Interesting, sounds like the work of Ron Kovacs up in Colorado. He
has been using glass bottles filled with various gases and mixes of
gases, then subjecting them to magnetic fields that produce the most
amazing patterns, kind of an ionized Chladni waveplate that would
normally produce patterns from sand on a vibrating table, except this
way he sees the 3D version instead of only the 2D...the same happens
with ferromagnetic fluids that allow sufficient cohesion to let the
stimulated pattern project upwards into the Z axis of 3
space...beautiful geometries and spiky flowers from this...but the
idea of using the plasma with such a basic system is neat. I don't
know if any of Ron Kovacs neat photos or diagrams are on the web at
this time. He had rented a building outside Denver and had research
space, with the idea of renting out sections of the building for other
researchers. I believe they could share certain equipment to minimize
their costs. Thanks for the input about the strobe...
---Ron wrote:
>
> From the sci.physics.plasma news group...ron
> Local Echo wrote:
> >
> > A few minutes ago, I modified a strobe light of my own design.
Basically, I
> > placed 2 100 ohm, 10W resistors between the discharge path of the
capacitors
> > and tube (U-shaped). The result was intermittent (about 2 seconds
off and .5
> > seconds on) arcs inside the tube. They were quite easly affected
by magnetic
> > fields. In one instance, I was able to twist the arc, almost into
a loop (by
> > placing a Radio Shack ceramic ring magnet perpendicular to the
horizontal
> > axis.). In another, I was able to widen the visible volume of
plasma by placing
> > the magnet parallel to the horizontal axis. (For all I know, the
plasma may be
> > spiraling very tightly.) When I flipped around the magnet and
added one on the
> > other side of the tube to where the magnets were attracting, the
opposite
> > happened and I could see plasma extending beyond the normal area
of the cathode
> > (Colliding with the glass floor where the electrode to the cathode
emerges. Is
> > it actually creating a jet of plasma? I know a little about
plasma, but it's
> > hard to find detailed information anywhere on the subject. Can
anyone explain
> > some of what's going on, and perhaps even refer me to a good site
on the
> > subject?
>
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