Keith ,
Interesting experiment with the Hg arc. (Fred isn't too happy with the results, so he probably wants to see the full 800 amps through there)
Do you have a G-M or other type of radiation monitor?
It would be interesting to know if there was any small amount of induced radioactivity in the Hg from the large amounts of current flowing through it, possibly due to activation one of the relatively unstable isotopes (or "electronium"). There should not be any change before vs. after, of course - but is there?
203 Hg is often used as a manufactured tracer, but there is a tiny amount of radioactivity in some natural ores which simply shouldn't be there, due to the short half-life.
Jones
