Alan, I really wish I could answer your question .... it's certainly a fair one. There are also a number of other things I'd like to try; say, a Jacobs' ladder, put a carbon electrode on a track and make a solid line-power arc, a motor with brushes, etc. Even a variac. I'd also like to set up a number of dimmers (and other electronic controls) that seem to be associated with troubleshooting problems.
I'd love to be able to create a variety of arcs, both 'series' and 'parallel,' just to see what arcs, if any, are actually detected by the infernal devices.
Alas, I lack the resources. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that such a demonstration would make waves at the local inspectors' meeting - especially when the AFCI rep comes around for his tri-annual sales pitch.
