Speed of Streamer formation

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

Original poster: "davep by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <davep-at-quik-dot-com>

Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>
 
> Tesla list wrote:

> > Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
> <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

> > > > But streamer formation takes place in *far* less time than the time
> > > > per cycle of oscillation.

> > >         That's not my experience here.  When I first power up a
> >> (relatively low power) coil the streamers sometimes appear to build
>>>up over a period which seems like a second or more.

> > Indeed.. but what you're seeing might be a large scale manifestation of
> > lots of small scale very fast things. Individual streamers/leaders/sparks
> > might grow and shrink on a microsecond time scale, but your visual response
> > is much slower, so what you perceive as gradually growing streamers might
> > very well be a succession of ever longer streamers that last a much shorter
> > time.
 
>    Could be, as I have no way of observing the effect, but I suspect that
> the streamers conduct along their whole length and, when enough power is
> present, eventually form nice hot arcs.  I notice that Tesla's first
> "wireless power" patent includes a statement to the effect that the
> streamers spread "gradually".

	I suggest that gradual growth of streamer length may be due
	to increasing number of ions present in the immediate
	vicinity.  Recombination (and air mixing) take a finite
	period of time...

	best
	dwp