The effect of atmospheric humidity on the corona extinction voltage of circular cylinders

The corona extinction voltage for two cylindrical conductors and a vibration damper as a function of atmospheric humidity using radio influence voltage measurements has been determined. For the 5.0 cm conductor and the vibration damper, the corona extinction voltage increases with increasing humidity. It is postulated that this is due to the capture of free electrons by water-vapour molecules. For the smaller 2.8 cm conductor, the corona extinction voltage decreases with increasing relative humidity. This different behaviour is ascribed to surface conditions, but more data is required to verify this.