What you’re seeing is a high-voltage excitation experiment using a dispersed network of tungsten carbide nanoparticles. At around 270 volts, the electric field across the particle matrix becomes strong enough to induce localized conduction pathways, micro-arcing, and rapid charge redistribution. Tungsten carbide is a highly conductive and thermally resilient ceramic-metal composite. At the nanoscale, its behavior changes: particle boundaries act like tiny junctions where electrons can accumulate, tunnel, or suddenly discharge. When voltage is applied, these junctions don’t conduct evenly—instead, they form dynamic, branching pathways that flicker, collapse, and re-form in real time. The “glow” comes from multiple overlapping effects: • Joule heating at contact points (localized temperature spikes) • Ionization of surrounding gas (micro plasma formation) • Blackbody radiation as particles heat unevenly • Electron recombination emitting visible photons The reason the colors shift and ...