Experiments - Ramsey Electronics PG13 Instruction Manual

EXPERIMENTS:

Now here comes the fun part, playing with your new toy. You may be
surprised at how many cool things you can do with this, especially if you
search on the internet for high voltage. These experiments are only for you to
get started on. If you have some great ideas, share them with us on the
Ramsey Electronics bulletin board at http://www.ramseykits.com
WARNING! Be aware that arcs have plenty of heat and energy in a small
space. It is VERY easy to set things on fire, and burn yourself, or your
surroundings. Keep a fire extinguisher handy at all times!
Corona Leakage
A really simple experiment, but pretty neat. During normal operation of your
PG13 you will see no leakage (corona as indicated by a buzzing sound and a
blue glow), but now we're going to make some leakage occur on purpose.
What is currently preventing leakage is the ball on the top electrode. The ball,
because of its shape, prevents electrons from escaping easily into the air.
What if we use a point instead?
What you need:
•
Piece of silly putty, gum, or even tape.
•
A pin, all metal (no plastic pin heads allowed!)
1. Turn off the power
2. Affix the pin to the top electrode, so the pin point is facing upward.
Make sure it is mechanically sound.
3. Turn on the PG13 and turn off the lights.
You should be able to observe a bright blue spot of light right at the tip of the
pin. If you are in a really dark room, you may also see a bluish "flame" around
this brighter point. This is called corona, which sailors used to call St. Elmo's
Fire. Sailors used to see this on the tops of masts when out in the ocean,
typically near storms, but also in clear weather.
By the way, did you notice the Ozone smell yet? Ozone and Nitrous Oxide
are created by plasma discharges due to the chemical effects that plasma
creates in normal air. Ozone and Nitrous Oxide can be dangerous in quantity,
but the concentration here is very low.
Some tweaks you can make to this:
1. Dull the tip by soldering a bit of solder to the very end. This will de-
sharpen the point, and the flame type will change. Sometimes you can get
it just right and get a pretty good show of St. Elmo's Fire, and an
impressive buzzing sound.
2. Sharpen the tip. You should be able to see a brighter point on the end.
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PG13 32