2  Theory

2.1  Gas Discharge

The term "gas discharge" has its origin in how a spark can be produced [Raizer1991]: A loaded capacitor is discharged through a gas-filled or vacuum gap. When the voltage across the gap is high enough, an ionised (plasma-) channel is built up and a current flows until the voltage across the gap is too low to maintain a stabile arc. It is common to use the word "discharge", although the source of energy for the ionisation and its stabilisation is not necessarily a capacitor.

In most electronic and electrical applications, arcing is a problem to be avoided. Most critical are dc - circuits with high voltage levels. A dc arc may burn a long time without blowing fuses and cause fatal damage. It does not extinguish itself like an ac - arc because there is no zero-crossing of the voltage to self extinguish.

In this project it is intended to generate a long spark, stabilised without a power consuming resistor or a large current limiting inductor.

 

This page is part of a Frameset: Electrodynamic Sculpture: A Thesis by Rafael Bräg.