Factors Contributing to Streamer Morphology

Recent work shows that the range of morphology of anode streamers in liquid dielectric breakdown is predicted when it is represented as stochastic growth of a branching fractal tree. This model may be analogous to the critical volume model of breakdown used in gases. Assuming there is a relationship, leads to a concept of how affecting the electron production and recombination rates in a fluid can affect streamer behavior. These concepts were tested by measuring the effect on streamer behavior due to adding a commercial antistatic additive to toluene. The results were consistent with the concepts of the model but insufficient to define the limits of the model’s applicability.