Re: Why does this neon flicker?

From: John Fields (jfields_at_austininstruments.com)
Date: 09/25/04 

Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 15:10:34 -0500

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 18:08:11 GMT, "CWatters"
<colin.watters@pandoraBOX.be> wrote:

>
>"John Fields" <jfields@austininstruments.com> wrote in message
>news:lpe8l052ahuddkv5t3lk32urdju1aptten@4ax.com...
>> As far as the answer to your question goes, heat generated by the neon
>> plasma rises, reducing the ionization potential in the 'hot patch',
>> causing the plasma to follow the convection currents until it rises
>> high enough above the peaks of the electrodes that the ionization
>> potential gets to be too high to maintain the arc. When that happens
>> the plasma will quench and a new one will start at the base of the
>> electrodes, which are probably closer to each other than the tips, a
>> la Jacob's Ladder.
>
>or horn gap. 

---
Yes, except that a horn gap is designed to quench a surge and keep an
arc from being re-initiated, while the gap at the bottom of a Jacob's
ladder is designed to _assure_ the initiation of an arc when the
previous one gets quenched.
-- 
John Fields

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