Re: Addendum-DC Tesla

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Addendum-DC Tesla
From: Richard Hull <hullr-at-whitlock-dot-com>
Date: Mon, 05 Aug 1996 10:34:50 -0700
Tesla List wrote:
> 
> >From MALCOLM-at-directorate.wnp.ac.nzFri Aug  2 22:53:03 1996
> Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 17:41:01 +1200
> From: Malcolm Watts <MALCOLM-at-directorate.wnp.ac.nz>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re: Addendum-DC Tesla
> 
> Richard,
>          I have noted an interesting phenomenon that might be
> related to the field emission rectification......
> 
> <v. big snip>
> > In the strictest sense, I am putting in AC (wall outlet) and getting DC
> > and thus rectification is taking place, but not as it is currently dealt
> > with at the base level of undestanding.  Nothing magic here... just an
> > interesting phenomenon to investigate.
> 
> On a small coil setup operated single shot (as much for safety as
> anything else), I've found some rectification going on (at least
> that's how it seems). If you hold a metal rod (insulated shoes)
> near enough to the terminal to attract a fat stream of whiskers that
> end in a point at the screwdriver, you can get very definite and
> heavy jolts (definitely not AC). Holding the rod close enough to
> attract a single bright discharge channel kills this effect
> completely (not all the time but mostly). This sounds a bit like your
> experiment with the Maxwell cap. I'd be very surprised if this didn't
> charge an isolated capacitance to very high voltages.
> 
> For what it's worth,
> Malcolm


Malcolm,

This effect can also be noted with a small running coil system.  You are 
the isolated capacity.  as you approch the coil with a wrench, or other 
metal object, as you reach out and fuzz emmits from the terminal of the 
coil, a number of hard pulsed jolts are felt.  I am sure this is DC 
pulsing related to the rep rate of the gap.  Naturlly, if you rush in and 
let the white arcs play to the wrench, you feel nothing.  Don't try this 
with big coils, naturally.

I have every confidence that you are right and that the energy is no more 
powerful (read dangerous) than it is, due to the load a person offers 
both resistively and capacitively to a small coil.  Still it is 
un-nerving!

Richard Hull, TCBOR