>
>
>
>I wrote:
>>
>> >But once the arc jumps across the plug gap to ground it doesn't matter
>> >whether the plug can handle it or not - at 100kA won't the
>> subsequent path
>> >be via ionized air? And then won't the spark plug thingy have
>> done its job?
>> >
>
>To which Rich replied:
>
>> [chortle]
>
>Typical Rich response. If my statement (which was actually a question) is in
>error (quite possible) and you know the truth then why don't you educate me?
>
My guess is that 100kA will blow away the spark plugs. // Near my
favorite VHF contest site on Mt. Pinos, CA, there was a pine tree that
was over 3 feet in dia. at the base. One winter, there was an
extraordinary lightning storm. Next June, after the snow melted, I
returned to the site. The entire tree was in small pieces. The soil was
loose around where the roots had been,. Lightning is powerful stuff.
>Lightning (and any electrical arc) travels through a channel of ionized air.
>Even if the current is sufficient to vaporize a conductor (such as a spark
>plug) the arc can continue through this ionized channel.
>
good point. Which is why spark plugs don't protect equipment.
cheers, Doug
- Rich..., 805.386.3734, www.vcnet.com/measures.
end
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