Off Topic. Riddle Me This Batman?

If it takes 70,000 volts electrical pressure to jump an air gap of one inch directly to ground and my Tesla coil will jump an air gap directly to ground of 3 inches and no further.
Why/ how can it discharge to open air over a distance of 11 inches?

more a case of where rather than why/how? i.e. a higher elevation like Mt Everest?

adrian ss wrote:If it takes 70,000 volts electrical pressure to jump an air gap of one inch directly to ground and my Tesla coil will jump an air gap directly to ground of 3 inches and no further.
Why/ how can it discharge to open air over a distance of 11 inches?

The recipe for calculating voltage = the air gap length in centimeters times 30,000 (30 kV/cm)

Some of my plasma discharge devices start at 35,000 volts but can generate electrical 'streamers' that are over 2 feet long because they are in a vacuum with conductive gasses inside. The lower the pressure, the longer the discharge.  Different research-grade gasses produce different colors and the different frequencies of voltage produce different effects in the electrical streamers and filaments. I seem to remember that the only gas that allowed lengthy discharges at normal air pressure was Argon, which is pretty cheap.  In theory, whilst you couldn't be able to breathe in the room, you could fill it with argon gas and create large discharges in the air with it.



Generating a 2 inch air discharge in my loungeroom... which eliminated television reception in a significant part of my street for several seconds every time I did it.  
I was very fortunate that my camera was not any closer to the probes. This is a single exposure.

The worlds largest Tesla coil is called 'The Electrum Project' in New Zealand. It is said to produce 12 Meter arc filaments and consumes 130,000 Watts when operating.

For anyone visiting the Scitech museum in Western Australia, I supplied the large plasma sphere on public display there.  It's 24 inches across and runs at around 15,000-20,000 volts.  It contains a unique gas mixture of neon, argon, xenon and iodine - that can in theory last for many decades or even centuries without breaking down.  

I've been tempted to build a tesla-coil over the years but they can be so incredibly loud that I can't really use them in a residential environment without my wife wanting to put a boot into my posterior.

This beast can punch out 60 foot discharges.
https://museumofdiscovery.org/see-worlds-largest-tesla-coil-shoot-60-foot-bolts-of-lightning-at-shock-the-rock/

does extra moisture/humidity in the air help with spark conductivity?


cheers   moredeep

Yes; although a spark (visible one) cannot form in a total vacuum. Some molecules are required that can be ionised.

Pics taken with the P900.

Discharge direct to ground.


Discharge to air.


Snapped this one before it reached its full length.....Always was pretty fast


This is how long it would have reached.


Not too bad for a tiny tesla. That is a 12 inch spark from a 4 x 5 inch secondary.
This one is proving to be much more efficient than the previous kit that self destructed

nero_design wrote:

adrian ss wrote:If it takes 70,000 volts electrical pressure to jump an air gap of one inch directly to ground and my Tesla coil will jump an air gap directly to ground of 3 inches and no further.
Why/ how can it discharge to open air over a distance of 11 inches?

The recipe for calculating voltage = the air gap length in centimeters times 30,000 (30 kV/cm)

Some of my plasma discharge devices start at 35,000 volts but can generate electrical 'streamers' that are over 2 feet long because they are in a vacuum with conductive gasses inside. The lower the pressure, the longer the discharge.  Different research-grade gasses produce different colors and the different frequencies of voltage produce different effects in the electrical streamers and filaments. I seem to remember that the only gas that allowed lengthy discharges at normal air pressure was Argon, which is pretty cheap.  In theory, whilst you couldn't be able to breathe in the room, you could fill it with argon gas and create large discharges in the air with it.



Generating a 2 inch air discharge in my loungeroom... which eliminated television reception in a significant part of my street for several seconds every time I did it.  
I was very fortunate that my camera was not any closer to the probes. This is a single exposure.

The worlds largest Tesla coil is called 'The Electrum Project' in New Zealand. It is said to produce 12 Meter arc filaments and consumes 130,000 Watts when operating.

For anyone visiting the Scitech museum in Western Australia, I supplied the large plasma sphere on public display there.  It's 24 inches across and runs at around 15,000-20,000 volts.  It contains a unique gas mixture of neon, argon, xenon and iodine - that can in theory last for many decades or even centuries without breaking down.  

I've been tempted to build a tesla-coil over the years but they can be so incredibly loud that I can't really use them in a residential environment without my wife wanting to put a boot into my posterior.

Yeah Nero they can be loud. The one I built at age 18 dished out approx 300,000 volts and the spark gap plus the top load discharge left my ears ringing.
The tiny Tesla in my other pics is a non spark gap type but still produces quite a crackle.

I have my eye on a little ripper that can produce 5 foot discharges. but like you, my wife is not all that keen on the idea....I think mainly because even the littlun stuffs up the tele and there is no way I can turn it on when NCIS is running.

If you don't want to build your own then this mob build very reliable Tesla's
https://www.amazing1.com/

I have two kits here. My wife purchased them as a birthday gift for our son-in-law. The pictures showed a completed item putting out a discharge. What arrived was a few parts and coils with no instructions except the markings on the circuit board.

Funny how these discharges go where they should not go.
This one decided my hand was better than the earth grounding plate.
Close to a 14 inch discharge spike.

Finally got the blown up Tesla going again. Sure made a mess of the driver cct.
Mosfets annihilated themselves and several tracks on the board had vaporised and three solder pads had separated from the board and lots of flash burn carbon dust everywhere.
Seems to be running ok and not blowing fuses any-more. Fingers crossed.


I think I am obsessed with elec sparks.

Good repair job Adrian - that's a lot of things gone wrong, especially disappearing tracks (just like some of my trips back to the car actually), picture reminds me of a low tech version from the 70's, I think it was called a fiber light fountain except it would spin slowly instead of flashing and sparking

Speaking of Riddle me this Batman.
Some humour.
https://www.facebook.com/CollegeHumor/videos/1256275671376356/

I cannot access facebook stuff. Don't have an account.