The surge corona discharge

Exploratory experiments are described followed by an account of a more systematic study of the corona discharge with concentric-cylinder electrodes. From experimental records which relate the charge flow in an external circuit to the applied voltage, the corona current and energy loss were derived. An attempt is made to interpret the observations in terms of modern views on the mechanism of electrical breakdown in gases. The attenuation by corona of surges on transmission lines is examined in an Appendix.