Knock Knock

[furgason at hg.uleth.ca]

This idea of using the spark plug to say something about combustion comes
from analytical chemistry. Putting a DC potential arcoss the spark plug
is exactly the way a flame ionization detector in a gas chromatograph (GC)
generates a signal. A GC depends on travel time in it's column to identify
the chemical compounds it is detecting. In a cylinder (I'm guessing here) ions
from various chemical species may be produced at different times depending on
the state of the combustion process. If one can resolve the signals in time
it would be possible to say much more about the combustion process than simply
if it was knocking or not.

Dan Furgason
University of Lethbridge
Physics Department

P.S. - I really like the conversation on this list. I am learning a great deal
and having fun at the same time. My students will be the beneficiaries of much
of the information I gather here. I hope we can continue without the politics
that have been present lately. It would be a real shame to have a group like
this one come apart.