Transient processes during an initial stage of breakdown in saline solution

This paper deals with the investigation of the discharge in the solution of 0.9% NaCl in water for the conditions, when the voltage at the gap is in a vicinity of the so-called critical voltage at which the discharge in a thin vapor layer at the surface of active electrode appears. In the experiments, the critical voltage is at a level of (180–200) V. Most of the data correspond to powering the discharge by the bipolar voltage pulses of 5 s duration. The main attention is centered on the nonsteady (transient) processes and on the forms of the discharge operation. For the voltage pulses of negative polarity, when the metal electrode is the cathode, the discharge is sustained in the glow regime with the occasional glow-to-spark transitions. At the positive polarity of the voltage, the surface of liquid inside the vapor layer plays a role of cathode in the gas-discharge gap. In these conditions, the process of the glow-to-spark transition is suppressed and the discharge is sustained in the glow regime.