TY - JOUR
T1 - X-ray bursts produced by laboratory sparks in air
AU - Dwyer, J. R.
AU - Rassoul, H. K.
AU - Saleh, Z.
AU - Uman, M. A.
AU - Jerauld, J.
AU - Plumer, J. A.
PY - 2005/10/28
Y1 - 2005/10/28
N2 - X-ray observations were made during fourteen 1.5 to 2.0 m high-voltage discharges in air produced by a 1.5 MV Marx circuit. All 14 discharges generated x-rays in the ∼30 to 150 keV range. The x-rays, which arrived in discrete bursts, less than 0.5 microseconds in duration, occurred from both positive and negative polarity rod-to-plane discharges as well as from small, 5-10 cm series spark gaps within the Marx generator. The x-ray bursts usually occurred when either the voltages across the gaps were the largest or were in the process of collapsing. The bursts are remarkably similar to the x-ray bursts previously observed from lightning. These results should allow for the detailed laboratory study of runaway breakdown, a mechanism that may play a role in thunderstorm electrification, lightning initiation and propagation, and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs).
AB - X-ray observations were made during fourteen 1.5 to 2.0 m high-voltage discharges in air produced by a 1.5 MV Marx circuit. All 14 discharges generated x-rays in the ∼30 to 150 keV range. The x-rays, which arrived in discrete bursts, less than 0.5 microseconds in duration, occurred from both positive and negative polarity rod-to-plane discharges as well as from small, 5-10 cm series spark gaps within the Marx generator. The x-ray bursts usually occurred when either the voltages across the gaps were the largest or were in the process of collapsing. The bursts are remarkably similar to the x-ray bursts previously observed from lightning. These results should allow for the detailed laboratory study of runaway breakdown, a mechanism that may play a role in thunderstorm electrification, lightning initiation and propagation, and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=28944454955&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2005GL024027
DO - 10.1029/2005GL024027
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:28944454955
SN - 0094-8276
VL - 32
SP - 1
EP - 4
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
IS - 20
M1 - L20809
ER -