There is no need to use imagination. Ken Sholders photographed the result of spark discharge near a metal surface. It shows the explosion of ions at and near the metal surface, the development of polaritons in a dark EV as a result of nano-particle condensation from the cooling plasma, and the current of electrons that precedes it.
see : http://www.svn.net/krscfs/Permittivity%20Transitions.pdf page 4, figure 5. You might want to read this paper by ken as a reference to this question. On Sun, Dec 22, 2013 at 4:19 PM, Eric Walker <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > I'm trying to get a better understanding of an interesting scenario that > maybe some people with relevant expertise can help to pin down. Suppose a > strong transient develops in a gap between two electrically isolated > surfaces of a metal (e.g., there is a spark discharge), and suppose there > is a good amount of hydrogen between the two surfaces. See: > > http://i.imgur.com/kxNzD6s.png > > As in a previous set of illustrations, the blue represents the electron > charge density. > > I understand that the following might happen over a brief period of time: > > - The hydrogen within the field of the transient will be ionized. > - The now-bare protons will move in direction of the current that is > formed. > - In proportion to the magnitude of the current, a confining magnetic > field will be set up along the axis of the current (a z-pinch). > - In proportion to the magnitude of the magnetic field of the z-pinch, > the protons (and the electrons) in the current will be constrained to the > single dimension of the axis of travel. > - The current of protons will quickly pile up within a defect on one > side of the gap formed between the two metal surfaces. > - Lattice sites along the walls of the defect will provide an obstacle > to the protons' escaping the pileup insofar as: > > - the force created by the proton pileup does not yet exceed the > binding energy that holds the lattice sites in place (in the range of > eV?); > - the inertia of the lattice sites in the walls of the defect is > sufficient remain relatively stationary for that brief period of time. > > Where I'm going with this is that if the proton current moves fast enough > and enters into the space of the defect in the metal wall, the inertia of > the lattice sites might be sufficient to compress the pile-on protons to > high degrees. Moreover, since there is a magnetic gradient that moves the > protons towards the axis of the current, the pile-on protons would be > focused towards a single point at the far end of the defect in the wall > rather than spreading out along the surface. > > The orders of magnitude are important to get right in these kinds of > thought experiments -- perhaps I've inappropriately mixed up phenomena that > would be occurring at widely different orders of magnitude in space and/or > time? (E.g., the size of the lattice spacing versus the compression needed > for a fusion, or the amount of time that the inertia of the lattice sites > would buy for compression of this kind.) > > Eric > >
