CATHODE DROP OF THE POTENTIAL
OF A VACUUM ARC OF METALS 
G. V. Markov

UDC 537.523

The basic mechanisms of ionization in the cathode spot 
of a vacuum arc are considered. It is shown that the singly charged 
positive ions formed here are a result of the collision ionization 
of the evaporated atoms of a metal by electrons. On this basis the 
assumption is made that the cathode drop of the potential of the vacuum 
arc of metals is determined by the energy of ionizing electrons at 
which the ionization section attains its maximum.

Physics and Technology Institute, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus,
Minsk, Belarus. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 75, No. 1,
pp. 171-173, January-February, 2002. Original article submitted January 30,
2001; revision submitted March 19, 2001.

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