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Re: weird electrostatic effecti,

hi,
This ion idea has some potential problems:

1.) What keeps the ions for recombining with the
charge on the tape?
2.) On the pressurized tube idea, draw the field lines
in the tube. I think you will find that except at the ends
there is a constant potential inside so the field is zero.
As James McLean said, the neutral gas in the tube, interacts
with the charged ions enough so that the pressure does
not really increase. If enough ions could be poured into
the tube, these ions gain kinetic energy as they approach
the tube and thus slightly increase the temperature
inside the tube.
Thanks
roger haar

*********************************************
On Wed, 14 Aug 1996 jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu wrote:

William Beaty says:


Here's a strange thought: I wonder if the electrostatic repulsion effect
in the 3M factory was caused by a gradient in air pressure.

When tape peels from a spool, the tape becomes charged. The opposite
charge is deposited not on the spool, but instead as air ions. Think
about it. If you pull ten feet of tape off a spool, the tape is strongly
charged, but the small spool doesn't become hundreds of times more charged
than the large tape. The opposite charge is mostly ions.


+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
- - - ---- -- --- - - -
- - - - ------ --- - - - -
- -- - -- ----- ---- ---- - - - -
- - - ---- -- --- - - -
- - - - - ---- - --- - - -
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

IONIZED AIR IN A CHARGED PLASTIC TUBE BECOMES PRESSURIZED?


My sense is that the ions attracted to the tent area would not increase the
pressure. They would displace the uncharged molecules, rather than add to
them. If the pressure were to get higher, then the uncharged molecules
would leave, re-establishing the normal pressure.

--
--James McLean
jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu
post doc
UCSD