Hello,
I have a high voltage CCFL that creates arcs. Now as far as I'm aware, the voltage from the seconday of the transformer is AC, so I dont see why just one of the wires arc. Is it that only one carries current while both oscillate in voltage? If so why?
Thanks.

 

They each carry the same current. Probably one wire is connected to ground and so that wire won't arc to ground but the other one will.

 

Hello,
I have a high voltage CCFL that creates arcs. Now as far as I'm aware, the voltage from the seconday of the transformer is AC, so I dont see why just one of the wires arc. Is it that only one carries current while both oscillate in voltage? If so why?
Thanks.

One wire sends out a high voltage arc to vaporize some of the metal (sodium or mercury) and the lower voltage is used to maintain a lower current flow through the vaporized metal plasma.