Re: theory(?) for long sparks

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: theory(?) for long sparks
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 19:00:26 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

From: 	Greg Leyh[SMTP:lod-at-pacbell-dot-net]
Sent: 	Thursday, December 04, 1997 4:02 AM
To: 	Tesla List
Subject: 	Re: theory(?) for long sparks

Edward V. Phillips wrote:

> "That truly amazing 100+ meter spark in Bazelyan was produced by a
> relatively low 5MV but with a rise time in the hundreds of microseconds and
> a fall time in the tens of milliseconds."
>         Is there any verification that that report is true?
> By the way, someone published some stuff here a while back about
> initiating the spark by discharging a capacitor bank into a
> very fine wire, which vaporized and formed a conducting channel
> along which current flowed.  Seems to me that would be very
> easy to do, taking only the wire which could be strung very
> easily.

The pic in 'Spark Discharges' by Bazalyan does not appear to resemble
an exploding wire, as it meanders quite a bit, almost doubling back 
on itself at some points.  In the exploding wire shots I've done
(up to 50 ft range) the discharge closely follows the trajectory of
the wire (usually a straight line).

-GL