SHORT-TIME ELECTRODE PROCESSES AND SPECTRA IN A HIGH-VOLTAGE SPARK DISCHARGE

Using time-resolved spectrometry as the exploratory tool, coupled with a precisely-ignited electronic spark source, short-duration spectra have been obtained at the electrode surfaces in a high-voltage, high-current spark discharge. Spectra corresponding to the formation of electrode space charges, ion-electron sequential recombination, and stepwise excitation are presented. Correlations are made to proposed physical processes occurring at the electrode surfaces from the earliest phases of the discharge, leading to suggested mechanisms appropriate to explaining neutral-atom and low-energy-ion radiation patterns. © 1968, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.