In a plasma globe, a hollow glass sphere is filled with low-pressure gas and a small spherical metal electrode is located at its center. Assume an ac voltage source of peak voltage $V _ { 0 }$ and frequency $f$ is applied between the metal sphere and the ground, and that a person is touching the outer surface of the globe with a fingertip, whose approximate area is 1.0$\mathrm { cm } ^ { 2 } .$ The equivalent circuit for this situation is shown in Fig. $35 ,$ where $R _ { G }$ and $R _ { P }$ are the resistances of the gas and the person, respectively, and $C$ is the capacitance formed by the gas, glass, and finger.
(a) Determine $C$ assuming it is a parallel-plate capacitor. The conductive gas and the person's fingertip form the opposing plates of area $A = 1.0 \mathrm { cm } ^ { 2 } .$ The plates are separated by glass (dielectric constant $K = 5.0$ ) of thickness $d = 2.0 \mathrm { mm } .$ (b) In a typical plasma globe, $f = 12 \mathrm { kHz }$ . Determine the reactance $X _ { C }$ of $C$ at this frequency in $\mathrm { M\Omega }$ . (c) The voltage may be $V _ { 0 } = 2500 \mathrm { V } .$ With this high voltage, the dielectric strength of the gas is exceeded and the gas becomes ionized. In this "plasma" state, the gas
emits light ( "sparks") and is highly conductive so that $R _ { \mathrm { G } } < X _ { C }$ . Assuming also that $R _ { \mathrm { P } } \ll X _ { C } ,$ estimate the peak current that flows in the given circuit. Is this level of current dangerous? $( d )$ If the plasma globe operated at $f = 1.0 \mathrm { MHz }$ , estimate the peak current that would flow in the given circuit. Is this level of current dangerous?