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Lichtenberg figures in acrylic without the use of a Linear Accelerator?
Posted by Ben T. on 11/6/2006, 5:07 pm
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Re: Lichtenberg figures in acrylic without the use of a Linear Accelerator?
Posted by Bert Hickman on 11/6/2006, 6:37 pm, in reply to "Lichtenberg figures in acrylic without the use of a Linear Accelerator?" Hello Ben, It is indeed possible to inject charges into acrylic (and many other dielectrics). However, instead of using parallel plates, a single conducting plate is used, and high voltage is applied to a sharpenned needle imbedded within the dielectric on the opposite side. Depending on the polarity of the DC potential, or the rate of change of the AC waveform applied to the needle and other factors, "trees" or "bushes" can develop and grow from the tip of the needle, heading towards the opposite plate. This technique is used to study the effect of highly stressed defects and to perform accelerated aging studies on various dielectric materials, such as capacitor dielectrics or insulation in high voltage power cables. The process is called "electrical treeing", and is associated with progressive breakdown (sometimes called partial discharge). Unfortunately, the trees are comparatively small, and they can take a relatively long time to form and grow. More information can be found here: Best regrds, Bert
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