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An Experimental Study Of The Cathode Fall In Helium And Argon With Wire Cathodes, L. G. Raub

University Studies (University of Nebraska) (1888–1984)

It was recognized rather early in the study of the phenomena of discharge of electricity through gases that the ordinary laws of conduction as found in solid and liquid conductors are not applicable to gases. It was shown by Zeleny and independently by Child that Ohm's law by no means represents the distribution of potential between electrodes in an ionized gas, but that the potential gradient is large in the vicinity of the electrodes, and not uniform throughout the space between them. When the pressure of the gas surrounding the electrodes is reduced to one or two millimeters and a …