Identifying critical plastic activity in electrodes under intense electric fields and the link to breakdown nucleation

The hypothesis that arc nucleation is related to plastic activity due to collective motion of dislocation in the cathode is examined via experiments and theoretical efforts over the last few years. Current theoretical and experimental observations indicating specific dislocation activity related to the applied high field are reviewed. In addition, I discuss the challenges that lie ahead in trying to confirm this hypothesis as well as put it to use.