Well, Feynman might have been impressed with the 'displacement'
currents we are currently generating across the variable cap of a
parallel tuned circuit at 14 megacycles... Acrylic will droop and melt
in seconds and glass heats so rapidly it shatters almost instantly
when the RF is keyed... Yes, I can be convinced that there is no real
'current' flowing, in that no electrons are passing through the
dielectric (i.e. we don't get an arc until the dielectric fails)...
But, the varying electric field across the dielectric as the cap
plates load and unload electrons is certainly pumping the outer
electrons in the dielectric rapidly enough that they dump off
considerable heat as they change state...
Did you know that you can heat an acrylic plate of 0.125" thickness so
fast and so hard that the acrylic boils in the center of the plate,
leaving frozen cavitation bubbles behind when the RF is cut off, while
the faces of the plate remain smooth and shiny? Amazing to look at...


Meanwhile, back to the drawing board...

denny / k8do