 Jeremy A. Riousset

Jeremy A. Riousset led the generalized gas-discharge study cited here; the paper credits him with methodology, software and formal analysis. It extends breakdown calculations beyond parallel electrodes.^[ref]

The geometric issue can be seen directly from Gauss's law. In a charge-free gap, a planar field is constant, a radial cylindrical field varies as $1/r$, and a spherical field varies as $1/r^2$. Thus an electron crossing a curved gap encounters a changing electric field, even when the applied electric potential difference is fixed. A breakdown criterion based only on a uniform field can miss that variation. This example motivates the paper's use of electrode geometry as part of the model, rather than treating every gap as two flat plates.