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Electric Egg
European, mid-19th-century
The electric egg is in the family tree of today's neon signs, fluorescent bulbs, and strobe lights. |
| The Bakken A Library and Museum of Electricity in Life 3537 Zenith Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55416-4623, USA Join our E-Mail List Contact Us Tele: 612-926-3878 Fax: 612-927-7265 |
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The electric egg, about two feet tall, was designed to
show electrical phenomena in gases at various pressures. The brass
base of this egg is for storage and display - in use, it would be unscrewed,
and the brass valve at the bottom would be screwed onto a vacuum-pump.
Air would be pumped out, and electricity delivered to the upper electrode.
(The lower electrode, fastened to the pump, would act as a ground.)
At very low pressures, the inner air would glow; as the pressure increased
the nature of the glow would change. Sparks would form, and as pressure
increased to normal, the electricity would begin to act as it normally
does.