High voltage spark

Lasdy, the importance of electroceramic substrates and insulators should not be overlooked. Here one strives to raise the breakdown strength by eliminating the interesting conduction mechanisms just described. Spark plugs, high voltage insulators, and electronic substrates and packages are made from ceramics like alumina, mullite [55964-99-3] and porcelain [1332-58-7]. 

Spark Source Mass Spectrometry (SSMS) is a method of trace level analysis—less than 1 part per million atomic (ppma)—in which a solid material, in the form of two conducting electrodes, is vaporized and ionized by a high-voltage radio frequency spark in vacuum. The ions produced from the sample electrodes are accelerated into a mass spectrometer, separated according to their mass-to-charge ratio, and collected for qualitative identification and quantitative analysis. 

Holiday Detector a high-voltage low-current output generator with a built-in spark gap used for detecting pinholes (holidays) in pipeline coatings. 

Schematic drawing of a temperature-jump apparatus (adapted from Ref. 13). Shown are the analyzing lamp, observation cell, monochromator, photomultiplier, oscilloscope, spark gap, and high-voltage supply.

For detonators to be used where electrostatic charges may occur, it is desirable to prevent sparking from the fusehead to the case, should a high voltage be generated on the leading wires. For this purpose, an insulating sheath is inserted, either into the detonator tube or else immediately around the fusehead. 

A recent modification of mass spectrometric technique involves the use of a spark source. A spark is struck by means of a high voltage between two rods of the material under examination. Under this drastic treatment many substances decompose completely into their elements and give positive ions. The ion detector is usually a photographic plate which shows a line mass spectrum. A number of exposures are taken for each sample and a quantitative estimate of the presence of an element in the sample can be made from the exposure time. 

A technique that utilizes a solid sample for light emission is spark emission spectroscopy. In this technique, a high voltage is used to excite a solid sample held in an electrode cup in such a way that when a spark is created with a nearby electrode, atomization, excitation, and emission occur and the emitted light is measured. Detection of what lines are emitted allows for qualitative analysis of the solid material. Detection of the intensity of the lines allows for quantitative analysis. 

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