Microbubbles and breakdown initiation in water

Air microbubbles with a size of 30-100 microns in water are formed with the help of a pulse-heated up wire electrode. Prebreakdown time lag with the presence of bubbles was significantly less than in the case of their absence. In the case of anode initiation, three different shock waves following one each other were observed. These shock waves were connected to the appearance and movement of supersonic streamers, and energy release due to short circuit of the interelectrode gap. In the case of cathode initiation, "bush-like" streamers appear at the bubble surface soon after the application of the voltage. This structure spreads through the gap with subsonic velocity. We present experimental research of specially created microbubbles at the action of strong electrical fields.