@ads861 But surely if it was a small voltage and a large resistance, with ohms law, surely it would still have current flowing but it would be minute?
Air is basically a HUGE resistor. Low voltage can't jump across the gap but high voltage can under the right conditions. High voltage also ionizes the air which lowers the resistance of the gap it's trying to jump.
I've learned a little since I wrote that first comment a year ago, and you are correct. The plasma arcing through the air is acts as an electrically conductive bridge.
but the arc doesnt START with that distance - it starts with a VERY small distance, which is incrementally extended by very small distances. STARTING an arc (creating the plasma) is the hard part
@ads861 But surely if it was a small voltage and a large resistance, with ohms law, surely it would still have current flowing but it would be minute?
vanepico 11 months ago
@vanepico think of air as a resistance. it takes a lot to get through
ads861 11 months ago
thats are not only 230kV...
Nanobot02 1 year ago
Thats the static electricity Chuck gets when he undresses his clothes
MightyJustas 1 year ago
@grumpybb Thank you very much!
vanepico 1 year ago
@vanepico
Air is basically a HUGE resistor. Low voltage can't jump across the gap but high voltage can under the right conditions. High voltage also ionizes the air which lowers the resistance of the gap it's trying to jump.
grumpybb 1 year ago
Can anyone explain to me why high voltage electricity can flow through air but low voltage can't?
vanepico 1 year ago
I've learned a little since I wrote that first comment a year ago, and you are correct. The plasma arcing through the air is acts as an electrically conductive bridge.
Chamtechie 2 years ago
but the arc doesnt START with that distance - it starts with a VERY small distance, which is incrementally extended by very small distances. STARTING an arc (creating the plasma) is the hard part
mycosys 2 years ago
a lot more the 230 kv, though. normally and arc through air requires a voltage of one megavolt for each meter it has to cross.
Chamtechie 3 years ago