How To Run A Carbon Arc Lamp

[Rubycon]

In case you were wondering, this video explains it beautifully!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d7bsCiRFLE

 

[Baked]

That's one hot flashlight!

 

[sdifox]

I remember those!

 

[Cerb]

I got to play with one from a projector when I was a kid. it was pretty cool.

 

[Paratus]

Ah the Galvanic Lucifer!

 

[jagec]

Did he say 1000A?

Are those cables BIG enough?

And who has a dual axle van?

 

[BladeVenom]

Doesn't seem very practical.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow 1000 amps? That's insane! I was hoping to see better how it looks like lit up though, preferably in a dark scenery.

Did not figure you could get a good arc with only 70 volts. DC does tend to arc more easily though.

Going to have to try this in small scale some time. Just need to split open a pencil, make a bridge rectifier, and go from there.

 

[Pheran]

When I saw the title of this thread, I knew who the poster was before looking.

 

[herm0016]

loved me some arc lamps back in the day.

http://www.highend.com/products/automated_luminaires/cyberlightturbo.asp

 

[Rubycon]

Wow 1000 amps? That's insane! I was hoping to see better how it looks like lit up though, preferably in a dark scenery.

Did not figure you could get a good arc with only 70 volts. DC does tend to arc more easily though.

Going to have to try this in small scale some time. Just need to split open a pencil, make a bridge rectifier, and go from there.

You can sustain an arc with DC at much lower voltage. All you need is strong current.

At 73VDC it's 73kW. The arc is probably getting a fraction of that, the ballast is not very efficient.

A good source of carbons is dry cell batteries. If you're careful you can extract them intact. Much better than using pencil lead.

Wear eye protection and have a fire extinguisher nearby. The arc is very hot and will destroy anything it comes in contact with!

 

[DrPizza]

cool!

 

[IronWing]

When my dad was a teen he worked at a movie theater that used a carbon arc projector. He wasn't the projectionist but got to play with it a bit. The big thing was to not set the film on fire.

I'm still trying to come up with a way to turn a graphite furnace into the world's fastest hotdog cooker.

 

[BlackTigers]

We use carbon at work all the time in our edm machines...I now have a new goal.

 

[PsiStar]

You can sustain an arc with DC at much lower voltage. All you need is strong current.

At 73VDC it's 73kW. The arc is probably getting a fraction of that, the ballast is not very efficient.

It is all about plasma & sustaining current. The strike setups the plasma (the 4th form of matter) in air which is a very low resistance conductor ... the current sustains. The arc per se is very hot & emits light but I think the carbon rods emit most of the light and are consumed which he indirectly indicates.

I wonder what the RF spectrum that is emitted also?

 

[grohl]

I love your crazy industrial electrical video links

 

[Rubycon]

It is all about plasma & sustaining current. The strike setups the plasma (the 4th form of matter) in air which is a very low resistance conductor ... the current sustains. The arc per se is very hot & emits light but I think the carbon rods emit most of the light and are consumed which he indirectly indicates.

I wonder what the RF spectrum that is emitted also?

There are quite a few studies and papers on the physics of the impingement area involving carbon arcs.

The emission is broad and flat. Quite unlike how most men want their women.

 

[PsiStar]

There are quite a few studies and papers on the physics of the impingement area involving carbon arcs.

The emission is broad and flat. Quite unlike how most men want their women.

Hmmm, I am a warming globes follower

 

[Rubycon]

Hmmm, I am a warming globes follower

Just don't wet on the globe if it's too hot! It could shatter and burn your junk with hot shards of glass! D:

 

[nanette1985]

When my dad was a teen he worked at a movie theater that used a carbon arc projector. He wasn't the projectionist but got to play with it a bit. The big thing was to not set the film on fire.

That's probably a while ago. Current film is cellulose acetate which melts. Old nitrate film is the stuff that is amazingly dangerous. Especially around a carbon arc lamphouse. Glad your dad survived!

 

[Squisher]

I worked for a bank 35 years ago. They had a warehouse which also had a printing press operation in it. I worked in that warehouse one summer and the guy that ran the printing press used to make some sort of printing source by exposing it with a carbon arc for like a minute. I only saw him do it once, but it was neat.

 

[PsiStar]

Just don't wet on the globe if it's too hot! It could shatter and burn your junk with hot shards of glass! D:

We are definitely talking about different globes :sneaky: