Although the initial voltage source for lightning is generated by static electrical action, the lightning discharge itself is _far_ from a static process. The strike advances towards the ground in small, distinct steps called 'stepped leaders', which have oscillation time constants of tens to hundreds of microseconds. The return strike is closer to direct current in nature, and typically peaks around 2o,ooo Amperes. [See 'Lightning' by Uman, Dover books, circa 1969] The ALF (www.lod.org/alf.html) will attempt to simulate both the advancing stepped leaders [tower oscillating period ~90uS] as well as the return strike [bootstrapped DC capacitor bank in secondary ~2oo,oooV, 5,ooo,ooo Joules] to re-create long power arcs, similiar to a small multi-hundred foot section of their natural counterparts. It's not a perfect re-enactment, but it is repeatable, and should be vaguely controllable.
The answer to this is twofold. "Sparky", our faithful mascot, is often included in some of the tests in order to provide a sense of scale for the photo. Although he dresses nicely, he does not consist of any appreciable biomass, but rather some marginally flammable plastic. The fellow in the sphere however _is_ made of biomass, and performed several useful measurements of the streamer base current with no apparent physical harm. Whether he's a dummy or not is another issue...
Although the peak operating power level of a Tesla Coil is high, the coil is not on all the time. Total energy consumption, and not peak power, is what consumes prime energy resources such as coal. Integrated over a month, Electrum uses far less energy than your computer monitor.
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Although the initial voltage source for lightning is generated by static electrical action, the lightning discharge itself is _far_ from a static process. The strike advances towards the ground in small, distinct steps called 'stepped leaders', which have oscillation time constants of tens to hundreds of microseconds. The return strike is closer to direct current in nature, and typically peaks around 2o,ooo Amperes. [See 'Lightning' by Uman, Dover books, circa 1969] The ALF (www.lod.org/alf.html) will attempt to simulate both the advancing stepped leaders [tower oscillating period ~90uS] as well as the return strike [bootstrapped DC capacitor bank in secondary ~2oo,oooV, 5,ooo,ooo Joules] to re-create long power arcs, similiar to a small multi-hundred foot section of their natural counterparts. It's not a perfect re-enactment, but it is repeatable, and should be vaguely controllable.
The Legion of Doom folks are actually our next-door neighbors in web-space, at www.lod.com. Check them out.
The answer to this is twofold. "Sparky", our faithful mascot, is often included in some of the tests in order to provide a sense of scale for the photo. Although he dresses nicely, he does not consist of any appreciable biomass, but rather some marginally flammable plastic. The fellow in the sphere however _is_ made of biomass, and performed several useful measurements of the streamer base current with no apparent physical harm. Whether he's a dummy or not is another issue...
Although the peak operating power level of a Tesla Coil is high, the coil is not on all the time. Total energy consumption, and not peak power, is what consumes prime energy resources such as coal. Integrated over a month, Electrum uses far less energy than your computer monitor.