On the relation between the test cell energy delivery and the smoothing out of the electrode microprotrusions in vacuum insulation

In this paper, a recently developed novel idea concerning the conditioning phenomenon, namely that the energy delivered by the test cell may smooth out existing microprotrusions on the surface of electrodes in vacuum, is further elaborated and is substantiated with a numerical example. Based on the data used here, it is shown that electron beams emanating from cathode micro-protrusions have diameters in agreement with results obtained elsewhere. We also discuss whether the volume effect can also be due to the energy delivered by the test gap.