Overview:

Plasma arc is initiated at the bottom where the ladder sides are closest. It then travels upward until the distance becomes sufficiently great to exceed the ionization created by the arc. The arc then breaks and restarts at the bottom.

Jacobs Ladder:

Jacobs ladder is powered by a 12000V 30mA neon sign transformer.

Operation:

Time delay image of arc traveling up ladder.

Plasma Arc:

Arc travels upward on ladder.

Arc Breaking:

Arc density decreases and arc breaks up into multiple streamers before breaking.

Arc Breaking:

One end higher then the other, the arc breaks apart at the bottom.

Arc Breaking:

Arc throws off a cloud of plasma before breaking.

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Copyright © 1998 - 2005 by Andrew Seltzman. All rights reserved.