Camera Flashbulb Question

[Integrate]

Just wondering how feasible is it to light a camera flash from a disposable camera? After some research on the net, it seems that a flash bulb has 2 terminals and a trigger plate, but all I'm getting is that they all require very high voltages.

I have a boost converter that I built that can do around 120V to a capacitor. Can I light the flash bulb by applying 100V to the terminals, and 100V to the trigger plate, or would I need thousands of volts?

Also, if the flash bulb doesn't need thousands of volts, can someone give me an estimate on how much current would it need during the brief flash? Is it possible to sustain the flash, heating issues aside?

Thanks.

 

[Hero999]

There needs to be 200V to 400V between the anode and cathode.

The trigger is just a low current, high voltage pulse (4kV to 6kV) which ionises the gas in the tube.

A boost converter charges a capacitor to the anode voltage. When it's fully charged, the flash ready light turns on.

When the flash is triggered, a smaller capacitor discharged into a high voltage transformer which generates the high voltage pulse to trigger the tube.

 

[Integrate]

Thanks for the help. I guess I'll have to put lighting this thing on the back of my list and learn about some transformers first.