Reduction of gas breakdown voltage with pulsed ionizing radiation

An algorithm is described for computer calculation of the dynamic breakdown voltage of a gas gap affected by a spatially uniform pulse of ionizing radiation. The algorithm is based on numerical integration of a system of nonlinear equations with integral boundary conditions. The program is used to calculate the breakdown voltage of an air gap affected by a bell-shaped ionizing pulse. It is shown that the relative reduction in breakdown voltage can amount to tens of percent for a radiation exposure dose rate P₀ 10⁸ R/sec.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 6, pp. 52–60, November–December, 1973.