High-Energy Phenomena in Electric Discharges in Dense Gases: Theory, Experiment and Natural Phenomena (Repost)

Babich (head of the Plasma Physics Laboratory at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center All Russian Institute of Experimental Physics, Sarov, Russian Federation) surveys research on gas discharges in dense gases accompanied by runaway electrons, reaching all the way back to 1924. The author describes theoretical studies concerning the runaway phenomenon in electron-neutral collision dominated plasma, and overviews the present status of the non-local model of breakdown in dense gases. The second half of the book provides a detailed account of the results obtained in laboratory pulsed discharges, and examines the production of electromagnetic penetrating radiation and neutrons by thunderstorm activity and lightning. Annotation © Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)