2009/6/21 <[email protected]>: > In reply to Michel Jullian's message of Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:33:26 +0200: > Hi, > [snip] >>PPS I still don't see how a plasma can support charge on its surface, >>anyone can enlighten me on this? > [snip] > That's the one thing that doesn't surprise me in the least. Surely, it just > acts > like any other conductor, with a slightly higher number of charges of one > polarity relative to charges of the other polarity (e.g. slightly more > electrons)?
But on a solid conductor, there is a lattice of nuclei to hold the excess electrons back. What is it that holds them back when they are in thin air, preventing them from flying spontaneously to the other plate? > The excess charge is balanced by a shortage on the opposite plate of > the capacitor. When the plasma is turned off, the excess charges attempt to > reach one another via the only path available to them, which is via ground, Assuming for a moment the plasma was actually holding excess electrons, why wouldn't they just fly to the inside of the glass envelope, which is of course positively charged, and remain stuck on that dielectric? This would result in a larger capacitor with the same charge, i.e. a drop in capacitor voltage. Michel > resulting in a high voltage on the external spherical capacitor, which now > has a > much smaller capacitance. (However I am lead to wonder why a bolt of > "lightning" > doesn't simply pass through the glass envelope as the voltage rises).
