commgrp@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (02/07/90)
Daniel Mahler writes: > I'm doing some stage/technical direction for a play in a few months, >and the script calls for a God-like character to come in hurling bolts of >lightning. Can anyone suggest a way of doing this (the lightning) so that >it at least LOOKS genuine? Hot damn (so to speak)! They never did neat stuff like that in my parents' church! Hypothetical SF scenario: The Roman Empire had electricity; J.C. was electrocuted instead of crucified. Centuries later, the Church has a monopoly on electricity, which is shrouded in mystery and used to awe congregations... Communion consists of holding hands and grabbing a charged capacitor (extra-big charge conveniently eliminates heretics)... Dissenting monk discovers electrons, is persecuted for being unholey... (See also _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ by Walter M. Miller.) But I digress. Most, possibly all, flashbulb manufacturers have ceased production; "photon torpedoes" are increasingly rare. I once built a 1000 watt-second strobe light for the Indiana University opera department, presumably to be used in Wagnerian performances. It was also used for large-area photography at night, e.g., football games. The capacitors weighed about 100 pounds. Try stringing a very fine wire in the intended path of the lightning bolt, zigzag a couple of times. At the appropriate moment, connect it to 115VAC and fire a strobe simultaneously. (Experiment first, preferably outdoors!) Try stuffing a 115V lightbulb socket with steel wool for that _Seaview_ effect. (Caution: dangerous flying particles.) Test flash-powder elsewhere before using it in a performance; the only time I used it for a (non-church) stage effect, it filled the auditorium with sulfurous smoke which persisted for hours and annoyed subsequent occupants. A perhaps more acceptable substance would be flash paper, available from suppliers of magicians' equipment. It can probably be ignited with a hot wire. _Popular Electronics_ magazine in its original incarnation (late '50s) had a "Carl and Jerry" story where C&J were asked to create special effects to enhance a sword fight in the highschool play. They connected the (well insulated) swords to a neon-sign transformer. (Guess that dates me, huh :-) -- Frank Reid W9MKV @ K9IU reid@ucs.indiana.edu
johnd@sco.COM (John DuBois) (02/08/90)
In article <7200050@silver> commgrp@silver.ucs.indiana.edu writes:
...
+Try stringing a very fine wire in the intended path of the lightning
+bolt, zigzag a couple of times. At the appropriate moment,
+connect it to 115VAC and fire a strobe simultaneously.
+(Experiment first, preferably outdoors!)
Use iron wire rather than copper for the best brilliance.
+
+Test flash-powder elsewhere before using it in a performance;
+the only time I used it for a (non-church) stage effect, it
+filled the auditorium with sulfurous smoke which persisted for
+hours and annoyed subsequent occupants.
+--
Special effects flash powder (the type sold at trick shops) usually does
not contain any sulfur, just potassium perchlorate and powdered aluminum/
magnesium. It has fairly non-irritating smoke. Sulfur-containing flash powder
is mainly used for explosives (firecrackers, etc.)
+
+Frank Reid W9MKV @ K9IU reid@ucs.indiana.edu
John DuBois
johnd@sco.com
spcecdt@ucscb.ucsc.edu