Abstract
THERE is at present no generally accepted criterion of spark ignition. A widely held view is that energy delivered to the gas is the main criterion. Kravchenko1 has advanced the thesis that the energy in the arc stage of the discharge is the sole criterion, and that other discharge conditions, such as glow, are incapable of giving rise to ignition. During the course of investigation on inductive break-spark ignitions, a number of records of current and voltage across the discharge were taken with high-speed oscilloscopes. A current of 185 m.amp. was interrupted in a 95-mH. inductance series circuit, and the resulting discharge was made to take place in an explosive mixture of 8.3 per cent methane in air. Oscillographic studies of similar discharges in air have been made by Nethercot and Rehfisch2, with lower time-base sweep-speeds and non-simultaneous recording of current and voltage.
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References
Kravchenko, V. S., Trudy Institute Gornovo Dela, 203 (1954).
Nethercot, W., and Rehfisch, T. J., E.R.A. Report G/T 217 (1948).
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BERZ, I. Effects of Arc Stage of Electrical Discharge on Ignition of Inflammable Gas. Nature 183, 669 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/183669a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/183669a0
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