Horace Heffner wrote: Why would you think heat conduction would be involved in a chain reaction??
Technically it is not a chain reaction, but rather positive feedback. As I said before, as far as I know, the only way one spot on a cathode can trigger a reaction elsewhere on the same cathode is by raising the overall temperature. The reactions appear to be completely independent of one another. I base that on the patterns of heat shown in IR cameras. Also the damage and the autoradiographs. If a CF reaction in one spot could trigger others, the reaction would be more concentrated in one area rather than spread out in spots, and you would not see the IR camera image flickering back and forth all over the place like ordinary fireflies. It would look like synchronized fireflies (Photinus carolinus). - Jed
