Paschen Law

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Paschen Law

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A theoretical relationship for the direct-current breakdown voltage of two parallel-plane electrodes immersed in a gas as a function of the gas pressure and electrode separation. This relationship predicts the occurrence of a minimum breakdown voltage for a certain product of the pressure times the separation. </dd>
The phenomenon is well verified experimentally and is referred to as the Paschen minimum. This minimum voltage is on the order of 300 to 500 volts and, for a gas pressure of 1 millimeter of mercury, occurs at an electrode separation of 0.2 to 1 centimeter depending on the gas. </dd>

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use