Arc discharge

So, an arc discharge is one of the most beautiful manifestations of electric current in gases. The electric arc is not only beautiful, but also useful; it is used for welding metals; a huge temperature also arises around the arc and the air begins to glow very brightly. This effect is used in most military and industrial floodlights. I propose to assemble an installation for demonstration, albeit not very serious, but still meeting these qualities of the arc. First you need to find a source of high alternating voltage, in this installation I used the so-called “MOT”, in other words, a high-voltage transformer from a microwave oven with a frequency of 50 Hz (as in the 220 network). I did not resort to vandalism, but simply bought it on the radio market for only 250 rubles. He looks like this, this one is simply already beaten by life:

Height:

And length:

But before you connect it, you need to know that it transforms dangerous 220 V into a very dangerous 2100 V and a current strength of 450 mA; if struck by such a current, death is inevitable.

Please know that you do this at your own risk and the author does not bear any responsibility for your life, be careful!!!

And so let’s start by first needing to connect the transformer correctly.

220 volts must be connected to these marks on almost all MOTs, they are at the bottom and in pairs.

The socket, plug and wire must be very reliable, otherwise a fire may occur. The current consumption is very high, especially during discharge. The transformer itself also does not heat up slightly, so you should not abuse the discharges.

Let's move on to the high-voltage winding, in fact, one tap is the main one (phase), the second is grounded to the housing as shown in the figure above.

I think everything is clear with the transformer, let's move on to assembling the electrodes. The material for them will be ordinary copper wires of large cross-section (thickness), otherwise this may happen due to high temperature. By the way, here is an example of metal welding.

To begin, we take a small piece of plywood and drill a hole in it the thickness of the wire, thread the electrode and fasten it with a screw and the wire from the winding there

then we make a second electrode; it is the same piece of wire but attached to a dielectric (in this case wood); the length of the dielectric should be such that even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to touch the wire. And the end of the wire needs to be secured to the body.

The end result is a simple setup like this:

Everything is ready, you can turn it on and enjoy, and you shouldn’t do it in the dark, it’s harmful to the eyes.

This is what happens

Moreover, you can moisten the electrodes in a solution of ordinary salt; the arc will be longer and brighter

I apologize for the mess on the table.