X rays from 80-cm long sparks in air

Abstract

New data on X-ray production by laboratory sparks in air are reported. The total deposited energy ranged from about 30 keV to a few MeV. X-ray signals were observed both before and during the collapse of voltage across the gap. The earlier signal is likely associated with processes involving runaway electron breakdown in streamer tips and the later signal with the attachment (final jump) process. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.