Re: "real" lightning and TC lightning...

["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>

> Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<Beans45601-at-aol-dot-com>
 
> I was just wondering, what is the difference between "real"

> lightning and (the average)TC Lightning discharge

	There is a lot unknown about natural lighting.
	Power level is higher.
	Natural lighting is lower rep rate.
	(it is NOT single shot, tho it looks that way to
	the human eye:
		It advances, stepwise
	and
		It CAN have successive shots thru the same
		channel.)
	Freq ranges are similar, tho wave shapes are
	likely different.
	Lightning is way to complex to deal with, in detail
	here.

> (i.e. voltage, frequency, temp).

	'Standard' research lighting simulators tend to use
	other technologies (do they still use MARX generators?)
	as more controllable, and the high rep rate inherent
	in (most) Tesla Coil operations is atypical of
	lightning.

> Also, are the discharges from a TC plasma?

	Yes.  So is the spark gap, where present.

> If so, what are the characteristics of plasma?

	Thats ANOTHER whole book.  8)>>
	Roughly:
	Plasma is a 'gaseous' state (some call it a fourth state,
	beyond solid/liquid/gas) where the atoms are more or
	less ionized: that is: the electrons are more or less
	freed from their atoms and move independently within
	the plasma.

	'more or less' because plasma comes in a range of sorts,
	basically from 'hotter' to 'cooler'.  Hotter has many
	electrons stripped, cooler has only one or so per atom
	stripped.

	A common flame (any flame: candle, match ...) is a sort
	of plasma.  Plasma, due to the free electrons, is
	conductive.  It can be loosely called 'a conductive gas'
	but there is more to it than that.

	best
	dwp

...the net of a million lies...
	Vernor Vinge
There are Many Web Sites which Say Many Things.
	-me