Help with an upcoming project

[LRFLEW]

I have a minimalistic knowledge of electronics, and have an idea I want to work on, but I don't know enough.
To start, It is a project that involved inputing an electronic sound signal (like what comes out of a headphone port) and doing some strange things to it.
One part I have figured out I needed is an SPDT relay, but it needs to be able to alternate up to about between 1000 and 2000 hz and still have enough time to allow current to flow. Is this unrealistically fast?
Another part involves creating a spark (arc length will probably be between 1 and 2 mm) with power coming from a charged capacitor. How powerful of a capacitor do I need to achieve this? What kind of power source would I need to charge it?
I may (and will) have a few more questions along the road, but i'll add them to this thread when I need to.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ashford]

well I'm a junior student at a technical college but from my knowledge, I don't think a relay will be able to alternate at anywhere around 1Khz and also due to the fact that a relay is a coil it resists AC current. I would recommend that you use a transistor diode set up to achieve a similar result. Next of all, any voltage supply can charge a capacitor, it just depends on how fast you want it to charge. As for the voltage required to produce the spark, I'm not too certain but most references to arcing require voltage in the kv (kilo-volts) to fill the spark gap. Maybe posting a bit more information on what the project entails may help

 

[ronv]

It's a bit fast for a relay but fine for a solid state device. We will need a lot more info to help. For example do you just want to turn it on and off at 2 Khz or ???.
You will probably need a transformer (like an ignition coil) for the spark.

 

[4pyros]

Are you doing audio sparks?

 

[Gauthamvg]

For the fast switching operation you can use mosfets, and for the ark, you'll need high voltage and a capacitor cannot provide it. but ark can be produced at mininmal temperatures with change in atmospehric conditions like pressure,

 

[LRFLEW]

I wasn't sure about putting my full idea, but here it is. DON'T TELL ME IF THIS IDEA WILL OR WILL NOT WORK. This may turn into a science project for school, and I don't want the outcome ruined.

The idea takes a single sound input (guitar, computer, ext.) and once every sound wave cycle, a little spark will go off. This will, hopefully, create a sort of pitch (such as A4 = 440hz). Yes, it's a little far fetched, BUT DON'T TELL ME IT DOESN'T WORK!!!

The idea I had involved the sound input first going through a diode, then through a relay of some sort. Closed, a capacitor will charge; open, the capacitor will discharge as a spark. The alternation of the tone will change the speed. I said 1000 - 2000 hz because that is a range of around C6 - C7, which should be a safe limit to test how well the sound quality is at higher ranges.

To reiterate, I have LITTLE electronics experience. I've messed with those kid electronics sets as a kid, and even messed with an old Atari 2600, but that's about my limit. All help is appreciated.

 

[4pyros]

You mite want to look at Plasma Speakers. Same thing but mono tone. Use an OP amp to drive a mosfet to switch power to an ignition coil. Andy

 

[Gauthamvg]

I wasn't sure about putting my full idea, but here it is. DON'T TELL ME IF THIS IDEA WILL OR WILL NOT WORK. This may turn into a science project for school, and I don't want the outcome ruined.

The idea takes a single sound input (guitar, computer, ext.) and once every sound wave cycle, a little spark will go off. This will, hopefully, create a sort of pitch (such as A4 = 440hz). Yes, it's a little far fetched, BUT DON'T TELL ME IT DOESN'T WORK!!!

The idea I had involved the sound input first going through a diode, then through a relay of some sort. Closed, a capacitor will charge; open, the capacitor will discharge as a spark. The alternation of the tone will change the speed. I said 1000 - 2000 hz because that is a range of around C6 - C7, which should be a safe limit to test how well the sound quality is at higher ranges.

To reiterate, I have LITTLE electronics experience. I've messed with those kid electronics sets as a kid, and even messed with an old Atari 2600, but that's about my limit. All help is appreciated.

your idea seems to be good but i don understand why you are doing this, i mean, what is the advantage of the project.
and you have mentioned, the audio signal first pass through a diode, the diode will suppress the one half of the sound cycle based on the biasing, the audio signal is No more AC after this process, it will become pulses.