Electrode Evaporation and the Electric Spark

Abstract

IN accordance with the Similarity Theorem, the electric spark discharge at high gas densities (such as those corresponding to atmospheric pressure or more) takes the form of a thin track, so that the use of high gas densities can produce high current densities. It is therefore interesting to calculate the actual order of magnitude of the current density in typical sparks, in order to find whether high current densities can produce any important effects on the electrodes.