Thanks Garry and Garth. I should have realised that there was a piezo effect
involved. Seems strange though that a sufficiently high enough current can
be generated to fire off the magnesium wire with such small hardware.
John.
Garth and Garry wrote:
John Wheeler wrote:
>G'day Zuiks,
>
>I know this is OT but can anybody on the list kindly explain the workings
of
>these devices? I know that a vertical rod dislodges a spring wire at the
>base of the unit which then strikes the lower end of the bulb thus causing
>the bulb to ignite. What puzzles me is that there is apparently no
>electrical circuitry involved leading me to think that there must be a
>chemical reaction/explosion taking place. Am I on the right track?
>I always thought that they were either chemical or piezoelectric. >Dunno.
I wonder about the reliability and timing of the chemical >possibility, but
then I remember that quite a few of the bulbs actually >mis-fired...
>Garth
Yes you are right Garth. Piezoelectric crystals , when struck with force,
give off an electrical discharge. The wire would strike the imbedded
crystal- that would give off a discharge- that would ignite the wire inside
the bulb.
your discharging a little information,
Garry D. Lewis
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