Tuesday, May 21, 2013

High Voltage Power Supply Flame Test


When I plug in the 24 v dc power supply, the voltage is stepped up to as high as 15kv. (adjustable from 0 to 15kv).  The high voltage leads are connected to metal plates and are situated (precariously) parallel to one another. This allows for an electric field to be created between the two plates, thereby stretching the flame which is made up of a mixture of various ions. If you look closely at the flame, whenever I plug in the power source, the flame is stretched apart slightly. This tells us that the power supply is indeed working.

Interestingly enough, when I plugged in the power supply, the high voltage wires moved together because of the voltage difference (opposite charges attract). This shows that these old wires were not insulated with shielding, which consists of a metallic layer of insulation that blocks any potential electric field from exiting the  cable's insulation.

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