ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 provides a short review of the historical development of nonequilibrium discharges with a tendency to focus on air plasmas at atmospheric pressure. The main physical mechanisms of breakdown and classifications of various discharges are discussed. The principal discharge configurations are presented and their main properties and applications are discussed. The fundamentals of corona discharges (Akishev, Napartovich) and dielectricbarrier discharges are presented. More detailed information and recent developments are treated in chapter 6.
