Townsend discharge

English

Etymology

Named after John Sealy Townsend, who discovered the fundamental mechanism.

Noun

Townsend discharge (plural Townsend discharges)

1. A gas ionization process where free electrons, accelerated by a sufficiently strong electric field, give rise to electrical conduction through a gas by avalanche multiplication caused by the ionization of molecules by ion impact.

Synonyms

• Townsend avalanche