@Russ Reply #11
so your saying that there IS more energy in the system at the point of the transient and it STAYS in the circuit???
If you followed my water explanation, you see in a open system No! no more energy is in your circuit...Just like no more water is in the pipe...some entered some left...it balanced
In a closed system you loose that energy....
In a open / closed system like with a spark gap (the circuit current leaves the closed system and for a brief instance of time is running through the air in a open system (how long the time is depends on the Voltage. i.e. how far the spark can jump)and also if the system is in the lake submerged in the energy so to speak).
Yes to above but with caveats i.e, if you put a resistance to the energy getting into the system then the energy is lost...energy will flow back into the system through the path of least resistance, only while the door is open to the open system..i.e. whilst the spark gap is open, but not necessarily enter at the location of the spark. but I'm open to change my views on this.
and you're saying that this does not follow some energy conservation law within the circuit as in a an isolated system???
if thats true. i should not see a spike in a vacuum??? ( or at lease less? if there are less free electrons? )
charge as far as I understand moves in a vacuum russ
'People say yes, and give a wonderful example of vacuum tubes, CRTs. But can we really say that vacuum (..as in space) is a good conductor of electricity in a very basic sense?'
'The conductivity of the vacuum is not a very trivial issue. In fact, depending on how you look at it, it behaves in two different ways.
Firstly, there is no retarding force on any charged particle with constant velocity in vacuum. To this extent, no extra work is required in maintaining a constant current through any surface in vacuum.
In stark contrast however, is the presence of free charges in conductors. Normally, when an electric field E is applied across a conductor, we get a current density due to the 'internal' charge flow, given by:
J=σE
where σ is the conductivity. Clearly, σ=0 in a vacuum - electric fields do not spontaneously cause currents to flow. Thus, in this sense, the vacuum is not a conductor at all. Even everyday insulators have low but non-zero values of σ.
Thus, the resistance of the vacuum is in fact, infinite, as long as we define resistance in terms of the response of the charge carriers of a material. In this sense, we might say that it is an insulator - there are no charge carriers.'
'No, in the very basic sense it is not a good conductor, because very high voltages are required to shoot them through. But yes it still is a conductor, because it allows the flow of current.
Compare this to a diode, which similarly only allows current (in the same very basic sense) to flow if a certain voltage is applied.
Such non linear behaviour exceeds anything one would describe as basic, but if the basic sense of a conductor is that it allows current to flow, then it is a conductor indeed.'
So if you do try this pls make sure the surface of the vacuum chamber is conductive and not glass.
and a magnetic field is present to give the electron moment in a direction and hold a path through the vacuum the electron will be trapped within.and the potential tested at different levels @ least equal to the distance of the inner measurement of the length or diameter of the vacuum chamber minus the magnetic field length. That is length equal to voltage thru air resistance.
Regards