High-voltage mercury-arc switch for heavy-current pulse duty

High-power mercury-arc switches for use in thermonuclear experiments have been developed capable of withstanding voltages of up to 75kV and of conducting current pulses of time constant 1 ms and peak amplitude 100kA. The best performance has been obtained with a single-gap switch having a metal anode and a water-cooled mercury cathode, and voltage hold-off of up to 100kV seems to be feasible with this basic design. A simple trigger electrode system is used to initiate conduction. This type of switch can also be used for special duties, such as the protection of capacitors or for short-circuiting the power supply in equipment using expensive valves.