Measurement of the neutral vapour density decay following the extinction of a high-current vacuum arc between copper electrodes
- 21 August 1975
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
- Vol. 8 (12), L139-L143
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/8/12/003
Abstract
The decay of neutral copper vapour density which follows the extinction of a high current (2-11 kA) vacuum arc between copper electrodes has been measured. The results show that during the period 1-8 ms from current zero the vapour density decays at least an order of magnitude slower than expected on the assumption that vapour atoms generated by the arc move freely to the electrode and vacuum chamber surfaces where they condense. The results can be explained, however, if it is assumed that the vapour is produced by evaporation from molten droplets which are emitted from the cathode spots.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Mechanism of dc Electrical Breakdown between Extended Electrodes in VacuumJournal of Applied Physics, 1971
- Analysis of the Electrode Products Emitted by dc Arcs in a Vacuum AmbientJournal of Applied Physics, 1969
- Decay of residual plasma in a vacuum gap after forced extinction of a 250-ampere arcProceedings of the IEEE, 1968
- Vacuum arc recovery phenomenaProceedings of the IEEE, 1964