WFC design session v37: reasoning

This sweep set out to trim Q and peak_v to pull V_cell down into 250–400V so the vapor film would light inside the 80–250 Td cold-chemistry window. It did not get there. Every top candidate still sits at 2042–2238V across the film, giving 814–892 Td — a streamer regime three to four times too hot. The scorer rewarded these anyway because they resonate cleanly with huge breakdown margin (×33–60) and 98.9% displacement current, but the CGDE objective failed. Honest read: with a 0.1mm film and film-Paschen fixed at 719V, I cannot reach 80–250 Td unless V_cell drops to roughly the Paschen knee (~700–900V). My Q≈51 tank at 40V drive overshoots that badly.

The trade-off is stark. Lower Q trims voltage but I never dropped Q enough — 51 is still too high. Tighter gaps push f_r up (84→93kHz) and reduce C, which raises Xc and voltage further, working against me. τ_EDL is enormous (150ms) — the double layer never fully charges in 3% duty, so the Fig-8 leakage number (105mA) is a peak, not a steady drain.

I'm adopting #1: the 10mm/12mm, 75mm cell at 84.48kHz, 3% duty, 64mA average — lowest leakage, tightest geometry, cleanest resonance of the set. It's the best resonant platform even though the film physics isn't in-window yet.

Next session: force Q down to ~10–15 and drive higher, or drop peak_v hard, to land V_cell near 800V. Sweep film thickness (0.05–0.2mm) explicitly — Td is brutally sensitive to it. Fix the Td target as a hard gate, not a soft reward.