Electrical breakdown in the area of transition from gas to vacuum electrical discharge mechanisms

Abstract

Except for quantum mechanical phenomena, physical phenomena are not prone to sudden and abrupt changes. In this paper, the transition mechanism from the electric discharge gas mechanism of to the electric discharge vacuum mechanism of has been considered. This phenomenon has long been established, but it was not possible to find a reliable explanation as to how it occurs. In the consideration of the occurrence of the transition from the gas to the vacuum mechanism of the electric discharge, two hypotheses were finally arrived at. These hypotheses were fundamentally contradictory. The first hypothesis was valid only for He, and the second one has no such restrictions. In this paper, based on experimental results and theoretical analysis, it has been proven (with high probability) that the second hypothesis is correct and applicable to all gases. The experimental procedure has been performed under well-controlled laboratory conditions with high statistical reliability and the combined measurement uncertainty totalling about 5 %. Thus, the first hypothesis can be rejected and the problem of switching from a gas to a vacuum electric discharge mechanism can be considered solved.