4 ms·
Had a dig around for some pictures of such antennas and found this: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-model-4068-MHz-ac-plasma-antenna_fig4_286640009 https:
by Zenst 7y ago
Had a dig around for some pictures of such antennas and found this: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-model-4068-MHz-ac-plasma-antenna_fig4_286640009 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-model-4068-MHz-ac-plas...
Find myself wishing such tech was prevalent during the early days of mobile phones and massive external aerials, but that's just the inner Jedi in me.
- segfaultbuserr 7y agoImagine a Sci-Fi title with this scene: At the last moment, some critical battlefield information is transmitted by a huge, bright and colorful beam of plasma antenna that shines the ground like Sun at night. It would make a spectacular and impressive scene of SFX and CGI, just like the SFX of the wrapped engine in the new Star Trek.. > during the early days of mobile phones Probably not a good idea, in its original form, it requires a lot of power from the mains to maintain its arc discharge, which is what turns it into an antenna, kind of like a vacuum tube that needs a constant heating power. But Wikipedia says antenna-on-chip is possible, which is quite interesting.
- the8472 7y agoEarly mobile phones were car-mounted. So if you had a nuclear-powered car a plasma antenna would fit right in.
- segfaultbuserr 7y agoAnd a tube transmitter, of course!
- rini17 7y agoThe picture does not look like arc discharge, it's more like fluorescent lamp.
- aidenn0 7y agoA fluorescent lamp is a mercury-vapor gas discharge lamp with a phosphor coating. Doesn't that qualify as an arc discharge?
- segfaultbuserr 7y agoAnd you literally need a thousand volts to kickstart a fluorescent lamp, at least on decent tubes.
- therein 7y agoLet me pull up my "flyback transformer on a chip".
- ridgeguy 7y agoNo. An arc discharge is a hot, high current density process. [1] The discharge in a fluorescent lamp is a glow discharge: low current density, moderate temperature and extended volume. [2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glow_discharge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glow_discharge
- aidenn0 7y agoThe first article gives fluorescent lights as an example of modern usage of arc lighting... The second article distinguishes between glow discharge and arcing.