Oscillographic Observations on Ultra-High-Frequency Sparks

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 163; no. 4133; pp. 103 - 104
• Main Authors: PROWSE, W. A, JASI SKI, W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 15-01-1949
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/163103b0

EXPERIMENTS are in progress on the mechanism of the breakdown of gases at centimetre wavelengths, some of which have already been reported1. In the previous communication reference was made to the mid-gap streamers which, at atmospheric pressure, seem to constitute the birth-stage of a spark in a resonator energized at 2,800 megacycles per second. These streamers are regularly produced when a narrow beam of short-wave ultra-violet light, from a spark gap, is passed through the gas between the electrodes immediately before the 1·4-micro-second pulse reaches the resonator (Fig. 1). Photoelectrons in the gas itself execute oscillations of small amplitude in the electric field, and cause breakdown if the field is strong enough.