Jared P. Nelson

Jared P. Nelson coauthored the generalized gas-discharge study; its contribution statement credits validation, formal analysis and investigation. The published affiliation places this work in Embry-Riddle's Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Lab.^[ref]

A simple illustration of the geometric effect uses coaxial conducting cylinders. With inner radius $a$, outer radius $b$ and applied electric potential difference $V$, Gauss's law gives the charge-free field magnitudeFor $a=1\mathrm{mm}$ and $b=10\mathrm{mm}$, the field at the inner surface is ten times that at the outer surface. Equal gap width and voltage therefore do not imply a uniform ionization environment. This independently derived example illustrates why the field near a curved electrode can differ strongly from the average field across the gap.