Serrano Mark 1 (January 26, 2002)

Created by Steven Dufresne ()
Created on 26 January 2002

	8 inch outer diameter

2.5 inch gap between aluminum foils (1 inch polystyrene + 1.5 inch air)	2.5 inch gap between aluminum foils (1 inch polystyrene + 1.5 inch air)
2.5 inch gap between aluminum foils (1 inch polystyrene + 1.5 inch air)

3.5 inch gap between aluminum foils (1 inch polystyrene + 2.5 inch air)

Test with pieces of tissue - Result: no movement of tissues

Test results

Tested with an air gap of 1 inch, 1.5 inches, 2 inches and 2.5 inches. Given that the polystyrene is 1 inch thick that gives spacings between the aluminum foil layers of 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5 inches.

In all cases there was ionization to air and decreasing amounts of corona as the gap size was increased. Also, with smaller gap sizes there was more hissing but the hissing turned to more of a whining as gap size was increased.

Due to the large amount of leakage, this test cannot be considered valid though it is interesting. More leakage means more loss and weaker fields. The problem is that the edges of the aluminum foil are very thin and leak easily and that coupled with the fact that my power supply puts out a minimum of 50kV means I either go with a different configuration on the device or with a different power supply.

With the air gap of 2.5 inches (3.5 inches between aluminum foil layers) the start weight for the assembly was 568 grams +/- .1 gram. At maximum voltage the weight was 566.2 grams for a loss of 2.2 grams.

Also, with the 2.5 inch setup, tests were done with pieces of tissue placed directly under the device and out to a distance of about 2 inches from the device. Even at maximum voltage they did not move. So I tried a flame test since the air may have been flowing downward but at an outward angle along the length of the device.

With the 2.5 inche setup, a flame test was done with the flame as close as 4 inches from the side of the device. At about 4 inches there was turbulence but no decidedly downward trend to the flame. It was too dangerous to move the flame closer and so this was inconclusive.

Attempts were made to built a completely solid version, however, no satisfactory construction techniques could be come up with (given the limited resources). The geometry is what made it so hard.