mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) (02/11/90)
I once conducted an interesting series of experiments with the chassis from a TV set. This is very dangerous so don't do it, but if you must, you can remove the picture tube from the circuit and it will still generate high voltage, but you must leave the deflection yolk connected, because the horizontal sweep circuit is also used to drive the primary of the flyback. I made a crude Jacob's ladder with some bent pieces of welding rod. It worked okay most of the time, but sometimes the arc would get stuck at the bottom of the electrodes, and then burn through one of them. Watch out for falling electrodes! I also would attach various things to the flyback and study the effects of arcing to them. I could draw about three inches of purple-violet arc with a ground lead held in a pair of plastic tongs used for developing photographic prints. Aluminum was interesting. The point where the arc hit the aluminum would emit bright white light. This was probably because the arc was burning the aluminum. Glass was also interesting. Glass conducts electricity when you get it hot. I would draw the arc along the glass until it conducted, then arc directly to the glass. Once it got hot enough, I could pull it like taffy. An LED produced an unexpected result. I could arc to one of the leads, and the LED would emit its normal red glow. Apparently it acted as its own voltage regulator, because this didn't hurt the LED until the heat from the arc started to melt it. I was doing this on the floor of my room, which was wooden with a synthetic carpet. I stopped doing these experiments when I made the chance discovery I could arc directly to the carpet (the metal chassis was sitting on the carpet). Oops, it looks like the carpet conducts electricity! (Maybe they add something to the fiber so that people don't get shocks when they walk across the carpet, then touch something metal?)