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Re: Flyback Transformers
Tesla List wrote:
>
> >From rwall-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-comSat Jun 8 21:55:30 1996
> Date: Sat, 8 Jun 1996 18:21:26 -0700
> From: Richard Wayne Wall <rwall-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Flyback Transformers
>
> >
>
> Two more related questions.
>
> 1. When I fire my coil with just the 1/4 inch bolt electrode on top,
> almost 100% of the streamers are directed up above the horizontal plane
> of the upper coil. With the toroid, still the majority of the
> streamers are directed above the horizontal plane. If the earth is one
> plate of this capacitor and the upper terminal is the other plate, why
> aren't the discharge sparks attracted between the two plates and the
> streamers directed downward?
>
> 2. When I decreased my primary voltage to about 40 v, my secondary
> sparks were about 3 - 4 inches. I intently observed the sparks from a
> couple of feet away. In addition to the regular streamers, I could
> observe small bright flashes above the corona. These same flashes can
> be observed in Richard Quick's video and in TCBOR videos (see the still
> frame shots). Electric Spacecraft Journal had an article a few
> editions back and the author felt they might be tiny ball lightning.
> What are these flashes?
>
> Thanks,
>
> RWW
RWW,
The streamers are not generally directed downward to ground due to the
field shaping around the coil. (somewhat spherical) This makes them tend
to arc in a large circular pattern to ground. If the power is great
enough, the convection currents from the heated air will force the spark
into longer circular arc towards ground or outward or even upward in some
cases.
I cannot speak to what you have observed with your eyes, but if you see
them on video, beware of noise artifacts. Video is loaded with them
naturally. They always show up as white balls in individual frames.
this can be tape noise, brush noise video dropout or a number of VCR
related problems. Add to this the fact you are filming in a very noisey
environment, and you are almost sure to pick up the white balls on video
around a running TC.
The key is to examine a number of consecutive frames. If the ball
persists and or moves in a reuglar motion then you may have something.
In all our years of work and hundreds of hours of video, I have never
indentified one single such structure which I felt could be conclusively
pointed to as a ball lightning.
Still photos are much better, but check to negative carefully to make
sure there is no printing fault.
Richard Hull, TCBOR
>