Pull the anode out of a CRT monitor and bang! You have an arc. If you do this yourself, make sure you don't touch anything metal inside the CRT unless you know what it is. CRTs run on about 30,000V, 30mA and can KILL YOU! This particular CRT runs on 29,000V
The carbon is from the insides of zinc chloride batteries. I put a piece of 5A fuse wire between them to strike it, and put 240V fused at 10A through it.
Not surprisingly, it didn't work.
Couldn't get hold of a chocolate teapot, but here's the next best thing: a school lunchbox kettle. 2kW, 230V. And yes i do have a wire with a mains plug on one end and crocodile clips on the other. It can be very useful!
