Pulsed Picosecond and Nanosecond Discharge Development in Liquids with Various Dielectric Permittivity Constants

The dynamics of pulsed picosecond and nanosecond discharge development in liquid water, ethanol and hexane were investigated experimentally. Three possible mechanisms for the propagation of discharge in liquids play a different role depending on the pulse duration. The first case takes place when a ``long'' (microsecond) electric pulse applied in a non-conducting fluid: as a result of electrostatic repulsion, the formation of low density channels occurs. Consequently, the discharge propagates through the low-density regions. In the second case, under an ``intermediate'' (nanosecond) electric pulse conditions, the electrostatic forces support the expansion of nanoscale voids behind the front of the ionization wave; in the wave front the extreme electric field provides a strong negative pressure in the dielectric fluid due to the presence of electrostriction forces, forming the initial micro-voids in the continuous medium. Finally, in the third case, when a ``short'' (picosecond) electric pulse is utilized, the regions of reduced density cannot form because of the extremely short duration of the applied electric pulse. Ionization in the liquid phase occurs as a result of direct electron impact without undergoing a phase transition, occurring due to the acceleration of electrons by an external electric field comparable to the intra-molecular fields. The discharge propagates with a velocity comparable to the local speed of light.