Re: starship-design: plasma sources

["Curtis L. Manges" <clmanges@worldnet.att.net>]

A couple more notes on this, esoteric, perhaps useful, perhaps not: (1)
flames do respond to electrical signals. At least as early as the 1960's,
there have been designs for loudspeakers which substituted a gas flame for
the coil and diaphragm of a typical loudspeaker; they required an additional
special amplifier and featured a pair of non-consumable electrodes
positioned in the flame. (2) RF transmitters can be quite simple in design,
and easy to build. I don't think you need much sophistication for this
experiment; just make sure the output either stays contained or meets FCC
regs.

Curtis

"N. Lindberg" wrote:

> On Thu, 19 Aug 1999, Paul-V Khuong wrote:
>
> > Kevin Houston <Kevin@urly-bird.com> wrote:
> > > I tried the microwave method, and it's pretty cool,
> > > but I worry that it may
> > > damage my 'wave.  Isn't a plasma not very different
> > > from a piece of tinfoil
> > > in this respect?
> > Yeah... Good Question!
> > Especially when you live at your parent's place 8)
> > > At 09:48 AM 8/19/99 -0700, N. Lindberg wrote:
> > > >Fred,
> > > >   I'm no expert on plasma physics, but here are some
> > > ways that
> > > >immediately spring to mind:
> > > >   1) Spark gap + RF heating of the air.  Plasmas
> > > couple very well to
> > > >RF, and most of the energy gets turned into heat.
> > > >   2)High temp combustion + RF.  Sometime, bend a
> > > toothpick so that
> > > >it stands with one end pointing up, light that end,
> > > and put it in your
> > > >microwave. I think they're kind of pretty.  Also,
> > > the Oxy-Acetylene
> > > >reaction is the hottest type of combustion I know
> > > of, at a few thousand
> > > >degrees,  Kind of dangerous stuff though.
>
> Paul,
>         I'm not really sure if Oxy-Acetylene is a plasma by any strict
> definition. However, there is electron transfer occuring, and I wouldn't
> be surprised if the part of the flame where actual combustion occurs
> reacts to RF just like the toothpick.  Maybe try making a coil attatched
> to a transmitter and turn on the torch.
> Nels
>
> > Oxy-Acetylene is plasma???
> > Well, anyway, how energetic has the RF to be??(It'd be a cool
> > project... make your own plasma for less than 15 bucks(±))
> > And, how can you make the needed RFs(except than with a microwave 8)?
> > ===
> > Vive le Québec libre... dé souverainistes!!!
> >
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