RE: Terry's Test - Two Manifestations of Charge

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Malcolm Watts" <m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hello Dave,

On 7 Jul 2005, at 18:16, Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "David Thomson" <dwt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi Malcolm,
>
>  >> The tube and plate are acting like a capacitor.
>  >> That makes sense.  But wouldn't the capacitor act as
>  >> a transformer and reduce the potential in order to
>  >> increase the  current?  In other words, the thinner spark
>  >> would be higher  potential, lower current.  The thicker and
>  >> brighter spark would  be lower potential, higher current.
>  >> The total power in each  spark would be the same, correct?
>  >
>  >
>  > All that I have learned through experimentation and
>  > measurement says a loud "no" to your last question. Spark
>  > brightness is dependent on current and spark channel
>  > resistance drops in a non-linear fashion as current increases
>  > which means you cannot treat power in a spark channel as you
>  > would in a (for want of a better term) linear resistance. The
>  > strike distance is a function of voltage in the situation you
>  > are looking at. If the distances for the two sparks are the
>  > same and one spark is brighter than the other, which would
>  > you say is dissipating the most power?
>
> You are asking me to prove a hypothesis with another hypothesis.

I am asking a question to which there is, in the absence of any
evidence to the contrary, an obvious answer. Rhetorical if you like.

> You mentioned that you have performed this type of experiment and made
> measurements in the past.  Could I trouble you to show the data and
> experiment parameters?

Terry has just done it with lightbulbs. I see little point in
repeating the exercise. I realize of course this is all completely
unsatisfactory to yourself so........

> It would be a shame to spend three years developing a new physics to
> quantify the phenomenon, and then not try to prove the theory right or
> wrong with real data.  Don't you think?  I need to remind you, I'm not
> asking you to prove or disprove my theory, I'm simply trying an
> experiment and asking for independent data.
>
> But just to set things right, the logic for my statement above is
> simple.  The capacitor is storing charge and then releasing it in
> larger, but less frequent breaks.   That's what a capacitor does. In
> my system of physics, increasing the capacitance also decreases the
> potential.

As long as the charge is held constant.....

> So what should I do?  Should I trust your logic and just walk
> away from my work, trust my logic and blindly state I'm correct,
> or acquire solid data and solve the problem?

Go ahead and acquire your data and draw your own conclusions. I
already have and have not found the need to introduce any further
concepts to the existing framework of physics in this particular
instance.

Malcolm