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The Discharge Preceding the Intense Reillumination in Positive Leader Steps Under the Slow Varying Ambient Electric Field
Author(s) -
Huang Shengxin,
Chen Weijiang,
Pei Zhehao,
Fu Zhong,
Wang Liufang,
He Tianyu,
Li Zhijun,
Gu Jianwei,
Bian Kai,
Xiang Nianwen,
Wang Yu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl086183
Subject(s) - electric field , corona discharge , corona (planetary geology) , physics , channel (broadcasting) , electric discharge , work (physics) , field (mathematics) , electrode , mechanics , optics , environmental science , telecommunications , computer science , astrobiology , mathematics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics , venus , thermodynamics
Under the slow varying ambient electric field, positive leader propagation exhibits steps characterized by intense reilluminations and abrupt elongations. These steps are currently not well understood. In this work, we investigate these steps in laboratory atmospheric discharges, using a high‐speed video camera and a synchronized electrical parameter measurement system. The discharge, emitting weak light and preceding the intense reillumination, is discovered. This finding suggests that the leader channel actually restarts and extends forward before the intense reillumination, which deepens our understanding of the dynamic process of the positive leader step. The discharge before the intense reillumination contributes to the corona inception from the electrode, leading to the intense reillumination of the leader channel and the emergence of an intense corona streamer burst from the leader tip.