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An electric arc between two nails. An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma, which may produce visible light. An arc discharge is initiated either by thermionic emission or by field ...
With a constant pressure, the voltage needed to cause an arc reduced as the gap size was reduced but only to a point. As the gap was reduced further, the voltage required to cause an arc began to rise and again exceeded its original value. For a given gas, the voltage is a function only of the product of the pressure and gap length.
The thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) is a new type of plasma source, which generates a plasma containing ions with a directed energy. TVA discharges can be ignited in high-vacuum conditions between a heated cathode (electron gun) and an anode (tungsten crucible) containing the material.
Electric arc is a continuous electric discharge between two electrodes, similar to lightning. With ample current density, the discharge forms a luminous arc, where the inter-electrode material (usually, a gas) undergoes various stages — saturation, breakdown, glow, transition, and thermal arc.
Articles relating to electric arcs, electrical breakdowns of a gas that produce a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma ; the plasma may produce visible light .
The space charge created by the electron avalanches gives rise to an additional electric field, causing the ionized region to grow at its ends, forming a finger-like discharge called a streamer. Streamers are transient (exist only for a short time) and filamentary, which makes them different from corona discharges .
An arc flash is the light and heat produced from an electric arc supplied with sufficient electrical energy to cause substantial damage, harm, fire, or injury. Electrical arcs experience negative incremental resistance , which causes the electrical resistance to decrease as the arc temperature increases.
A pulsed plasma thruster (PPT), also known as a Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR), or as a plasma jet engine (PJE), is a form of electric spacecraft propulsion. [1] PPTs are generally considered the simplest form of electric spacecraft propulsion and were the first form of electric propulsion to be flown in space, having flown on two Soviet probes (Zond 2 and Zond 3) starting in 1964. [2]