Nonlinear Phenomena During the Propagation of Powerful Nanosecond Electromagnetic Pulses in Large-Scale Strip Lines in Gas at Low Pressure

Abstract

Experiments on the propagation of powerful high-voltage pulses with a duration on the order of a nanosecond or less in large-scale transmission lines in an atmosphere of various gases make it possible to solve a wide range of fundamental and applied problems, from modeling the passage of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) through the atmosphere to estimating the electrical strength of elements of pulsed high-voltage gas-filled systems. At the Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, experiments with strip lines with a length of up to 5 m were conducted using the Krot and Sprait setups. When EMP propagates with an electric field strength level of up to 100 kV/m in a rarefied gas, effects such as the formation of inhomogeneous and significantly nonstationary glow structures, nonlinear absorption, and dispersive transformation of the shape of high-power pulses caused by gas ionization in the EMP field are studied.