A non-stationary model of the polar gap discharge in pulsars is reviewed and modiied. It is argued that the polar gap is braking down via a number of localized spark discharges, feeding a corresponding subpulse-associated plasma columns in the pulsar magnetosphere. It is demonstrated that each spark occupies a region of the polar cap with a characteristic dimension approximately equal to the he...

John Walsh's research on electric fish, carried out between 1772 and 1775, proved fundamental for demonstrating that electricity might be involved in animal physiology, and, moreover, in favouring a period of great progress in both the physiology and physics of electrical phenomena. However, Walsh is hardly known to modern neuroscientists and is largely neglected by science historians also. One...

The phase composition and electrical transport properties of Cu powder obtained by electric spark dispersion and the pellets manufactured from this powder were studied by X-ray phase analysis and electric resistance measurements. The compacted powders were annealed in pure Ar atmosphere. It was shown that electrical resistance of the compacted Cu specimens essentially depends on the annealing t...