Development of intense light flashes and their application to discharge initiation

An ultraviolet light flasher has been built which consists of a spark gap (Vs = 7 kV) mounted at the end of a coaxial transmission line so that current pulses of five nanosecond width are produced. Intensity studies of the flasher in the spectral range capable of producing photoelectric emission from the electrode in a pulsed discharge experiment were performed and statistical plots showing the variation in intensity at particular wavelengths are presented. The light from the flasher was focused on an electrode arrangement in a pressure-vacuum chamber. Current curves for single avalanches were recorded and the statistical distribution of the number of electrons produced by the flasher were found.