Xref: utzoo rec.boats:4195 sci.physics:13791 sci.electronics:13143 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!usc!cs.utexas.edu!yale!umich!vela!amaranth From: amaranth@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Paul Amaranth) Newsgroups: rec.boats,sci.physics,sci.electronics Subject: Re: St Elmo's Fire (was Re: Lightning) Keywords: Induction, space charge, capacitance, point action Message-ID: <2253@vela.acs.oakland.edu> Date: 27 Jul 90 15:33:46 GMT References: <1990Jul18.111525.5749@ioe.lon.ac.uk> Reply-To: amaranth@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Paul Amaranth) Organization: Oakland University, Rochester MI Lines: 31 > Anyway of hooking up to this potential difference and drawing some > energy from it? :) There was an article in popular science quite a few years ago (20?, alright a LOT of years ago) about electrostatic motors that could be driven from ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the potential difference. The idea being you could use a helium balloon to get up to a potential of a few KV. Note these are not ordinary motors. It was a neat article, they had cars running on these things and everything. (Maybe they really had an anti-gravity device in there 8-). I have never seen one of these devices myself. I would think there would be a problem getting sufficient current to do useful work. Probably could make a toy motor run (Don't do it during a lightning storm!) Not to get off the track too much, but I had a lighting strike close (*VERY* close) to my house. I was lying in bed watching tv when the windows went white immediately followed by the BOOOM. After peeling myself off the ceiling (THATS the secret of anti-gravity ;-) I went to look at the damage: All my computer equipment was slagged (so much for surge protectors - they don't work at ground zero) as well as some audio equipment and my answering machine. My $5 digital clock survived unscathed. Despite intensive investigation, I never found an indication of where, exactly, it hit. -- Paul Amaranth office: (313) 370 4541 home: (313) 650 2428 (internet) amaranth@vela.acs.oakland.edu | Always remember -- That (bitnet) amaranth@oakland | way, when somebody asks (uucp) ...!uunet!umich!vela!amaranth | you'll know - J. Carson