Development of an electrical discharge in strongly overstressed gaps with a low air pressure

The time of switching, step length and delay time of a discharge were investigated in this present project, under the following experimental conditions: plain brass electrodes, two- to 20-fold overvoltage and air pressure 30 mm Hg. In addition, the relative intensity of bremsstrahlung from the anode was measured and the-quanta energy was determined by the radiation attenuation method in aluminum plates. It is suggested that such short delay times obtained can be explained first of all by the accelerated motion of electrons and secondly by the bremsstrahlung from the anode.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 61–65, January, 1973.