ABSTRACT
E lectric d ischarges in gases, in o ther w ords gas d ischarges, are genera to rs o f plasm a. D ifferen t e lec tric d ischarges p rovide various m echan ism s and cond itions o f p lasm a fo rm ation and genera te p lasm a w ith abso lu te ly d ifferen t param eters, e lec tron tem pera tu res, and concen tra tions, w hich can be used in num erous d ifferen t app lications. T he term “gas d ischarge” in itia lly defined the p rocess o f “d ischarge” o f a capacito r into a c ircu it con ta in ing a gas gap betw een tw o elec trodes. I f the vo ltage betw een the e lec trodes is sufficiently large, b reakdow n occurs in the gap, the gas becom es a conductor, and the cap ac ito r d ischarges. N ow the term gas d ischarge is app lied m ore genera lly to any system w ith ion ization in a gap induced by elec tric field. E ven elec trodes are no t necessary in these system s because d ischarges can occu r sim ply by in teraction o f e lec trom agnetic w aves w ith gas.
