Re: vdg pinwheel

[John Denker <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

At 07:43 AM 5/19/00 -0400, Chuck Britton apparently forwarded a note from
Steven K. Wonnell:
>
> Our conclusion was that the strong and *non-uniform* electric field near
> the sharply curved conductive surface caused the air molecules to break
> apart;  by momentum conservation & the 3rd law, this caused the vdg
> pinwheel to whirl (regardless of polarity), with a flow of charged
> particles in the opposite direction.  The charged particles, in
> this model, are not originating from the point, but from the "explosion"
> in the air when the air molecules break down.


That leads to interesting hypotheses about what happens if you repeat the
experiment in a noble-gas atmosphere.  Obviously you can't make additional
moles of noble gas by using electricity to break up molecules, in marked
contrast to air.  Cross-check He/Ne/Ar to be sure you aren't fooled by
differences in ionization energy.

If you want to read the literature on the subject, there are some
interesting papers by a fellow named Geiger....