Talk:Electrical breakdown

Dielectric Stress
I'd like to see a discussion of 'dielectric' or 'voltage' stress, specifically methods for calculating. Seems to be missing in this and related articles. One equation I found (that I have not been able to verify or complete is: "This configuration is mathematically expressed as E = (K)2(V)/-(d)ln(D/k2d), where E, again, is the voltage stress, D is the outside diameter of the wire in mils, d is the average conductor diameter in mils, V is the voltage, and k, and k2, are proportionality constant that depends on conductor standing and size."  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.28.2.42 (talk) 18:34, August 30, 2007 (UTC)

Alternately, it may refer to the application of current to a gas.

Can anyone tell me what this sentence is supposed to mean before i attempt to modify it?Light current 05:58, 7 August 2005 (UTC)

Split
I think this article could be split. Move all the electrostatic discharge stuff to electrostatic discharge, and keep just the "battery failure" "car breaking down" stuff here. I want to merge the discharge articles that mean the same thing, as in Talk:Spark gap. Thoughts? - Omegatron 13:41, August 7, 2005 (UTC)
 * The trouble is that not all electrical breakdowns are just due to electroSTATIC discharges. Most(?) in fact occur within the electricity transmission network where current electricity flows (ie ac @ 50/60 Hz). So this material wouldnt really fit under your proposed heading. If the heading was changed to Electrical Discharge(s) then it would fit and I would agree with the move. What do people think.?? Light current 22:42, 7 August 2005 (UTC)


 * Good point. I'm not sure what to do.  I just want to condense our 10 discharge-related articles down into the 5 or so that actually refer to independent things. - Omegatron 22:56, August 7, 2005 (UTC)

I made some changes that may help in the flow of the article. This article is still quite brief, since electrical breakdown can occur in liquids and solids as well as gases. Small (non lightning!) electrostatic sparks are merely sparks that have lower overall available energy than higher power capacitor discharge or power circuit sparks. Bert

Color of arc
I was told by a very experienced physicist the the color of an arc is dependent on the material being ionised. For copper, brass etc it may be blue, but for other metals it could be different colors. Please do not revert my edits without discussing with me first. Light current 19:43, 7 August 2005 (UTC)


 * That's fine. So just change it back and explain your position.  We're all reasonable.  (Well, not all.)  :-) - Omegatron 20:27, August 7, 2005 (UTC)


 * Can you keep discussions about article content on the article's talk page? That way everyone involved in the article can see that a discussion is going on and participate. - Omegatron 20:30, August 7, 2005 (UTC)

You are both correct... sort of. Sparks (in particular long sparks) tend to reflect the spectra of the elements within the gaseous media that have the lowest ionization energy. During brief sparks, electrode materials don't contribute to the color except in small cathode and anode spots (the active electrode-gas interface). An arc, however, causes comparatively larger incandescent anode and cathode spots to develop on each electrode. Electrode material readily evaporates from these regions, then becomes ionized within the arc, coloring it. Lightning is a brilliant blue white from ionized oxygen and nitrogen, while an arcing power line or transformer is typically green from ionized copper. Bert


 * Cool. - Omegatron 01:20, August 9, 2005 (UTC)

Striae
Could we have something about striae please from somebody who, unlike me, knows what they are talking about? Cutler 23:03, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Glow discharge
Should there be something in the article about glow discharge, at least a link to the "Electric glow discharge" article? 74.13.185.122 (talk) 01:39, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

Characteristic for a glow discharge is that there's a high resistance in the circuit limiting current and preventing avalanche breakdown. The mechanism of discharge is correctly described in detail. D. May 8/6/2015 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.128.96.60 (talk) 23:44, 7 June 2015 (UTC)

Merge
So, it seems to me that this page should be merged with the page entitled Breakdown Voltage.

Any seconds? 98.237.253.233 (talk) 07:04, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

New contributions
I have made some contributions to the section mechanism and I apologize for my poor English. Someone is asked to polish it up. D. May Germany 6/8/2015 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.128.96.60 (talk) 23:38, 7 June 2015 (UTC)

Reverting incorrect additions to subsection "Ozone generation"
This recent revision added incorrect and uncited information, most alarmingly claiming that ozone is non-toxic (it is not). I'm reverting this, though I've also noticed that the entire section lacks any citations even besides this contribution. I'm a bit of a noob at editing Wikipedia so I don't know how to flag it, so I'll leave it for someone who knows what they're doing. 69.120.67.207 (talk) 00:10, 29 July 2019 (UTC)

Pashen Law Formula
There is a wikipedia article about "Paschen's law" which can be linked in the "voltage-current" section. Also, the "gamma" in the formula is not defined here. If I remembered how to do these edits, I would. 3piecesuits (talk) 00:04, 25 February 2020 (UTC)