On Wed, May 26, 2004 at 11:27:51PM +0000, jpero_at_sympatico.ca wrote:
> At science museum once saw a very tickish student girl walk off lexan
> platform by the big sphere HV generator depsite tech's warnings as
> she stepped off a looong 2 feet long arc hit her but she only did
> make short yelp without jerking or jump. Wow but I wondered why she
> didn't "bounce" or jerk or fling a arm or leg when HV hit her when
> her muscles spasmed. That 2 feet long HV arc must be really packing
> of power. :-O
I used to play with those on a regular basis, at COSI, the Science Museum
in Columbus. Ours was surplussed from Oak Ridge, to read the plate at
the bottom. In winter, we could reliably get 8" hot blue sparks, or 3'
wispy sparks. Discharging the ball with your forearm really makes your
fingers jump. Big fun!
My own Van De Graff generator is much smaller, table-top sized, and has
difficulty with 2" sparks in the winter. :-(
-ethan
--
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 27-May-2004 03:30 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -79.0 F (-61.8 C) Windchill -117 F (-82.8 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 10.4 kts Grid 032 Barometer 681.1 mb (10583. ft)
Ethan.Dicks_at_amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html
Received on Wed May 26 2004 - 22:40:48 BST