Self-Propagating Intermittent Discharge

Abstract

When a constant current pulse is applied to a pair of electrodes at small separations in air a series of electrical discharges takes place. These are characterized by a fixed distance between successive discharges. The intermittent nature of the discharge is determined by the local circuit and the spatial distribution of a series of discharges results from the blast wave which is propagated from each discharge. Measurements of the propagation distance as a function of the time interval between discharges and the energy released in each discharge are in qualitative agreement with those predicted from the theory of an intense explosion. The voltage transients across the electrodes show that during a series of discharges the breakdown voltages remain substantially constant and equal to the minimum breakdown voltage in air. This is attributed to the fact that the discharge can always find a low-density region which is quite near the front of the blast wave where the conditions for minimum breakdown voltage can be satisfied.