttered:

> Original poster: "Barton B. Anderson" <tesla123-at-pacbell-dot-net>
> 
> Hi John M., 
> 
> I had to reply after taking a peak at the tungsten sight you posted.
> From the 4 types listed, Pure tungsten is rated the best arc stability at AC.

Thoriated tungsten is never what you want for spark gaps because it has a
higher emissivity- in other words, it turns on earlier and off later.
Whether a difference would be seen in actual RSG applications is debatable
and open to experimentation.

Obviously, the the mild (alpha) radioactivity of the added Thorium is an
issue, and you probably don't want to breathe the dust if you machine them.

But in any case, standard Tungsten works fine and is cheaper than Thoriated.

- Gomez

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