Space charge effects in chlorobiphenyls and at solid/liquid interfaces

The breakdown strength of liquids has been known to be highly dependent upon the dissolved water and air content, decreasing with increasing impurity levels. By means of the Kerr effect, it is shown that the static electric field distribution between parallel plate electrodes in chlorobiphenyls is dependent upon the impurity levels. Near breakdown however, the local cathode field strength remains unchanged regardless of the impurity levels introduced. The observed phenomenon is consistent with space charge theories of breakdown previously not shown experimentally.