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I am trying to make a triggered spark gap for discharging capacitors (around 470uF, charged to 300-400V), for entertainment purpose. I have searched for triggered spark gap designs, but I am not sure whether this one works.

Piezo Igniter Triggered Spark Gap

I suppose that the gap between two round heads (possibly from carriage bolts, separated by 1-2mm) will sustain the voltage. Then a voltage pulse from piezo igniter will create an arc in the gap, and hopefully the ionized air inside the gap will conduct current and discharge the capacitor (and create some huge flash and noise). Alternatively, if this is not practical, is it possible with the igniter replaced by something powerful like Mazilli ZVS oscillator + CRT flyback transformer?

I have almost no idea about how electrical arcs behave, so I am not sure whether this design will work.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Not that I want to be a party popper, but charging a capacitor to 400V may be dangerous and using large spark gaps is considered illegal in many countries because it creates electromagnetic pollution on a very wide spectrum. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mishyoshi
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 6:22
  • \$\begingroup\$ Does a single pulse create a lot of EM pollution? \$\endgroup\$
    – Carl Dong
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 10:46
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    \$\begingroup\$ It's not a matter of a single pulse it's a matter of strength. Say that somebody has a pacemaker and that you trigger your stuff. If it is very strong, it may cause the pacemaker to malfunction, which is bad. This is why there are laws about EMI in the first place. During Vietnam war, a RADAR on a aircraft carrier caused a malfunction on a fighter trying to land on it because of an EMI impulse with improper shielding. The fighter on-board computer dropped a missile on the aircraft and it blew off. It was a single impulse, but shit happens... \$\endgroup\$
    – Mishyoshi
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 16:41

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What you want to do may be illegal in your country:

A spark radiates energy throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Nowadays, this is usually regarded as illegal radio frequency interference and is suppressed, but in the early days of radio communications (1880–1920), this was the means by which radio signals were transmitted, in the unmodulated spark-gap transmitter. Many radio spark gaps include cooling devices, such as the rotary gap and heat sinks, since the spark gap becomes quite hot under continuous use at high power. As stated on Wikipedia

Assuming you are allowed to do that in your country, you only need to make sure the voltage between your metal parts is small enough for your voltage source. A spark is generated when you reach the air's breakdown voltage, which is, in normal condition, around 3'600'000 V/m. So for a 360V voltage source, you would need a distance <=0.1mm for the transfer to occur automatically. The arc are caused by the air reaching breakdown voltage causing ionization and current to flow. The current flow converts the air into ozone and other nasty stuffs. The color that one sees comes from the gazes which start to fluoresce. The mauve color typically comes from nitrogen and blue from oxygen. The current flow causes a depression which makes a little sound wave causing the "thunder" sound.

You either need a larger voltage source (dangerous), or something that will trigger your spark only at will (a mechanical switch rated to such a large voltage ?) A better solution would be a flyback converter. Basically, what you are trying to do is similar to a Tesla coil, so search for that kind of stuff.

Disclaimer: this is really dangerous. This is a bad idea. This may not be legal. This may not harm yourself, but it may harm someone else around you if the impulse is too strong.

If you decide to go on, try to put you circuit inside a Faraday cage to reduce EMI to a reasonable level.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I know something about tesla coil, and I don't think this is the same since it is only a single pulse but not constant conduction. Also, does a single pulse generate enough EM interference to be illegal? \$\endgroup\$
    – Carl Dong
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 10:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ It depends on the powe, the shielding and legislation... In Canada, it is legal as long as the EM doesn't exceed standard EMI interference specification at a range of more than 5m. No the Tesla coil doesn't work the same, but you can use a Tesla coil's flyback/resonant converter to charge your capacitor. You can detect a breakdown and stop it right away if you want. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mishyoshi
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 16:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ OK, I understand. I may do a test in safe areas (say, labs in school with EMI shield, or where there are no sensitive equipments around) with lower energy level. \$\endgroup\$
    – Carl Dong
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 18:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ Good. Have fun. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mishyoshi
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 18:58

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