Prebreakdown Currents and Breakdown Potentials in Longitudinal Magnetic Fields

The influence of longitudinal magnetic field on breakdown potentials in dry air with plane parallel geometry has been investigated experimentally. The pressure range was from 0.364 to 0.5 torr and the range of the magnetic field was from 0 to 2050 G. It was found that the introduction of the magnetic field decreased the breakdown potentials at all the pressures studied. Prebreakdown currents were measured with and without the magnetic field. It was observed that the prebreakdown current changed significantly with the introduction of the magnetic field in the breakdown region.