RE: Pink Plasma

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Lau, Gary by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Gary.Lau-at-compaq-dot-com>

>Original poster: "M.D. Ames by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<DLAMES3-at-msn-dot-com>
>
>Cool pictures !!!
>The air & moisture mixture in your jar is probably breaking down into
>nitrogen/oxygen & hydrogen = a very flammable mixture. Have you tried
>looking at the discharge in the jar thru either a prism or a
diffraction
>grating to see what the different colored wavelengths are, probably
more red
>& violet  (from the released 02)
>Interesting :)
>
>Regards,
>Daniel Ames

I doubt that the water is being broken down to any kind of flammable
mixture, as I would think the streamers would recombine any flammable
components far faster than they would be generated.  I didn't try to
analyze the light, I just like it!


>Original poster: "Metlicka Marc by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <mystuffs-at-orwell-dot-net>
>Well i like it and i think i will be trying it out as soon as i get a
coil setup again (too many projects going at once here?) Did you boil it
until all water was gone before >capping?  I wonder if a smaller type
coil system could be remote run with a transmission lead extending to
the jar? It would be neet to just see the jar full of pink >plasma
seemingly coming from nowhere.  Or maybe rig up a electrode ball inside
the jar using balled up copper pot scrubber attached to a rod coming
from the lid, >This would be like a pink plasma globe being driven by a
tc, real cool. Would the addition of, say, ammonia to the water give
different colors? Or concentrated salt >water on a Q-tip to write out
"happy new year" or something on the inside of the jar? (I'm just ramble
thinking now)
>Take care,
>Marc M.

I left about 1/2" of water in the jar (didn't want the microwave to be
running with no load), and I wanted the jar to be out-gassing water
vapor as I capped it.  I'm guessing that the pink streamers have to be
just that, streamers, as opposed to a solid glowing mass filling the
jar, at least with reasonable power levels.  I've wondered about things
to add that might impart other colors, but most things I thought of
would either stink (ammonia) or are flammable.  Things like salt aren't
effective unless they are vaporized by high temperatures.

Gary Lau
MA, USA