Re: Ionized air

[Larry Woolf <larry.woolf@GAT.COM>]

I believe that humid air has a lower electrical breakdown field than dry
air (about 1000 V/cm vs 10,000 V/cm.
Breakdown in materials can occur by a number of different mechanisms and is
not necessarily related to conductivity differences.


> Humid air is not more conductive than dry air.  Humid conditions can lead to
> increased current along the surfaces of insulators, but the effect is not
> much if the surfaces are clean.  If the surfaces are "dirty" then the
> increased water film on the surface (that can be present with high humidity)
> can dissolve enough ions from the dirt to make a conductive path along the
> surface.

Dr. Lawrence D. Woolf; Phone: (858)-455-4475; www.sci-ed-ga.org
General Atomics; 3550 General Atomics Court; San Diego CA 92121-1194