> One other item of weirdness that needs to be said. This spook inventor
> said he was using 22 or so gauge wire for his transformer coil, wound in
> a donut so that the donut was nearest the outer edges of the lower
> plate, where the field density would be greatest.
>
Hi Jerry & others,
Is there a clue in the above paragraph? I envision the ball moving as a
result of Fleming's rule. That is, if the donut is not toroidal wound, then
this transformer would produce a magnetic field with lines of force entering
one plate and exiting the other. With a magnetic field situated as such, a
voltage high enough to cause corona discharge from the top of the ball and
amperes sufficient to cause a small magnetic field in and around the ball,
would cause the ball to move as described. This is also reminiscent of
magnetohydrodynamics. As for why the ball does not fly off the plate from
centrifugal force, I would say that it is a combination of the electrostatic
field and the direction of the magnetic field lines near the outer edge,
which could be parallel with the plate depending on the size of the "donut"
transformer.
All the best,
James