Effect of cross magnetic field on solid, liquid, gaseous and biological dielectrics

Abstract

During the last three decades rapid advances in studies on the mechanism of ionization, conductivity and breakdown of dielectrics have been reported. These studies are closely linked with other very important fields of physics such as the physics of plasma in gases, the dosimetry of ionizing radiation, conductivity of materials, etc. Measurement of certain basic quantities connected with electrical conductivity such as coefficients of mobility, recombination and diffusion of ions or activation energy in different chemical compounds enable the microscopic values to be linked with microstructure of liquids. In the above studies the effect of a magnetic field on different dielectric materials has not often been reported. Dielectric materials as used in the field of science and technology are not only subjected to an electric field alone; quite often, they are under the influence of both electric and magnetic fields. In this paper the effect of both electric and magnetic fields on (i) pre-breakdown, breakdown, transport properties and activation energy of liquid dielectrics, (ii) ageing and surface breakdown of solid dielectrics in vacuum and low pressure gaseous discharge and (iii) internal field and polarization of biological dielectrics have been reviewed, discussed and future applications predicted.