El-14 Saint Elmo's Fire
Published: Tuesday 14 March 2006 - Updated: Thursday 19 April 2007
Aim
To demonstrate the phenonemon of Saint Elmos Fire.
Apparatus
- Backing Pump
- Bell Jar and stand
- Tesla coil
- Model airplane (metal)
- VideoFlex camera
Diagrams
Click on pictures to enlarge.
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Description
Saint Elmos Fire is associated with the glow discharge from sailing ships (Moby Dick). In this demonstration a model plane is placed in an evacuation chamber and attached to a Tesla coil. The discharge is observed as the vacuum is increased. The attached pictures show the discharge as it changes from essentially streamers originating from the wing tips and other point objects to a continuous glow as the vacuum proceeds