Atmospheric pressure volume discharge without external preionization

The phenomenon of electric breakdown in air at atmospheric pressure without additional preionization was studied by experimental and theoretical methods. Using voltage pulses of different polarity with subnanosecond leading front and nanosecond width, volume discharge can be obtained under such conditions between electrodes of various configurations, in particular, between two point electrodes. The development of an ionization wave in nitrogen is described within the framework of a diffusion-drift approximation in a spherical geometry. The fact that the qualitative character of discharge is independent of the voltage pulse polarity is explained by the multiplication of background electrons in the high-density gas. (C) 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.