Im. Gavrilov et al., DYNAMICS OF PREBREAKDOWN PHENOMENA IN A UNIFORM-FIELD IN WATER, IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation, 1(3), 1994, pp. 496-502
For a breakdown time lag of 10(-7) to 10(-3), both slow subsonic and t
hin supersonic streamers were found to emanate from a point electrode
in deionized water (sigma = 5 x 10(-5) S/m). The slow streamer-formed
dendrite probably consists of gaseous microbubbles. Relaxation of the
slow streamers was studied. The development of fast streamers resulted
from kinetic phase transition in the liquid, with subsequent ionizati
on of thin discharge channels. It was shown that heating of water and
electrohydrodynamic flow do not affect the prebreakdown phenomena unde
r these conditions. A model has been proposed of an anodic supersonic
streamer which is generated by the plasma in the condensed medium.