A late 19th century rowing machine is connected to a 12 volt electric generator, which is connected to a high-voltage transformer. Each stroke of the oars pumps 15,000 volts into a rarefied pickle jar via a copper electrode in the lid of the jar. This results in the generation of a corona discharge within the low-pressure atomosphere of the vacuum-pumped jar. Corona discharge is observed in nature as Saint Elmo's fire, a weather phenomenon observed emanating from the masts of ships at sea, toward the end of powerful storms. With each stroke of the oars, energy from the participant's body materializes inside the jar as raw plasma.