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Re: Arcs in designer colors

At 10:25 PM 10/20/96 -0600, you wrote:
>>From kdc4n-at-cs.virginia.eduSun Oct 20 22:17:17 1996
>Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 21:38:21 -0400 (EDT)
>From: "Kevin D. Christiansen" <kdc4n-at-cs.virginia.edu>
>To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>Subject: Arcs in designer colors
>
>
>Hello all!
>
>After seeing the neat xenon, etc. discharge tubes that were
>demonstrated at the Tesla-thon, I have been experimenting with
>high voltage discharges through various gasses to see what colors
>and effects I could generate, given the gasses that I can synthesize
>or obtain with household ingredients.  (Oooohh neet-o!  High voltage
>arcs in designer colors!)
>
>Gasses that I have tried so far include:
>nitrogen, oxygen, acetone vapor, ammonia, wintergreen oil (methyl
>salycylate), chlorine, propane, the vapors from rubber cement,
>the vapors from PVC pipe cement, hydrochloric acid vapors,
>hydrogen, paint thinner vapors, carbon dioxide, acetic acid vapors,
>isopropanol alcohol vapors, and denatured (ethyl) alcohol vapors.
>These have given me various purples, blues, and dim whites (with
>a pretty green from the acetone vapors).
>
>Unfortunately, I have run out of things that I can try (that I
>can generate easily from "household" or easily-available 
>products).  I would love to experiment with neon, argon, krypton,
>and xenon, but I can't figure out any easy ways of obtaining
>these gasses.  Does anybody know of any cheap ways of obtaining/
>synthesising these gasses?  (What's in incandescent and flourescent
>lights?  Perhaps I could suck the gas out of them...)
>
>I do know that the local welding shop can order "research gasses",
>but I don't need a whole cylendar full - I just need a balloon
>full.  Besides, those cylendars are *expensive*!
>
>Any help or suggestions would be appreciated (and I will post
>any interesting results to the newsgroup).
>
>Thanks!
>
>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>                     Kevin D Christiansen
>      User Interface Group - The University of Virginia
>              "The best VR that pizza can buy" 
>   kevin-at-virginia.edu    http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~kdc4n/
>
>"The universe is composed of space, galaxies, and intergalactic
> dust.  Galaxies themselves are composed of space, stars, and
>interstellar dust.  From the omnipresence of dust, we conclude
>that nature abhors a vacuum and won't pick up a broom, either."
>-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
Research gases are obtainable in "lecture bottles" (real small cylinders or
spheres) from scientific supply houses.  Unfortunately, some will not accept
orders from individuals.  You have to pay for the cylinders, but they should
be returnable.  The spheres, which are lighter and hold less gas, I believe
are disposable.  Perhaps the Society for Amateur Scientists (talk-at-sas-dot-org ot
http://www.thesphere-dot-com/SAS/) could steer you to a source.

Norm