Stochastic features of initiation of liquid dielectric breakdown at small area of positive electrode

The regularities of breakdown initiation in dielectric liquids in uniform and quasi-uniform pulse electric fields are studied in terms of the function /spl mu/(E) introduced previously. This function means the probability density of a streamer inception at a small element of an electrode area in a short time internal. The dependence of the function /spl mu/(E) on an electric field is reconstructed from experimental data on a breakdown in n-hexane. The increase in the pulse electric strength of dielectric liquids in narrow gaps for hemispherical electrodes is analytically explained.