Influence of a radial electrical field on the electrical breakdown along the exploding tungsten wire

Experimental results on the influence of a radial electrical field on the electrical breakdown along exploding W wires in vacuum are presented. To create a radial electrical field a wire was set inside of a metal tubule fixed on one of the electrodes. It is shown that a wire explosion inside of the tubule (when the tubule has a negative polarity relative to the wire) allowed us to significantly increase both the time delay of breakdown and the energy deposited into the wire. The obtained experimental data are compared with the results of the experiments on electrical wire explosion in water and vacuum without an external radial electrical field.