On Jun 27, 2007, at 3:10 AM, Michel Jullian wrote:
Nice calculations Horace. They don't take into account the forces
exerted by the probably much more numerous -but more distant-
charges at the surface of the electrodes, which at some point when
the current tends to zero will dominate, but it seems likely that
this will not happen before the current gets down to pA levels.
There are also the effects of diffusion and cascading to consider,
random walk.
Also, I think there is a lot of evidence water is in the threads:
"The "threads" can survive in a zero-field region. I made a crude
"thread gun" and passed a thread through an accelerator ring composed
of an aluminum bundt pan. I didn't expect this to work, since the
hole in the pain is shielded and relatively field-free. Yet the
thread did come out the other side. Once I've set up a thread-
emitter, I find that I can cup my hands very closely around the path
of the invisible thread, yet this does not eliminate the furrow in
the fog. Evidentally the threads either have enough inertia to
survive the zero-field regions temporarily, and to traverse several
inches of zero-field space... or they need no fields at all once they
have been created. Their behavior is not simply that of ionized wind.
They act WEIRD! "
"At the tip of the fiber I could see streams of mist moving inwards
in 3D from all directions, as if the tip of the fiber was the mouth
of a tiny suction hose (like gasses surrounding a black hole!)"
"I can see a tiny time-delay when I wiggle a long fingertip-thread,
so the speed of the effect might be around 10mph or so, not
instantaneous "
http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/airexp.html
Now are we sure that the current of those airthreads is really
several nA?
Yes, this is indeed in doubt. The best evidence to date:
"I connected a microamp meter in series with the plate. It indicated
zero. When I let the other HV wire create one furrow in the mist, the
meter indicated zero UA. When I brought the cable close, so there
were maybe 50 to 70 furrows being drawn along the mist, the meter
started flickering, indicating approx. 0.5uA. These ion-streams, if
that's what they are, are each delivering an electric current in the
range of 10 nanoamperes or less. Jeeze. No wonder nobody ever notices
them."
http://amasci.com/weird/unusual/airexp.html
Unfortunately I can't follow on on this. I'm hot on the trail of
something important and exciting, hopefully the final step in a 9
year quest and collaboration. Ahhhh... yes, that (borderline
delusional) warm pre-experimental glow...
Regards,
Horace Heffner
