From Steve_Crawshaw_at_erith6@supertension.comSat Aug 19 21:51:53 1995 Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 06:35:18 -0600 From: Steve_Crawshaw_at_erith6@supertension.com Reply to: usa-tesla@usa.net To: billbeskimo.com Subject: reply to glowing pickles OK. Tricks to do with TC's 1) get perspex sheet, luminous powder or paint, silicone sealant and iron or copper filings 2) if you have paint, paint the perspex in the luminous paint (quite a thick layer) 3) if you have powder, mix the powder with the clear silicone sealant until the paste is homogenous 4) when the paste is mixed, spread evenly onto the perspex sheet 5) while the paste (or paint) is still wet / uncured, sprinkle iron or copper filings onto the sheet and press gently to embed them into the paste / paint 6) allow this to dry (24 hrs) this sheet can then be held close to the TC terminal. Sparks and streamers will jump onto the sheet and track across the iron filings for a much longer distance than in air. The luminous paint will have the effect of creating "trails" of ghost streamers, as the paint stores the energy of the sparks and re-emits a short time later. To top it off, lay the sheet flat and have some dry ice with a beaker of water suspended over it so that the smoke drifts over the surface of the sheet while the sparks are tracking. If you really want this to look good take a dose of LSD about 1 hour beforehand (only joking) or am I ? On the same tip as plasma globes, has anyone tried using large thermionic valves? These are filled with some quite exotic gases sometimes and can give some very beautiful effects. Unfortunately when I tried it, they did not last too long :-( maybe they're not designed for >100kv. Another good trick is to get a phonecard (UK) and hold it near the output terminal (not close enough to spark) and look at the silver lines that run across the card. you can see small but definite sparking between these lines. This is probably due to the card acting as a tuned circuit?? Have fun! Steve Crawshaw