Measurement of the Dynamic Displacement Current as a New Method of Study of the Dynamics of Formation of a Streamer at a Breakdown of Gases at a High Pressure

The dynamics of formation of streamers in a “needle–plane” gap filled with air at atmospheric pressure has been studied. It has been shown that the time dependence of the dynamic displacement current measured by either a current shunt or a collector placed behind a grid electrode is determined by the rate of variation of the shape and dimensions of a streamer. The presence of a single peak on oscillograms of the dynamic displacement current means that a ball streamer is formed in the gap and does not cross the gap during the time of voltage application. The presence of two peaks on oscillograms of the dynamic displacement current means that the ball streamer crosses the gap and reaches the opposite electrode. In this case, the ball streamer is usually transformed to a cylindrical one. It has been shown that the measurement of the dynamic displacement current makes it possible to determine the time dependence of the electric field strength near the planar electrode.