Richard Clark wrote:
Quite true. Its as if a needle has penetrated the equipotential
shells over that 300V span. Streamlines would probably reveal a dead
short to what are in the distance 300V/90aA = 3,333,333 GOhm resistive
paths.

.....and when we picture this stuff correctly everything works. For an
example the cubical quad antenna.

Quads almost always have long insulated spreaders with long leakage
paths that allow directors and the reflector to "float". So, unlike the
typical Yagi, the elements can charge to whatever potential is around
them.

Everything around the floating element is around the same potential as
the element. There is no corona.

The driven element has a path to ground, as most antennas do, so it is
at a different potential than stuff around the element. Unlike a Yagi,
the quad has the advantage of not having very sharp multiple extended
protrusions into the space around its only "grounded" element.

Not only does the only quad element with a connection that keeps it at
earth potential lack extended protrusions, it also does not have the
highest impedance point of the element at the point where corona or
leakage current is likely to form. This means the quad, unlike the
Yagi, does not have a very high impedance point of the antenna
protruding into space around the antenna where any very tiny leakage
discharges with very low current and very high voltage are better
matched to the antenna.

When we don't get all hung up on the very obvious nonsense that a
closed loop is somhow magically quieter than an open element by virtue
of "dc short", or fixated on an odd idea that the particles hitting
the conductor are the actual instant of noise generation, everything
fits.

In conditions where there is corona or the potential for corona, quads
are less susceptable to noise. As a matter of fact the very reason
quads were used in their initial applications was in the moist high
altitude environment of HCJB, and the quad element was used to prevent
errosion of the dipole elements by corona into the moist air!

When we look at this, it is almost laughable the very people claiming
corona can't be the root cause of what is commonly called p-static
noise are often arguing quad or quad like antenna short the noise of
particles striking the antenna to ground, and thus can't have corona.
Or worse yet they argue moisture prevents corona, when the entire
reason the quad was "invented" was to prevent coronal errosion of
dipole elements in the moist air at HCJB.

73 Tom