As I understand your question, you're asking whether the primary reason for the neon lighting is resistance or capacitive coupling.

In the sort of arrangement we're discussing there are bound to be elements of both. If you are standing in damp shoes or barefoot on a concrete floor, then the resistive angle is almost certainly responsible for almost the full amount of current which will flow.

As you increase the actual resistance though, any capacitance which exists will become a more significant part of the equation.

it might be educational to take a known high-value insulator such as a sheet of glass and try using a neon tester while standing on it. I've not tried this experiment, but I would think that there would be sufficient capacitance to get the neon to glow a little, unless the floor beneath the glass provided an exceptionally high resistance to ground.

Any takers for another ECN practical experiment? [Linked Image]