Gray Tube Replication

[Ghst]

Here is a video of where I'm at. I made a capacitor from a roll of roof flashing. I cut two strips 4" wide and 6 feet long and wrapped each strip well with stretch wrap. then wound both strips around a cardboard tube core.In this video I have two microwave caps in parallel and have them hooked in series to the homemade cap. the rapid discharge lightening effect will only happen, with the homemade cap between the microwave caps and the LV diode on the LV. Now I'm going to try to capture the red worm that appears. the red worm may be inside or outside the tube, top or bottom or completely away from the tube.
YouTube - Rapid lightening strike 1
YouTube - Rapid lightening strike 2
You may have to view frame by frame in windows movie player.

[Ghst]

The rapid lightening strike firing of the tube is due to the homemade capacitor. I removed the two microwave caps from the circuit and I still get the effect. Also I have no inductor coil in the circuit (video). Now, when I place a inductor coil between the homemade cap and grid I still get rapid firing but no flash whatsoever. Just a bright arc (lightening strike) and you can still hear the cap discharging, but no flash. However, I took a meter reading from another cap that is hooked from the neutral grid to the battery positive, and I am now getting a varing voltage of 500 to 750 VDV. This is where I got a previous reading of 15 to 17 V. This may be due to the ignition coil's field collapsing. I gotta get another battery and try some charging.

[Aaron]

Rei's diagram

Rei,

The diagram you posted cannot work because you don't have a positive potential on the diode's anode. You need something like a battery where the battery (-) is connected to the cap's (-) and the battery positive is connected to the diode....then the HV will see path to ground.

But seeing the effect like a pressure wave is the best analogy in my opinion but you're showing the positive part of the pressure only.

[Electrotek]

Bobby Gray?

I don't know if there's any relationship, but I found a 1970 Air Force patent which deals with spark gaps and delay lines, 3644747, for a nanosecond pulse generator.

The circuit provides pulse time compression and increases the peak voltage by an amount which is proportional to the pulse width decrease. The delay time is determined by the formative time which is required for a spark gap to break down.

The patent says a number of sharpening spark gaps can also be used, to make the firing time more precise. (Similar to Ghst's nails.) Patent #4155017 has some good circuits for this. I don't see why TVS diodes can't be used. Conversely, the multi gap nails should be good for surge protection.

[Ghst]

Jumping wire

I set up a new configuration after noticing some very slight movement in the wire (from Grid to Capacitor), when I used a LV electrode with a round hoop on the end. So I configured the pins in a round circle, and the results were pretty dramatic. Aside from the fireworks in the jar, you can see the wire hopping and jumping and at times hovering above the floor. Can anyone tell me why a single uncoiled wire is doing this? Here is the video, enjoy.
YouTube - New lightening Jar

[Raui]

Ghst,
I have noticed this effect on wire the moment I turn my HV supply on. When the wire is lightish it will jump like that. My HV supply has since broke down but I would imagine that when I pulse it it would look like that. I liken it to when you put quickly release your hand off the trigger of a high pressure hose, thats how I've always explained the effect.

[Ghst]

Ghst,
I have noticed this effect on wire the moment I turn my HV supply on. When the wire is lightish it will jump like that. My HV supply has since broke down but I would imagine that when I pulse it it would look like that. I liken it to when you put quickly release your hand off the trigger of a high pressure hose, thats how I've always explained the effect.

Hmm, Raui, do you think that that this effect is from releasing electrical pressure from the capacitor? Or from the high voltage energy trying to enter the capacitor from the caps own discharge through the tube? Either way your explanation is excellent.

[Ghst]

High voltage wallop

I think that I should mention this to help others avoid making my mistake. I have allways worked carefully with HV and have given it, its due respect. That said, I have diodes and other components with alligator clips attached to each end, to make adding and removing these components easy. And after a test setup yesterday, I cut ff the tube's drive and running power. With the microwave oven caps they would lose their stored energy after a few minutes then I would with one hand reach down and release the alligator clips. I have done this a million times and had grown accustomed to this ritual procedure, without the first hint of any HV shock. It was just routine, And I always used one hand. But small changes can change things dramatically. Did you notice my homemade capacitor in the video? Well that was one small change I had made, replacing the microwave caps with my homemade one. I even checked the homemade cap to make sure that the stored energy would bleed off. That was with the water filter tube setup. Now with this new circle designed vertical tube. The noticeable change is in the discharge itself. Its not a Plasma burst, but a electrical discharge resembling lightening. It doesn't take the cap long to charge as seen in the video. And It really doesn't look as dramatic as the large plasma bursts I had grown accustomed to seeing. So after shooting the video I decided to take the setup down. Now from my position, it was easier to reach the diodes alligator clip with my left hand. So I reached down and with my hand grabbed the squeezy to release the clip with my thumb and finger. with the diode basically cupped under the palm of my hand. I guess I must have touched the other side of the diode., Because the cap discharged, send a tremendous shock through my left hand. and causing my heart to palpitate madly.My elbow and shoulder are still aching from that blast. So guys don't let things get to routine. One small mistake can kill you.

[Raui]

Hmm, Raui, do you think that that this effect is from releasing electrical pressure from the capacitor? Or from the high voltage energy trying to enter the capacitor from the caps own discharge through the tube? Either way your explanation is excellent.

Well if it is the same effect as a high pressure hose (which is very probable) then the event occurs twice. Once when you turn it on and the other when you turn it off. They differ in magnitude from each other with the latter being the stronger of the two.

So that being said I believe its somewhat of an inertial effect. It also seems similar to what Tesla describes when dealing with radiant energy. The initial pulse's potential is many magnitudes higher than while the circuit is running. I could be wrong there. I would study the effect in more detail if I hadn't messed up my HV supply.

-Raui

[Ghst]

Capacitor discharge Collision

I have finally, after many configurations made two capacitor's discharge collide inside a tube setup. One cap is discharged directly off the ignition coil HV and one cap is charged after the multiple spark gap (from Grid). If you connect the two caps to the same LV electrode you will not get a collision. This is because the two caps are basically connected in series to each other and the LV electrode. So I added another electrode through the side of the jar. This is directed toward the main LV electrode. I also pointed the LV diode as shown in the Ed Grey patent. After some adjusting of the electrode gaps here are the results.
This is the predischarge, I haven't seen anything like this yet! Its a family reunion of baby white plasma worms.
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/6...ordischarg.jpg

This is the full discharge.
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/6...rdischargw.jpg

[Raui]

This is the predischarge, I haven't seen anything like this yet! Its a family reunion of baby white plasma worms.
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/6...ordischarg.jpg

This is the full discharge.
http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/6...rdischargw.jpg

This looks so amazing. Please be sure to try upload a video of this, it would be incredibly neat.

[Ghst]

Two capacitor discharge collision

Raui, here is the video of the two cap collision. Also note that the white worm nest is a post discharge, not a pre-discharge as I earlier stated. Also the electrode on the left side is not connected to anything at this time and is not used. The multiple spark gap makes it easy to experiment with and try out many different configurations.
YouTube - Combined capacitor Burst 1

[Reiyuki]

Are you triggering the event manually or is it a semi-random thing?

[Ghst]

I can trigger the discharges manually or as in this last video just let it build the capacitance in the Caps and and let it discharge own its own. I'm currently working on some HV coils from Microwave transformers. I'm re-dipping them in varnish and when they are fully cured I plan on using them in a crude but simple motor, that will be used to trigger the discharges. I must also acquire another battery. So I can fully test the recharge abilities of these discharges.

[Electrotek]

Ghst: I LIKE this one! This looks just like Tesla's Longitudinal Energy. Any ideas on how to quench the current, so that the predischarge is all you get? If this is the effect Gray was getting, it's no wonder he said he understood lightning. And it's no wonder he always kept the Tube hidden when the motor was running.