Science · 6 pages · 12 min
Why a spark can jump a gap
A strong enough field turns insulating air into a conducting plasma channel.
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From the opening
A spark jumps a gap when the electric field in the air is strong enough to knock electrons off molecules and start an avalanche. The bright line is a thin channel of plasma that has become conducting for a moment. The opening covers an electron avalanche in air, why points spark sooner than flats, and the doorknob and the lightning bolt.
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Inside
- An electron avalanche in air
- Why points spark sooner than flats
- The doorknob and the lightning bolt
- Where the simple voltage rule fails
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Dielectric breakdown of air
- Electron avalanche and Paschen's law