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ions
>> Thank you Richard for your reply, but I don't understand the ion cloud part.
>> I was not aware that there was an ion cloud. I can understand that there
>> will be an ion cloud around a discharge terminal for DC, but why is there
>> one for AC. A gas molicule
Atoms can be ionized as well.
>>will be ionized, only to be de-ionized by the opposite half for the AC cycle
Maybe. More likely the electron will have drifted off into the
distance (atomic scale distance). electrons are smaller and move
faster. either repelled by or attracted to the terminal, depending
on the instataneous polarity.
IF the ion manages to neutralize, then, on the next half cycle, it will
get ionized AGAIN 'in the other polarity' (That last is not rigorous.
But the ionization process can take place with either polarity....)
>>before the molicule has a chance to move away from the terminal.
>> Perhaps I have answered my own question here. As frequency increases the
>> ion cloud shrinks and becomes more consentrated and is visable as crona.
And ion cloud, per se, is invisible, unless looked for with instruments,
or it gets pretty 'energetic'.
>An ion cloud will always exist around any electrically discharging
>device.
I would expect an ion cloud around ANY terminal AT A HIGH ENOUGH
VOLTAGE, whether it is discharing or not. The opening stages are
somewhat easy to miss, as the ions are invisible....
(It is a pet theory of mine that the complexities of upper terminal
design arise from the fact that there is a real, physical, visible,
terminal and an INVISIBLE terminal, formed of the ion cloud around the
physical terminal. Like all pet theories, this may be rot.... An
analagous case occurs in supersonic a/c design, where, to some extent,
the a/c physical fuselage is mearly a 'former' for the shockwave
that ACTUALLY does the flying. but i digress...)
regards
dwp