dbell@cup.portal.com (David J Bell) (12/30/90)
Sounds like you're on the right track: When you push the button, it could dump a charge through a cap to the center electrode, which has a shorter gap to the return electrode. This would provide the initial burst of ionized air to allow the arc to continue. Once the arc "blew out" at the top, it couldn't restart by itself. If the switch in question transferred the charged capacitor to the initiator electrode, isolating it from the source, you would get the one-shot effect you describe... Dave dbell@cup.portal.com