Getting charged up-the corona way

摘要

Most people are familiar with arc discharges through the use of simple gas lighters within the home but corona discharges are not so common. This note presents students with three simple corona discharge experiments so that they can appreciate this form of electrical discharge. Firstly, one detects whether positive or negative ions are created; secondly, one observes a faint blue light from the discharge region and thirdly, an approximate dimension is made to the extent of the discharge region.